Open Call: Free Radicals summer school and residency

This summer, Free Radicals unfolds across two residencies and a summer school designed for artists, researchers, and cultural practitioners working at the intersection of ecology and the arts.

© Inés Karčáková

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.

Through shared experiences, local encounters, and transnational exchange, the programme invites artists, and interdisciplinary researchers to reflect, experiment, and grow in their field of expertise—while contributing to a broader conversation on sustainability, biodiversity, and creative practice.

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
Dates: 21-31 July 2025
More information here.

On bioregional memory, rural communities with Today Art Initiative
—Stepanavan, Lori Mountains, Armenia
Dates: 5-20 August 2025
More information here.

On permaculture, eucalyptus monocultures, and sustainable tools for visual arts with Quinta das Relvas
—Aveiro, Portugal
Dates: 2-22 September 2025
More information here.

A total of twenty 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.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Deadline for applications: 31 May 2025
Results of the open call: 12 June 2025

HOW TO APPLY:

● Fill in the application form on this link.

● Select your preferred residency location.

● Upload your CV / portfolio and a cover letter (please see individual open calls for specific requirements).

That’s it! We will notify all applicants by 12th June 2025.

We strongly encourage applications from individuals of all genders, sexual orientations, abilities, ages, ethnicities, nationalities, and socio-economic backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from those who are underrepresented or marginalised in the arts, sciences, and cultural sectors.

Applicants must reside in one of the EU Member States or countries eligible under the Creative Europe programme.

Got a question you'd like to ask? Drop us an e-mail: thisis@freeradicals.space.

We're looking forward to reading your proposals!

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Free Radicals is a project co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.