Open Call: Art & Science Residency – Imagining Ecological Futures

Dates: May 5 – May 30, 2025

Apply by: March 8, 2025 by filling out this form ! 

The KIKK galaxy, which promotes digital and creative cultures at the crossroads of art, science, technology and society, along with  its Creative Hub: TRAKK, in collaboration with the CCN/Namur Cultural Center, is launching an Arts & Sciences residency program around the theme “Ecological Futures”.

Two artists and/or collectives will be welcomed in residence: one international artist & one artist from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (resident in Brussels or in Wallonia), in the beautiful studios (2 apartments that can each accommodate up to 2 people) located at the Centre Culturel des Abattoirs de Bomel from Monday, May 5 to Friday, May 30, 2025.

Each artist (or collective) will receive a grant of 5.000 € to develop a new media art or art & science project  project, along with curatorial and scientific support..

Important: This residency is exclusively open to visual artists working in the fields of new media arts, art & science, and art & technology. We do not accept proposals in music, performance art, theater, dance, music, or other live art forms.

Residency Theme : Ecological Futures

The residency provides a unique opportunity for visual artists and artistic researchers to work at the intersection of art, science, technology, and ecology. The aim is to foster art-driven interdisciplinary research and artistic creation that critically addresses and creatively explores ecological futures through digital and technological media.

We invite proposals that engage with themes such as:
🌱 The climate crisis and global warming
🦠 Biodiversity loss and non-human ecologies
🌍 Models of human and non-human co-existence
🧬 Biotechnological innovations and their cultural impact
⚖️ The decolonization of nature and ecological ethics

We are specifically looking for projects in new media arts, including but not limited to:

• Generative and AI-driven art

• Data visualization & sonification

• Biotechnology & bioart

• Interactive & immersive installations

• Digital fabrication & speculative design

• Algorithmic, robotic & kinetic art

• XR (VR, AR, MR) projects

Exclusions: This residency does not support performance-based work, live art, theater, dance, music, or purely textual/literary projects.

Residency Support & Facilities

This program is a collaboration between four key partners:
– CCN/Cultural Center Namur – providing residency spaces.
– KIKK Festival – coordinating and mentoring the residency program.
– TRAKK Creative Hub – a multidisciplinary space run by KIKK offering access to the Protolab (Fab Lab) and Medialab for digital fabrication, sound, and media production.
– Le Pavillon – the digital culture exhibition space, where selected projects may be presented.

The residents will be able to learn to use the tools of the Fab Lab and will benefit from professional technical assistance. The project could also, with the agreement of the KIKK team, be presented during an edition of KIKK festival or at Le Pavillon.

Residents will receive

• A 5.000 € grant for the development of their project. This includes the expenses for materials, food and travel.

• Accommodation (studio from 39 to 47m2) with a bathroom, a kitchenette, an office space and a bedroom space and an internet connection.

• Curatorial, scientific, and technical guidance.

• Access to specialized tools and expertise in the Fab Lab: 3D printers, vinyl cutter, digital milling machine, laser cutter, electronic equipment, woodworking, …

• Access to specialized tools in the Medialab: sound studio, binaural microphone heads, motion capture suits, VR headsets, computer optimized for game engines.

• Use of the workshops of the CCN/Centre culture de Namur: on the site of the Abattoirs de Bomel: woodworking, ironwork and silk-screening workshops; assistance and initiation by the technical management

• A potential opportunity to present their project at KIKK Festival or Le Pavillon.

• Public Engagement Requirement: During the residency, each artist will participate in a public-facing event (e.g., a workshop, talk, or discussion) to share insights about their artistic practice and research.

Application

🔗 Apply by March 8, 2025 – before midnight Central European Time !

To apply, please fill in this form : https://airtable.com/appBKajWzI7Jo33Ab/shrZ7vN2aU4qD4lom

The form needs to include the documents requested below :
– Project description including images and technical drawings in French or English.
– Artistic positioning in French or English
– Provisional budget in French or English.
– CV in French or English
– Portfolio

We accept projects in progress for which the residency budget would allow the project to be finalised or an existing project that warrants an additional budget to improve it. In this case, a justification will be requested in order to understand how this additional budget will improve the project.

The two selected artists or collectives will be notified by the end of March.

For more questions, please contact marie.dg@kikk.be

Project organized thanks to the support of the Digital Arts Commission of Wallonia-Brussels Federation