Applications are now open for the Free Radicals summer school and residency programme, hosted by Fundación Uxío Novoneyra in Spain, Quinta das Relvas in Portugal, and Today Art Initiative in Armenia.
Guided by the diverse local contexts as well as experts from across the arts–science axis, residency participants will develop original works that serve as ‘proofs of concept’ for how plant biodiversity and the larger more-than-human ecosystem can be embedded in creative practice. Final works will be presented in a final group exhibition in Lisbon in autumn 2026.
Each residency offers time, space, and support for deep exploration—from onsite mentoring to remote sessions with experts from fields such as ethnobotany, ecology, and material science. Residents will be encouraged to work in conversation with their surroundings, grounding their ideas in local contexts and lived experience.
At the close of each residency, participants will share their process in a public work-in-progress event, opening up space for dialogue with local communities. These moments of exchange are central to the project, offering a chance to connect artistic practice with everyday realities, challenge assumptions, and spark new directions.
A total of three calls are now open for submissions:
- On poetry as resistance and traditional medicinal knowledge with Fundación Uxío Novoneyra, Courel Mountains, Galicia, Spain, 21-31 July 2025
- On bioregional memory, rural communities with Today Art Initiative, Stepanavan, Lori Mountains, Armenia, 5-20 August 2025
- On permaculture, eucalyptus monocultures, and sustainable tools for visual arts with Quinta das Relvas, Aveiro, Portugal, 2-22 September 2025
A total of 20 candidates will be selected, each receiving a travel stipend of 300 EUR, with accommodation and living expenses covered by the partner organisations. The residency also offers a production budget for prototyping, along with mentoring and critical guidance from local and international experts working across arts–science disciplines.
