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Open call

Deadline: Closed (Selection completed)
Guide for Applicants: DOWNLOAD GUIDE

The Call

SOLAR FUTURES invites 3 individual artists to create new works exploring Solarpunk, a movement envisioning optimistic, ecologically harmonious futures where humans, technology, and nature coexist sustainably.

SOLAR FUTURES is a Creative Europe-supported collaboration bringing together four leading cultural organizations working at the intersection of art, science, and technology: OHME (Belgium) together with Electroni[k] (France), iii (The Netherlands), and LEV Festival (Spain), in partnership with two associated universities, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), to support transdisciplinary artistic practices that imagine alternative, desirable futures.


Three Works, Three Formats, Three Themes

Each artist will create one work choosing a specific format linked to a thematic pathway:

Physical Installation, on Renewable Energy and Circular Resources

Explore energy autonomy, decentralized infrastructures, recycled materials, bio-based design, and circular economy principles.

Screen-Based Experience, on Permacomputing and Digital Sobriety

Engage with low-impact digital creation, energy-efficient code, open-source tools, and alternatives to extractive tech models.

Live Performance, on New Imaginaries for Political and Societal Organisation

Envision post-capitalist, inclusive futures through alternative governance, care economies, community resilience, and prefigurative politics.

The Residency Programme

A year-long journey across three European cities with comprehensive support at every stage:

Phase 1: Research & Contextualization (2 weeks, Brussels, May 4-18, 2026)

Hosted by OHME with ULB and VUB. Interdisciplinary research with scientists, local artists, and cultural operators. Build your conceptual foundation.

Phase 2: Development (2 weeks, Rennes, June 1-15, 2026)

Hosted by Electroni[k]. Focus on audience engagement, mediation strategies, workshop design, and the French digital creation ecosystem.

Phase 3: Production (1 month, The Hague, Aug 2026 or Oct 2026 or Feb 2027)

Hosted by iii. Access to production facilities, technical support, and a creative community. Finalize your work with professional documentation.

Phase 4: Distribution Mentoring (online, throughout)

Led by LEV. Ten sessions covering distribution strategies, tech riders, communication, and professional development.

Presentation & Circulation

Each artist premieres their work at one partner venue (Brussels, Rennes, or The Hague). All three works are then presented together at LEV Festival 2027, with extended circulation across European festivals, cultural venues, and community spaces encouraged.

What We Offer

€9,000 artist fee (including subsistence)

Travel + accommodation for all residency phases and presentations

Up to €6,000 production costs based on your needs

Professional documentation (video and photography)

Mentorship and guidance from four leading cultural organizations

Access to extensive European networks

Who Can Apply

You are an individual artist with professional experience who can demonstrate interest in Solarpunk themes and a willingness to engage in transdisciplinary collaboration. You must be a permanent resident of one of the 37 Creative Europe eligible countries, available for all residency phases, proficient in English, and able to issue invoices.

We encourage diversity, inclusion, and applications from people with disabilities, varied cultural backgrounds, and the LGBTQIA+ community.

How to Apply

The recording of the info session:

WATCH HERE

Required documents:

CV | Portfolio (5 most relevant works) | Visual materials illustrating your proposal | Provisional production budget

Before applying:

Attend the Info Session on February 4th, 2026, 15h30-17h00 CET (recording available)

To make sure that you get a full understanding of the scope and conditions of the Open call, read carefully our Guide for Applicants: DOWNLOAD GUIDE

Evaluation Criteria

Innovation → Bold ideas that imagine positive futures and challenge conventional thinking


Originality → Fresh perspectives that surprise us

Relevance → Clear engagement with Solarpunk principles and your chosen theme

Budget → Realistic and well-structured use of production budget

Technical Feasibility → Convincing work plan and appropriate professional experience

Artistic Quality → Strong portfolio demonstrating technical skill and creative vision

Selection Process

  • Step 1: Eligibility check

  • Step 2: First evaluation round (scored 0-5, shortlist of ~12 applications)

  • Step 3: Consensus meeting (top 5 selected)

  • Step 4: 30-minute interviews

  • Step 5: Final selection of 3 artists

Selected artists will be notified by mid-April 2026.

Timeline

  • Jan 15, 2026 → Open call launch

  • Mar 15, 2026 → Application deadline

  • Mar 30, 2026 → Selection complete

  • Apr 2026 → Grant agreements signed

  • May 2026-Feb 2027 → Residency phases

  • 2026-2027 → Individual premieres

  • 2027 → Collective exhibition at LEV Festival

Selected Artists

SOLAR FUTURES invites three individual artists to create new works exploring Solarpunk, a movement envisioning optimistic, ecologically harmonious futures where humans, technology, and nature coexist sustainably.

The selected projects explore how bodies, technologies and energy systems shape shared futures, addressing questions of ecological transition, digital infrastructures and collective organisation from complementary perspectives.

Physical Installation — Renewable Energy and Circular Resources

Selected artist: Gyujin Lee
Project: Syn-thesis: Autonomy Flag

Gyujin Lee’s project explores the absolute dependence of our lives on energy. Not only does energy enable the development, growth, and flourishing of our societies, but it is also the primary commodity that —“allows minorities to access social intelligence and make their voices heard,”— thus framing access to energy as a matter of social justice rather than merely a privileged resource for certain social groups.

From this perspective, the current development of large-scale, concentrated energy power grids, as well as the accessibility of certain high-performance energy production processes, should be considered a common good rather than something controlled by a small group of companies.

In this project, the artist investigates the frictions at the micro-levels of energy generation models to collectively create an “anti-monument” of today’s system. Alongside the other selected proposals, we believe that Gyujin Lee’s work will foster meaningful exchanges that can be shared with all our communities.

Screen-Based Experience — Permacomputing and Digital Sobriety

Selected artist: David Lazar
Project: interference_commons

David Lazar’s proposal challenges the idea of permacomputing by artistically exploring a future in which artificial intelligence brings us together rather than alienating and radicalising us. In his project, screens, servers, AI models, and audiences work together to imagine a different paradigm for technology: from accessibility design to algorithmic transparency, from collective decision-making strategies to decentralised processing power, and from sustainable technical solutions to privacy and digital sovereignty.

Through his proposal, everyone is invited to question their own day-to-day relationship with the ongoing technological waves that our societies seem to accept uncritically.

The Solar Futures partners are very happy to host this residency, which presents such an interesting challenge.

Live Performance — New Imaginaries for Political and Societal Organisation

Selected artist: Carolin Schnurrer
Project: Orbiting Other Rhythms

In the project “Orbiting Other Rhythms,” by recalling the scold’s bridle —“a metal muzzle used to punish women accused of speaking too loudly or challenging social order”— the artist brings into the present discussion a series of stories about conflicts between different mindsets, strong desires for control and the imposition of power, arising from opposing ways of looking at the same world.

The performance connects to an ongoing research process that questions how deeply the human body should relate to the Earth—relationships that our societies have largely forgotten, yet which we increasingly recognize as necessary to remember and protect.

The proposed performance presents multiple layers of technical complexity, supported by experience and artistry. We are very happy to cross paths with Carolin Schnurrer and would love to support her and share these ideas within our communities in this first edition of the Solar Futures project.

Ecosystem

Here are other artists working on the themes, topics and values of Solar Futures.

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