DISAPPEARING LANDSCAPE. Art-Residence 2025. OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS

Association for nature conservation MACHAON INTERNATIONAL and Ukrainian-Slovak HUB are launching an open call for art residence in Slovakia as part of the Creative Europe project called “OASis – Open Art Spaces in Synergy”. We invite all interested artists and other creative people from the European Union, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and other countries – beneficiaries of the Creative Europe programme to apply for artist-in-residence program in the spectacular High Tatra Mountains region which will take place in the period from 26 August – 7 September 2025.

We offer 6 residency spots in art residence Machaon in the village of Ganovce. The leading theme of the art residence is artist‘s reflection on values of biodiversity and landscape in sub-mountain areas and use of art to raise awareness about existential threats (e.g. uncontrolled construction, excessive logging) to unique ecosystems and landscape integrity at the foothills of the Tatra Mountains (Poprad valley).

The art residence aims also to promote interdisciplinary exchange and encourage creativity and local community interaction. As the first step, we recommend to learn more about the High Tatras region and its challenges by reading an article published by Machaon International and

watching a short film.

APPLICATIONS OPEN until 30 March, 2025

Who/what are we looking for:

We welcome applications from any individual artist or a small group of artists from the following spheres:

• Enamel and ceramics (we can provide equipment, esp. enamel oven)
• Painting and drawing (especially caricature)
• Sculpture made from clay, stone (travertine) or wood
• Land-art
• Digital art and graphic design
• Photography and video
• Mixed media – combining different materials and techniques in a single artwork
• Music or theatre

Expectations towards the artist:

We welcome participants in any of the above-mentioned disciplines who are open to collaborative projects with other artists and local communities and who wish to become a part of the wider OASis residency programme community.

Selected participants must be physically present at the art-residence Machaon to create their art projects  in the period of 7 to 12 days during 26 August – 7 September 2025.

The residency activities include interaction within local communities, first of all Ukrainian refugees (this can be in the form of artist talk, involvement of refugees in master-classes, workshops, etc.). Moreover, the residency encourages co-creations  with other artists and creators.

Art-residency programmes will be concluded by creating an artistic output that will be both presented to the local audience in the vernissage event on 6 September 2025 in Ganovce or Poprad and in a joint exhibition of the OASis project in 2027.

The format of the works and their presentations will be decided by invited artists and the project team. The artistic outputs of the residency will be presented on webpages and social media of the partners and of the project itself.

This residency includes:

• A limited budget for travel of up to €300
• Accommodation in art-residence Machaon or in private houses in Ganovce
• Meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
• 2 excursions to mountains
• Access to an open-air workspace for the duration of the residency period
• An artist fee of €1000*
• Limited budget for production/material expenses (max. €300).
• Free access to all spaces and resources of the host institution (e.g. enamel oven)

The team at the host institution may provide occasional support to each project, but it is expected that the participating artist is reasonably autonomous in executing and producing all phases of his art project, which will be evaluated based on the portfolio from recent years.

IMPORTANT: *The artist fee of €1000 is the maximum amount whether the art-work created by one or more participating individuals. The artist fee includes taxes (artists have the obligation to pay tax in a country he is registered)

Our team members communicate in Slovak, Czech, Polish, German, English, Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian languages. Please indicate in the proposal language you are communicate.

Deadlines, criteria for selection

The open call is available from February 25 to March 30, 2025 until 11:59 PM. Proposals submitted after the specified deadline will not be considered.

The jury is composed of three members from Machaon International and Ukrainian-Slovak HUB, three members from partner OASis organizations and one external community member invited for this purpose. The jury will evaluate the proposals based on their originality, feasibility with respect to the Machaon International resource and a relevance towards the objectives of the project. We value projects that are inspired by deep understanding of value of biodiversity and landscape of Carpathian mountains. Within the OASis project, interaction with the community (refugees) and exchange with international artists are valued.

The results will be announced by Machaon International via email to the applicants. Due to the high volume of applications and the voluntary nature of the jury members, we do not provide individual feedback for each project.