Open Call for Artists (2025-2026)

#experimental #improvisation #multidisciplinaryformats #audienceengagement #insitu

ACCESS is a Creative Europe supported project aiming for musical experiences that can be enhanced by new forms of listening, creating and engaging audiences and artists, in places not dedicated to music. During its two year duration, six artistic residencies aggregated in two different cycles will take place in different countries – France, Portugal and Czech Republic. 

After a first cycle between September 2024 and May 2025, here is the call about the three residencies of the second cycle (2025-2026).

It is directed to artists with a close relation with music and sound, with a focus on experimentation, innovation, improvisation, cooperative creation and audience engagement.

The selected artists will take part of an artistic residency, with a duration of seven days (8 days for Prague), where a group of seven European artists will work collectively under several work strategies, from open and graphic scores, soundscape composition, sonic ecology or collective improvisation to create, record and present publicly the output of their work. Each residency has a specific theme, directly related with the space where it will take place.

Residencies

Each residency has a specific theme, directly related with the space where it will take place.

Residency #1: Porto | May 18-24 2026 | Coordinated by Sonoscopia

The focus of this residency will be the development of a series of small actions – performances and recordings, within the context of the local community surrounding Sonoscopia´s neighbourhood. In a city such as Porto, whose touristic growth produced radical changes in the city’s historical dynamic, rethinking urban areas outside the centre can point some directions towards a more balanced social development. In this residency, musicians and artists will work collectively to produce a body of work that will be presented closely to the local population, in unusual daily living spaces, or at Sonoscopia´s facilities, inviting the community to participate, debate, eat, drink and live collectively. We seek six musicians able to improvise fluently and create collectively, as well as one creative video artist. 

Residency #2: Prague | June 9-16 2026 | Coordinated by Unijazz

The participants will work with a group of teenagers in a secondary school environment. Together, they will prepare a site-specific performance that moves through the school, allowing visitors to experience its architecture from unusual and new perspectives. The preparation and work together with the students will take part during the school expedition out of the school (Karlovy Vary/Carlsbad region) and partly in the school itself, where the final presentation will happen. The topic/location of the school expedition will play a main role in shaping the content of the work created together.

We are mainly looking for musicians and sound artists experienced in working with teenagers, but not exclusively—if you feel you are well-suited for this kind of project, please do not hesitate to submit your application and explain why you would be the right person to work with teenagers. We are also seeking one dancer or performer and one visual artist (video art, light design, stage design)!

During the residency, a tutor or lecturer with experience in working with teenagers will be available to support the team if necessary.

Residency #3: Germ (France) | July 20-26 2026 | Coordinated by Muzzix

The aim of this residency is to encourage sound artists to shift their creative practices by making the natural environment – in this case, the French Pyrenees mountains – a driving force of the artistic process. They will experiment with new approaches and musical forms while highlighting the richness of the natural heritage. Their work will also seek to foster new connections with the sonic environment, the territory and its history, as well as with local residents and hikers. Over the course of seven days, the artists will carry out sound explorations and actions in nature, and will host public gatherings where they collectively share, through sound, the experience of this immersion.

For this residency, artists may be required to walk in the mountains for 2 to 4 hours a day with their equipment and instruments, so it is necessary to be in good physical condition and technically self-sufficient (battery-powered amplifier, acoustic instruments, etc.). Artists must also bring their own mountain hiking equipment (backpack, shoes, etc.). A list of the minimum mountain equipment required will be sent to the selected artists.

Conditions

Duration of each residency : 7 days for Residency #1 (Porto) and #3 (Germ), 8 days for Residency #2 (Prague).

For the 7 days of work, each participant will receive a total fee of 1680€ including employer’s costs. 

[For Prague residency only, each participant will receive a total fee of 1890€ including employer’s costs for the 8 days of work]

Travel, food and accommodation costs will be covered for the seven days of the residency [8 days for Prague residency].