Supporting Internet Art with an Attitude ππ
Error 417 Expectation Failed is an independent foundation supporting radically contemporary Internet art and net-based arts practices. We encourage open-ended formats, risky projects and explorative artworks that engage critically with contemporary technology. Our focus lies on art that addresses the frictions between technology, aesthetics, politics and social relations to challenge power structures β one hack, glitch, fail, error, process and experiment at a time.π°²π° π°S
Error 406 Tech Fascism Not Acceptable
Open Call: Selected Projects
In May of 2025 we launched our first open call for artistic projects: instructions, scores, how-tos, interventions and practices against tech fascism. This call for resistance was about finding ways to challenge the current systems with the means available: misdirection, opting out, and pushing back. Resisting in solidarity with others and carving out spaces in which we can develop technological systems that align with collective needs rather than exploiting us.
Find out more about the 13 selected projects by Jiawen Uffline, 868labs, Alexey Boriskin, kunsf.xyz, Rojava Center for Democratic Technologies, El Proyecto Sonidero, Enkaryon Ang, Signals Rising, NotToday, Annika Santhanam, David Huerta, permacomputing.net, and gabe nascimento:
Error 415
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Error 415 Unsupported Media Type supports two outstanding curatorial initiatives per year to keep doing what they do best, no strings attached. With Error 415, we aim to support initiatives that create spaces for these "unsupported media types," facilitate the gathering and sharing of knowledge around these practices, and serve as interconnected nodes within the networks that surround them.
In 2025, Error 415 Unsupported Media Type supports the Athens-based non-profit arts organisation Vektor as well as the Barcelona-based curator Bani Brusadin.
FAQ
Why HTTP Errors?
Error 417 Expectation Failed is an HTTP status code that indicates a specific expectation or requirement set by the client was not met by the server. The error reveals something about the logic of the digital system, making underlying structures visible and offering insights into how these systems function. The foundation's choice of name underlines the willingness to understand error and failure as part of any process. We support projects that pursue open processes and do not seek to produce preconceived results, but rather allow for trial and error.
Why failing expectations matters.
Failure is measured by the rigid standards of an elitist culture drawing clear lines between winners and losers. ββββSupporting failure in the arts, therefore, is not simply acknowledging a personal shortcoming β it is an act of resistance, a rejection of the very parameters that define value and success in narrow, exclusionary terms.
Why Internet art?
Net-based arts are particularly well-suited to create and reflect imaginaries of the contemporary, make understandable, and also intervene in the complex connections between art, technology, politics and social relations. In doing so, net-based and digital arts practices make a crucial contribution to producing the knowledge and skills necessary for understanding today's world and dealing confidently with its challenges. βββββ
What are the funding programmes?
Currently, two of our funding programmes are active:
Error 406 Not Acceptable supports open processes and ideas worth failing. It offers grants through an open call for projects, with each edition highlighting a different urgent topic. Find out more about the programme here.
Error 415 Unsupported Media Type supports two outstanding curatorial initiatives per year to keep doing what they do best, no strings attached. More info coming soon.
Who are the foundation's activities aimed at?
Our activities and grants are aimed at artists, initiatives by exhibition spaces, online platforms, curators and art collectives, as well as developers of software and hardware that explore possibilities of contemporary, networked technologies as art and their significance for societies across the world. We encourage proposals from people who are historically underrepresented in art and technology spaces.
How can I apply? How can I stay updated?
We publish our calls for applications on our website, newsletter and other channels. We do not accept unsolicited applications at the moment.
How is foundation Error 417 Expectation Failed funded?
Error 417 Expectation Failed convinced a number of crypto whales to donate a share of their earnings to us. We redistribute these funds towards art projects. Since these earnings fluctuate a lot, the amount donated at the end of each year determines the foundation's budget for the following year.
By redirecting these turbo-capitalist earnings to support critical artists and initiatives, Error 417 Expectation Failed aims to alleviate some of the market pressures that increasingly shape todayβs art funding. We seek to strengthen the networks which counteract and prevent the damages caused by late-stage capitalist technologies within our communities.
For the foundation, crypto earnings are a means to an end and do not determine the topics we explore nor the artistic formats we support.
Can I donate to Error 417?
Sure!
You can donate directly to our bank account:
Stiftung 417 Expectation Failed
IBAN: CH97 0900 0000 1638 2092 4
BIC: POFICHBEXXX
Bank: PostFinance AG (Mingerstrasse 20, 3030 Bern, Switzerland)
Please contact us if you want to donate crypto or need a donation receipt.
Team
Error 417 Expectation Failed was launched in 2025 by the artists !Mediengruppe Bitnik as an infrastructural art project.
Managing Directors
Nicholas SchΓ€rer
Noemi Garay Murcia
Founders & Board of Trustees
!Mediengruppe Bitnik (Carmen Weisskopf & Domagoj Smoljo)
Matthias Brupbacher
Contact
We are a non-profit foundation registered in Switzerland.