For me, being selected for the Arts & Society program is a recognition that my plans are socially relevant, a confirmation that I am working across disciplines. Hopefully, I will make a contribution to the development of my field itself. Perhaps most importantly, though, is the recognition that your own artistic signature is not at odds with social relevance, but that they are two sides of the same coin.
By talking to makers from a different discipline, you look at your own work and process from a different perspective. That is liberating. I'm working on a plan for a Virtual Reality documentary about young children with morbid obesity. Via a physically weighted training vest you step into a VR world in the body of an obese child. As you discover the environment, the child's body moves in the same way as the physical movements you make.
I have struggled with morbid obesity all my life, until 3 years ago the medical necessity was so great that I had to have a stomach reduction. In the meantime I have lost 70 kilos and I have become a different person. My wish is that in six months' time we as a group will have created something beautiful for the society. Made a small contribution to a changing world. A world that cannot ignore us as a group. That would be great!