TRAME VIVE / LIVING WEBS
Open Call for Artists – Culture Moves Europe Residency 2027
A sonic journey through roots, water and invisible worlds
Valchiusella, Piedmont, Italy
10 May – 6 June 2027 | 28 days
Tékhné APS is launching an international open call for three artists to take part in TRAME VIVE / LIVING WEBS, a 28-day interdisciplinary artistic residency in Valchiusella, a mountain valley in Piedmont, Italy.
TRAME VIVE explores the invisible ecologies that connect soil, water, roots, fungi, microorganisms, landscapes and human communities.
What happens beneath our feet? What relationships sustain an ecosystem beyond what we can immediately see? How can sound, words and visual practices make these hidden connections perceptible?
During the residency, three international artists will work together with Tékhné’s artistic team and a naturalist, combining field research, observation and collective creation. The process will contribute to the development of an immersive headphone performance and site-specific installation, in which artistic research and ecological knowledge meet.
The residency has two main objectives: to explore, through artistic and field research into invisible ecologies, and to create, through a collective process leading towards a new artistic work.
THE PLACE
The residency will take place in Valchiusella, where forests, water systems, soil, small villages and local knowledge will become sources for artistic research.
Residents will work across different locations in the valley, using indoor working spaces as well as surrounding natural environments for observation, experimentation and site-specific research.
The 28-day duration is conceived as a continuous period of immersion, allowing time for exploration, exchange, experimentation and collective creation.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for three artists or cultural professionals with different and complementary practices:
1 Sound Designer / Musician
1 Poet / Playwright / Writer for Performance
1 Visual Artist
We are interested in artists who are curious about interdisciplinary creation, site-specific practices and the relationships between artistic research, ecology and landscape.
Previous experience specifically related to environmental themes is welcome but not required. We are equally interested in artists who wish to bring their own practice into dialogue with these themes for the first time.
What matters is a willingness to research, experiment and work collaboratively, allowing the three artistic languages to influence one another during the creative process.
Residents may be emerging or established artists and cultural professionals, with no specific educational background or level of professional experience required by Culture Moves Europe.
ELIGIBILITY
Applicants must:
be 18 years old or older;
be legally resident in a Creative Europe country other than Italy, regardless of nationality;
be available to participate in the entire residency period, from 10 May to 6 June 2027;
be able to stay in Valchiusella for the full 28 consecutive days;
if selected, provide the documentation required by Culture Moves Europe, including a valid ID/passport and official proof of legal residence.
Culture Moves Europe requires all residents to participate at the same time and for the entire duration of the residency.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
The residency will combine artistic research, ecological observation and collective creation.
Residents will explore Valchiusella’s ecosystems together with naturalist Sara Grossano, investigating invisible ecological relationships and translating observations and scientific knowledge into artistic material.
The creative process will be led by Serena Bavo, director and founder of Tékhné APS, in dialogue with visual artist Otti and the three selected residents.
The project will move progressively from field research to dramaturgical and artistic development, experimentation and testing. The residency will also create opportunities for dialogue with local communities and contribute to Tékhné’s longer-term research into ecological narratives connecting art, science and community.
WHAT WE PROVIDE
Tékhné APS will provide:
accommodation in Valchiusella for the entire residency period;
working and rehearsal spaces;
access to natural sites for field and site-specific research;
artistic and scientific mentorship;
technical and organisational support;
local transportation required for residency activities;
opportunities for exchange with local communities, schools and organisations.
The residency follows Tékhné’s Environmental Protocol, encouraging train and green travel whenever possible, shared transportation and car-pooling, reduction and reuse of materials, avoidance of single-use plastics and digital communication.
FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
The residency is supported by Culture Moves Europe, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Goethe-Institut.
For each selected resident, the Culture Moves Europe grant includes a daily allowance of €30 per day for 28 days, as well as a travel allowance calculated according to the resident’s journey to the residency location. Additional top-ups may apply according to Culture Moves Europe eligibility criteria.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications must be submitted in English through the online application form.
Applicants will be asked to provide:
personal and eligibility information;
artistic profile and short biography;
motivation for participating in TRAME VIVE / LIVING WEBS;
information about their artistic practice and interest in interdisciplinary and ecological research;
CV in English;
a link to a portfolio, professional website or selected artistic works.
Application deadline: 2 September 2026, 23:59 CEST.
Selected applicants will subsequently be asked to provide the official documentation required for their participation in Culture Moves Europe.
SELECTION
Applications will be assessed by Tékhné APS according to:
quality and coherence of the applicant’s artistic practice;
motivation and relevance to the research themes of TRAME VIVE / LIVING WEBS;
interest in interdisciplinary and site-specific creation;
ability and willingness to collaborate within a multidisciplinary group;
potential contribution of the applicant’s artistic language to the overall creative process.
The selection will aim to create a complementary group of three artists, rather than simply identifying the three strongest individual applications.
ABOUT TÉKHNÉ APS
Tékhné APS has been working since 2010 at the intersection of performing arts, environmental awareness and community engagement. Its artistic practice includes site-specific projects and residencies in Valchiusella and Earthink Festival, dedicated to the relationship between performing arts, sustainability and communities.
TRAME VIVE / LIVING WEBS develops this research further by bringing international artistic perspectives into dialogue with the natural and human landscape of Valchiusella.
TRAME VIVE / LIVING WEBS is supported by Culture Moves Europe, a programme funded by the European Union and implemented by the Goethe-Institut.
