C4 Art Games

The Conference for Art Games is a celebration of the weird and wonderful possibility at the intersection of art and games!

Conference

Date: September 19

Location: Bus Stop Theatre

Exhibition

Date: September 18 - October 9

Location: CFAT Gallery (where ever that is at the time)

Opening Party

Date: September 19

Location: CFAT Gallery

About C4 Art Games

This event is a space to showcase and support the growing games and interactive art community in Atlantic Canada. C4 looks at how games can be used as an expressive art medium and critical cultural objects. Hosted by the Centre for Arts Tapes, an inclusive artist-run centre that supports artists who use video, audio, and electronic media to express ideas and stories that are under-represented in mainstream culture.

Schedule

To be announced July 2026

Tickets

Regular Ticket: $50

CFAT Members: Free

Low income/Underemployed: $25

Opening Party: Free*

Exhibition: Free*

*Donations for CFAT building initiative will be collected at the door

Call for Submissions

C4 builds off CFAT’s mission to put marginalized artists into the centre of discourses and practices of media art and as such, encourages artists and game makers from backgrounds not typically represented in mainstream games culture. We hope to support submissions which might not be valued in more traditional game conferences or art exhibitions.

We encourage those interested in submitting to both the conference and exhibition.

Conference

Call Open: May 8 - June 1

C4 welcomes talk submissions from both game makers and interactive artists from Atlantic Canada and beyond.

We are looking for panel ideas as well as 15-30 minute talk submissions. Topics can be expansive and we hope to include as much of them as we can:

  • Thoughts on the unique expressive possibility of games
  • Critical play
  • Game Engine effects on art game development
  • Climate aware game development
  • Game co-operative and collective action
  • Political engagement in games
  • Games as exploration of social rules
  • A weird and highly specific thought that guide your art game practice
  • … And whatever else you think would be cool to see at the conference

To submit a talk or panel to C4, please fill out the Submission Form below by June 1, 2026

Submission Form

Name

Pronouns

Bio (max 250 words)

A brief description of your proposed talk and or panel (max 500 words)

If a panel, names of panelists

Link so we can see your work

Exhibition

We hope to showcase a wide range of what a game can be. We are happy to show both digital or analogue games as well as art that looks at games/gaming and its cultural impact.

To submit a game (analogue or digital), VR/AR experience, or any other art work to C4, please fill out the Submission Form below by June 15, 2026.

Submission Form

Name

Pronouns

Bio (max 250 words)

A brief description of your game (max 500 words)

Names of the people involved in the project

Links to work of the people involved

Link to a build we can play and/or documentation of the work

Zine Library

Name

Pronouns

Bio (max 250 words)

Names of the people involved in the project

Link to zine description/documentation

Sponsorship & Community Partners

We are looking for community partnerships and sponsors to support C4 Art Games as well as CFAT’s ongoing games programming including education, production and exhibition of games and other interactive media works.

If you are interested in supporting our efforts or think that your work would be, please contact us for our sponsorship information:

Cat Bluemke

[email]

[phone]

Media Outreach

Notify the media that this incredible event will be happening, and they should be there!