Organismo 2026 | Art in Applied Critical Ecologies
This is not just a project; it’s an experimental ecosystem where art, research, and activism converge in a six-month applied research program.
Organismo | Art in Applied Critical Ecologies is an experimental program of applied research developed by TBA21–Academy and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. It weaves together situated investigation, critical theory, and speculative practice through a series of applied case studies developed in alliance with cultural, academic, and civic partners. Organismo operates on the hypothesis that artistic and interdisciplinary work can function as a form of infrastructural activism—going beyond critical reflection to activate tangible processes of ecological reparation.
Organismo 2026 is structured around five case studies and a transversal study module. To develop the case studies, five interdisciplinary working cells have been formed by researchers selected through an international open call. Over the course of six months (January–June 2026), the selected researchers engage in a hybrid program combining weekly online sessions with three short on-site residencies. Throughout the process, the researchers are joined by an expanded network of experts, local agents, and civic organizations that help shape and guide the initiative.
Organismo is rooted in the long-standing commitment of TBA21–Academy to promote artistic experimentation and collective work as forces capable of catalyzing the systemic transformations needed to inhabit the planet otherwise. In partnership with Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Organismo assembles a transdisciplinary ecosystem of cultural agents, researchers, public bodies, and local communities to prototype infrastructural responses to the entangled urgencies of our time.
The 2026 open call for participating researchers is now closed.
You can still join Organismo’s 2026 public program - more information below.
CASE STUDIES 2026
The End of the Real: Building Tools to Navigate Reality in the Absence of a Common Truth
With Domestic Data Streamers
Facilitated by Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
In collaboration with Observatorio Complutense de la Desinformación and Retina
Planetary Theatre of Tourism: Beyond the Performative Regimes of Unproductivity
With Grandeza Studio
Facilitated by Casa Planas and Casa de la Arquitectura
In collaboration with CRIGUST - Geografías Críticas de la Urbanización, Sostenibilidad y Turistificación, Universidad de las Islas Baleares Associated media: Cultura Inquieta
Last Resorts: How Climate Imaginaries Come to Matter
With Gary Zhexi Zhang
Facilitated by the BC3 Basque Centre for Climate Change
Associated media: Critical Playground
Premium Stuff: Storage Ecologies and the Cronologistics of Conservation
With Andrea Muniáin
Facilitated by TBA21
In collaboration with Hangar, centre de producció i recerca
Associated media: Cultura Inquieta
Florestania: Communal Governance Systems for Territorial Reparation
With Paulo Tavares
Facilitated by Centro de Arte Fundación María José Jove
In collaboration with Fundación RIA and Fundación Montescola
Associated media: Critical Playground
CRITICAL ENCOUNTERS
Critical Encounters is a seven-session online series conceived as a space of exchange and collective reflection around the main theoretical, methodological, and critical axes of Organismo 2026. These weekly sessions, running online on Wednesdays (18:00–19:30 CET) from February 4 to March 18, 2026, bring together artists, researchers, and guest experts to assemble a practical toolkit for operating the world otherwise.
Session 1 - February 4: Keller Easterling
Session 2 - February 11: Andrea Muniáin feat Fernando Domínguez Rubio
Session 3 - February 18: Gary Zhexi Zhang feat Aslak Aamot Helm
Session 4 - February 25: Grandeza Studio feat Patricia Reed
Session 5 - March 4: Domestic Data Streamers feat Ben Ditto
Session 6 - March 11: Paulo Tavares feat Imani Jacqueline Brown
Session 7 - March 18: Chus Martínez
PUBLIC PROGRAM
Between January and June 2026, Organismo will offer a five-session program open to the broader public to create spaces for exchange with an expanded audience. These gatherings will take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays from 18:30 to 20:00 CET, at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and other venues across Madrid.
Friday, January 30, 2026, 6–7 PM
Concert: Polifeme, I m a g o s o n i
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Auditorium
Free entry until the full capacity is reached.
