Open call! TBA21–Academy Artistic Residency in South America

Pivô Salvador. Photo: Ricardo Prado

Academy Residencies

Residencies

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TBA21–Academy continues its artistic commission program and expands it into a one-residency partnership with major Brazilian institutions, The Oceanic Art and Science Lab of the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo (LACO IOUSP) and Pivô, alongside European partners as a key Consortium Member of the S+T+ARTS Buen-TEK initiative.

The open call invites artists to engage in an artistic residency focused on art-driven innovation rooted in Indigenous knowledge, vernacular practices, and local technologies. Calling for artists based in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, and Uruguay, this residency explores how artistic research can respond to coastal transformations brought on by climate change.

Aligned with TBA21’s commitment to nurturing transdisciplinary cultural practices, the residency invites thoughtful, site-responsive proposals that reflect and respect the interconnectedness of human and more-than-human life. We invite artists to investigate how transgenerational knowledge and embodied coastal practices offer alternative ways of living in resonance with oceanic ecosystems.

The project is supported by the European Commission’s S+T+ARTS Buen-TEK, an initiative designed to bridge ancestral practices with contemporary technology to create innovations that honor both people and the planet, in which TBA21 acts as Consortium Member. Central to the project is the concept of Buen Vivir, a holistic Indigenous philosophy and Andean cosmology that emphasizes living in harmony with nature and community, advocating for interconnectedness and sustainability. The project is also influenced by the concept "Lo—TEK" (Watson, J., 2019), which explores local traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and how Indigenous cultures have created sustainable solutions for environmental challenges, highlighting Indigenous or vernacular engineering solutions as sophisticated and resilient technologies.

Building upon TBA21–Academy's long-standing commitment to fostering site-responsive artistic research, the residency in Brazil extends the foundation's dedication to exploring oceanic and coastal ecologies through art, developed through residency programs in Jamaica and Venice. The South American residency continues this trajectory, inviting artists to engage deeply with local knowledge systems and the pressing realities of climate-induced coastal transformations.

The residency program will support selected applicants through funding, guidance, and support from host institutions, European partners, and trans-local experts, but also through showcases, an ongoing peer-to-peer learning program, and dissemination activities. The 5-month residency will be developed between September 2025 and February 2026. Artists are not expected to work full-time on their projects, however, they will be asked to be present for at least 4 weeks at the host institution.

See details about the application process and the application forms here. You can apply in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.

TBA21–Academy’s residency programs are embedded in place-based research, fostering transdisciplinary encounters between art, science, and local knowledge systems. Projects emerging from the residency program include works by Sonia Levy, Leonor Serrano Rivas & Diego Delas (Venice); Joan Jonas, Susanne Winterling, Dineo Seshee Bopape, and Claudia Comte (Jamaica), as well as ongoing work by Carlos Casas, Adelita Husni-Bey, and Nandita Kumar.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Call for applications website HERE

Guide for applicants in Spanish HERE

Guide for residencies in Spanish HERE

Application form (in English, Spanish, and Portuguese) HERE

ABOUT THE RESIDENCY

Speculations, vernacular knowledge, and local technologies responding to coastal transformations due to climate change

Location: Ubatuba, São Paulo, and Salvador Bahia (Brazil)

Twins: Laboratory of Ocean Art and Science of the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo (IO-USP LACO) and Pivô Arte e Pesquisa

Liaison Mediator: TBA21

What interdependencies between humans and more-than-humans emerge at the low-altitude lands of the Brazilian coastlines? What vernacular practices and trans-generational knowledge demonstrate harmonious ways of living with the close oceanic ecosystem? We seek situated artistic propositions and speculations attuning to coastal transformations due to climate change.

APPLY HERE

IMPORTANT DATES

April 15, 2025: Open call launch
April 24, 2025, 3.30 pm: Info session in English
May 6, 2025, 3.30 pm: Info session in Spanish
May 27, 2025, 5 pm CET: Deadline for proposals submission
June 13: Selection of the shortlisted artists
June 25–July 2, 2025: Jury day and interviews with shortlisted artists
July 7, 2025: Winners announcement
September 2025: Buen-TEK Residencies program starts

ABOUT THE PARTNERS

Pivô is a non-profit cultural association that, since its foundation in 2012, carries out important activities related to research, training and artistic production, through its exhibitions, residence program, commissioned projects and educational actions. It is a meeting point between different generations of artists, cultural agents and the general public with the Brazilian artistic production. In 2023, it inaugurated its new headquarters in Salvador, establishing a strong network of relations and collaboration with local, national and international institutions.

The Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo (IOUSP) is a leading research and education center dedicated to the study of marine, coastal, and estuarine environments. Its work covers the main areas of oceanography: biological, physical, geological, and chemical, with advanced infrastructure in specialized laboratories. With nationally and internationally recognized undergraduate and graduate programs, the institute trains researchers and develops projects that expand the understanding of ocean dynamics and provide scientific support for the development of public policies related to the marine environment.

LACO – Oceanic Art and Science Laboratory is a transdisciplinary platform for collaboration among artists, scientists, and coastal communities, based at the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo (IOUSP) and developed as a line of action within the UNESCO Chair for Ocean Sustainability. Through residencies, exhibitions, public programs, and field activities, it fosters dialogue among different ways of knowing, expanding how we perceive, narrate, and inhabit marine environments.

ABOUT STARTS BUEN-TEK

S+T+ARTS (Science, Technology, and the Arts) is an initiative by the European Commission that highlights a nexus with extraordinarily high potential for innovation–an essential aspect of mastering the social, ecological, and economic challenges that Europe will be facing in the near future. S+T+ARTS Buen-TEK is S+T+ARTS’ first initiative in South America, exploring how Indigenous knowledge and advanced technologies can blend to tackle socio-environmental challenges and inspire new ways to build a more resilient future.