Call for applications: Collide residency award in Geneva, Barcelona

The call seeks to give artists the opportunity to expand their research and test its applications through Barcelona’s scientific and cultural network while engaging with a wide range of communities.

The call encourages the participation of artists who comply with any of the following criteria:

• Artists interested in the cultural significance of fundamental research and scientific knowledge.
• Artists interested in the processes of fundamental science and particle physics who are able to extrapolate this understanding into art projects of artistic excellence.
• Artists pushing the traditional forms of collaboration between the artistic and scientific fields and asking innovative and provocative questions in this respect.
• Artists interested in the community-driven Hangar Centre for Art Research and Production and in its interaction with the urban area and its social fabric.

Application submission and selection

Interested artists should submit a proposal adhering to the criteria of the call. Applications should be written in English and submitted here together with the following:

• Resume/CV.
• Portfolio (recent works, exhibitions, residencies, research).
• Project proposal describing in detail, the project that the artist intends to undertake during the residency at CERN and in Barcelona.
• The proposal should be accompanied by a video statement (no longer than five minutes), defending the relevance of the intended project.

The deadline for applications is 31 January 2021. Successful applicants will be announced via the Arts CERN official website. The jury will be looking for ideas that reflect upon encounters between art and science, and offer challenging methods of exchange and enquiry between artists and scientists.

The residency

Collide grants one artist or a collective a fully funded residency at CERN, Geneva and in Barcelona. The artist will spend two months at CERN, Geneva, followed by a one-month stay in Barcelona (not necessarily consecutively). The exact timing of the residency will be defined after the announcement but it will occur during 2021. The final dates will be discussed individually with the teams of Arts at CERN and the Institut de Cultura and Hangar in Barcelona. In the event that an artistic collective is the recipient of the residency award, the budget will be split between the members. A maximum of three honorary mentions may be announced and the recipients will be invited to be part of CERN’s Guest Artist programme, consisting of a two-day exploratory visit of the laboratory. At least one honorary mention will be awarded to an artist residing in Barcelona.

Accommodation, allowance and travel support

The award includes the following support and conditions:

• 15 000 Swiss Francs ($16 500) as a research and artistic production award.
• Personal allowance for two months at CERN, Geneva, and one month in Barcelona.
•  Travel costs and accommodation within a fixed budget for the three months of the artistic residency at CERN and in Barcelona.

Artists expectations 

The recipient of the residency award will be expected to:

• Engage in research based on the proposal submitted to the Collide call for entries.
• Complete the period of the residency at CERN and in Barcelona.
• Meet regularly with the CERN scientific partner(s) in order to discuss the process of artistic research, exploration and discovery, and additionally work with other scientists.
• Establish dialogue with scientists and researchers at the research centres, universities, and factories of creativity, with the support and guidance of the team from the Institute of Culture of Barcelona.
• Give one talk and/or workshop during the residency.
• Communicate regularly with the curators and teams of Arts at CERN and the Institute of Culture of Barcelona.
• Deliver a residency report after the residency is completed in both locations.
• Finalise the artwork resulting from the residency within up to six months following the residency periods.

View the original call here.