ARCHAIVE invites emerging and mid-career artists to critically engage with generative AI through the lens of cultural memory. Six media art archives, held by five European partners and spanning the 1960s to today, provide the starting point. These partners are in Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, and the residencies have different dates throughout 2027.
By opening these collections, the partners enable artists to explore how generative AI can become a critical lens on the past rather than only a tool for the future: how it reads, completes and distorts our shared heritage, and what can be made from those distortions.
Residencies combine time to research, experiment and reflect with curatorial support, technical mentoring and access to archival material. Every artist completes a documented digital artwork, described in full, that can be shown in public and reused in the future.
Low-energy production is a principle of the whole call. Artists are encouraged to choose methods and models with their computational cost in mind, and to state their reasoning.
Each host offers curatorial support, at least 10 hours of technical mentoring per artist, and mediated access to archival materials under conditions agreed with the institution. Residencies are in person or hybrid. Hybrid residencies include on-site visits of at least three days, planned flexibly between artist and host. Where an artist cannot travel, the residency may take place remotely, with one short visit to the host.
The project welcomes emerging and mid-career artists working across digital and analogue media, with an interest in critically engaging with archives and generative AI, who are nationals or residents in a Creative Europe country.
Each selected artist receives a 5,000 EUR artist fee. Further information regarding travel and accommodation arrangements for the residencies will be provided once officially confirmed.
