Artists and collectives from or based in Switzerland are invited to submit proposals for a fully-funded residency at CERN
Arts at CERN and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia welcome proposals for Connect, an annual residency programme for artists with distinct interest in an interdisciplinary approach and strong motivation for learning more about the modes of scientific thinking and fundamental science. The goal of the residency is to invite Swiss artists to immerse themselves in the Laboratory’s community and to engage in close dialogue with scientists, engineers, and staff at CERN.
The Connect residency consists of a fully funded residency that offers support to an artist or artist collective to spend 2 months at CERN and 1 month remotely, with the support of a scientific partner, and the curation and mentoring of the Arts at CERN curator and team. Artists interested in applying to the Connect residency are invited to submit a project proposal that combines research and production. The scope of this proposal will include a research period of two months at CERN and a development phase in the form of a remote residency to define and produce a new artwork.
Connect provides a fully funded residency at CERN for one artist or artist collective, including the following support and conditions:
- A production stipend of CHF 15,000.
- Living expenses for two months at CERN, Geneva. The third month of the residency will take place remotely.
- Travel costs and accommodation within a fixed budget for the artistic residency period at CERN.
- In the case of an artist collective, all these costs will be split between the members. A maximum of 2 members of a collective can be hosted at the same time as residents.
- Additionally, parents can apply for financial support of CHF 1,000 per month at most to co-finance childcare. The applicant is asked to provide an approximate budget for all expenses in advance.
An artist will be considered “Swiss” if they hold Swiss nationality or have their residence in Switzerland. The call encourages Swiss artists who meet any of the following criteria to apply:
- Artists from the fields of visual arts, sound art, design, and interactive media, and meeting Pro Helvetia’s general criteria:
– A convincing body of work and track record.
– A significant footprint in the Swiss arts scene. - Artists interested in the cultural significance of scientific research and technology.
- Artists interested in extending their connection with the field of physics and entering into dialogue with scientists, engineers and staff at CERN.
- Artists with a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and flexibly across disciplinary boundaries.
- Artists questioning the traditional forms of dialogue with other fields of research, who are keen to ask innovative questions across disciplines.
- Artists interested in CERN’s community and the interaction with its social fabric, its history, and narratives.
- Artists whose work and proposal aim to reflect on new models of social enquiry, the potential synergies between art and science, and to offer challenging methods of exchange and enquiry.
The selected artist or artist collective for the Connect residency will be expected to:
- Engage in research based on the proposal submitted for the Connect call for applications.
- Complete the residency period at CERN and be in contact with the scientific partners and the Arts at CERN curatorial team during the second phase of the remote residency.
- Meet regularly with the CERN scientific partner to discuss the artistic research process and production, in addition to working with other scientists.
- Give one talk and/or workshop during the residency.
- Finalise the artwork resulting from the residency within the six months following the residency.
- Support the Arts at CERN curatorial team on the evaluation and report of the residency within the six months following the residency.
The application should be written in English and submitted via the online forms on this website, which requires the following elements:
- Personal details: name, address, contact details.
- An artist dossier with the most relevant artworks or projects, including a brief statement and the artist’s biography.
- Project proposal consisting of:
– Project description (maximum of 1200 words) that describes the project you intend to undertake during the residency at CERN. The scope of this proposal should include a research period of two months at CERN and a development phase in the form of a remote residency to define and produce a new artwork.
– Project summary (maximum of 300 words)
– Project motivation (maximum of 600 words) that outlines your motivation to apply for this residency and your interest in the CERN community and context in relation to your practice.
The selection will be based on the evaluation of the application and project proposal by a jury of cultural experts and scientists, whose names will be announced after the call. By entering this competition, applicants accept these terms and conditions.
Deadline for the application: 11th November 2024 (by 11:59 PM CET, UTC+2).
Announcement of the jury’s decision: January 2025. The jury’s decision is final and will be published on the Arts at CERN and Pro Helvetia websites.
Residency period: second half of 2025. The final residency period will be discussed with the team of Arts at CERN.
Connect is the collaboration framework between CERN and Pro Helvetia that supports and promotes the dialogue between artists and scientists within the Laboratory’s context.
