S+T+ARTS4Water | Residencies on Technology and Water

STARTS4Water Consortium invites artists to apply for one of ten thematic residencies on technology and water management, launched by its European partners in Belgium, Austria, Croatia, Netherlands, Greece and Italy.

Through this open call STARTS4Water wants to kick-start a series of collaborative processes between artists, researchers and communities that generate projects to raise awareness and/or offer concrete solutions for regional water challenges in Europe.

European partners: LUCA School of Arts (Belgium) in collaboration with Gluon (Belgium), Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary - TBA21 (Austria), Universal Research Institute (Croatia), V2_Lab for the Unstable Media (The Netherlands), Ohi Pezoume/ UrbanDig Project (Greece) and Cittadellarte - Fondazione Pistoletto (Italy) and STARTS partner BOZAR (Belgium).

This call is looking for artists to contribute to the sustainable management of water in a variety of ways through experimental use of and/or critical reflection on digital technologies. Can we rethink the paradigms that have guided water policy and investments to date through artistic practice and art-inspired thinking and by increasing the use of new technologies? How can technology become a collaborator in the development of new pathways rather than a mere solution? What is at stake in terms of how we experience, understand and value water systems?

The call is open to professional and experienced artists from any art-related field, both individuals and working groups, regardless of gender or religion, ethnicity or age who are willing to collaborate with an expert network of curators, scientists and technology (ICT) professionals and contribute to the discourse on local water challenges as well as concrete, digitally based solutions. Through the artistic process you will engage with real-life regional challenges and local communities with a view to breaking the old dichotomies between autonomous and applied art, in order to create space for novel approaches to water management.

What do we offer?

10 grants will be awarded
The budget for each residency is 40.000€, including artwork production and artist fee
Throughout the residencies, the STARTS4Water Consortium will offer the necessary expertise and support from ICT experts affiliated with research institutions, universities, university colleges, innovative companies and start-ups

Eligibility criteria

Applicants must have a substantial track record of relevant experience.
Applicants will be professional artists working in diverse media—digital media, moving image, painting and printmaking, performance, photography, sculpture, sound, and text— as well as cultural practitioners and activists informed by and concerned with archival research, knowledge production, place making, and/or community-based engagement.
Applicants must speak fluent English
Applicants must be available to be in the region in question for a period of several days (exact number to be agreed with the Artist Residency host) between October 2021 and June 2022.
The European dimension will be of critical importance in the selection of the STARTS4Water residencies

The 10 STARTS4Water Residencies

Water is a Global Challenge that requires regional solutions. This is because the effects and consequences of water management can vary due to geography, infrastructure, climate and the impact of human activities on the environment. Each STARTS4Water partner has built an expert network that is highly diverse in terms of the origins, profession and background of its members, and includes digital experts, entrepreneurs, regional leading art and research institutions, specialists in digital transformation, administration and public governance. The STARTS4Water Experts have shaped an open call for ten ‘regional water challenges’, bringing together SDG6 + SDG14 interlinkages and potential breakthrough technologies around key local and regional challenges related to water management. See website for full details.

Deadline: 30 August 2021