These residencies are within the framework of the long-term project Beyond Matter, and will be hosted by three of the partner institutions: Hertz-Lab of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Tallinn Art Hall and Tirana Art Lab Center for Contemporary Art. On site, the residency fellows will develop an artistic production or theoretical concept that takes as its starting point the core questions of the Beyond Matter project. How can virtual reality tools and digitization contribute to developing artistic practices that question materiality and offer possible ways to shift the discourse into other dimensions like experience, visualization, imagination, sensory perception, atmosphere, or spirituality? How can artistic practices using virtual reality contribute to current political and social discourses? What is the potential of virtual reality within the art field? And how can virtual reality serve as a media basis for overcoming physicality and temporality in order to create something new based on today’s possibilities? What can VR stand for? Virtual Reality, Variable Relations, Vertical Radiation, Valid Readings, Vaporous Restoration, Visible Revision? With this residency we invite applicants to consider not only the multivalent applications of the latest representational systems, but also how they can be expanded. The future applications must be conceived as versatile as their fields of application are constituted. That is why the search is not for one answer, but for many solutions.

The residency provides artists and theoreticians working in the field of contemporary art from the EU and the Associated Countries with the opportunity to live and work in Karlsruhe, Tallinn, or Tirana for a period of two months. We want to stress expressly that not only cultural producers who work in the field of virtual media are being invited to apply, but all artists and theoreticians with variations of artistic and theoretical outcome. Project proposals developed in relation to and conversant with the local realities at each of the locations will be prioritized. The residents will have access to the local institutional infrastructures and each residency will result in a statements presentation.

For the two-month stay each location offers the residents particular resources and opportunities:

Hertz-Lab of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe: Workshops (wood, metal, electrical), dark projection room, set-up areas for larger installations, green screen studio, sound studio with multichannel audio projection, and a volumetric capturing system available by appointment.

Tallinn Art Hall: Opportunity to hold workshops, sessions, and/or seminars related to the overall themes of the project and in particular on the challenges with the latest XR applications, networking opportunities, research support, support for regional travel, space for workshops and seminars.

Tirana Art Lab – Center for Contemporary Art: Research and production of artworks engaging with the overall themes of the project and involving public space/interventions in public space relating to the city of Tirana using Extended Reality technologies.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions for which no uniform European regulation has been adopted so far, please be aware that the physical stay during the residency period may have to be postponed. Thus for the application at ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe we are also offering the possibility of applying with an online project instead, that does not have to be implemented on site, but could be shown on a hosted virtual exhibition platform. The platform is a virtual replica of the so-called Museum Balcony, a feature in the exhibition space at ZKM | Karlsruhe. Therefore, we encourage you to respond site-specifically. Please note that the implementation will be done by a coder, whose work will be paid for out of the production budget.

 Each residency is fully funded and includes travel, accommodation, a stipend, and production costs. More detailed information upon request.

Only applications in English will be accepted and these must be submitted by e-mail until April 30, 2021.

All information here.