Call for Artists: The Mediterranean as the Climate Hotspot Programme

MATCH will support 10 artists to develop, co-create and present new artworks to empower community action on climate change, through transnational artistic residencies and exhibitions. The selected artists will also take part in an integrated linked capacity building programme, which offers opportunities for shared learning on cultural and grassroots work that responds proactively to the climate emergency. A feedback learning process will lead to the design of a (policy) framework focusing on climate change, culture and the arts.

Benefits

• Artistic Production and Presentation:
  • 1 x month-long international research and production residency alongside one other international artist. There are five residency options that you can choose from in Cyprus, Greece, Spain, France or Turkey, and each participating artist will be selected for one residency. Here, artists will undertake research and begin to produce new artworks in response to their experiences.
  • Post-production of final artwork(s). After the residency, each artist will have 4 months to work on the ideas and artworks created during their residency and complete their work for public presentation.
  • 1 x Digital Reflection. Also in the period after the residency, with the support from the D6:EU team and a Digital Curator, the artists will develop an online presentation of their artworks and ideas. D6:EU will support each artist to identify a local creative to work with them to develop their digital reflection. This could be a critical writer, a digital artist, a researcher, a videographer, a photographer or an editor. Curatorial support will be offered through group sessions and one-to-one meetings.
  • 1 x Exposition. Following the period of post-production, the artists will return to the country where they had their residency for one week to prepare an exposition of their finished work in a community garden setting.
• Capacity Building:
  • 5 x International Capacity Building Workshops for all artists and partners. Each 2-day workshop will offer talks, interactive workshops and site visits exploring the themes of MATCH from different perspectives:
  • Athens, Greece (3-5 October 2025): Tools to measure and evaluate the environmental impact of art and culture
  • Nicosia, Cyprus (2-4 November 2025): Legal frameworks governing climate action at local and international levels
  • Marseille, France (21-23 January 2026): Community gardens and urban greening: community responses as a new paradigm of citizen involvement
  • Barcelona, Spain (4-5 March 2026): Climate migration, social inclusion and equity in the Mediterranean
  • Turin, Italy (14-15 April 2027): Communication and advocacy: raising environmental awareness with stakeholders through culture. The workshop will conclude with a final public conference presenting the results of the project.
  • 1 x study visit in Izmir, Turkey (7-8 May 2026): a 2-day study visit to the K2 Urla Breathing Zone, Izmir

Funding Information

• Artist Fee: €6.000,,00
• Production budget: €600,00 (including expenses for workshops, research and materials)
• Travel, Accommodation and Subsistence for 1 month in a selected residency space and 1 week for the exhibition
• The travel will be booked from the city of residence identified in your application form
• Access to working spaces for preparation of the project
• Free attendance at 5 Capacity Building Workshops and a Study Visit, including travel, accommodation and subsistence
• Logistical, curatorial and networking support during your residency and exhibition
• Curatorial support to develop a digital reflection on your artwork, and up to 5 days of time for a local creative to support you to develop this digital project
• Promotion on MATCH social media, website and newsletter channels

Eligibility Criteria

• This is an Open Call to select 10 artists based in the Eligible Mediterranean countries of the Creative Europe programme.
• In addition, all applicants must be:
  • Proficient in English language
  • Aged 18 or older
  • Based in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain or Tunisia
  • Submit all application documents requested on the application form
  • Commitment to participate in all activities and evaluation processes
• Key considerations:
  • This is a transnational project. Selected artists will be encouraged to create mobile works that are environmentally conscious
  • MATCH promotes participatory methodologies. Artists will be expected to engage with local communities in ethical ways that feel appropriate to the research and are not extractive
  • English is the primary language across MATCH. Artists will be supported to communicate effectively with speakers of other languages as part of the development, production and presentation of their work
  • Artists can either produce solo projects or may wish to collaborate with the other MATCH artist they are in residence with The MATCH residencies are kindly supported by a range of national and European funders. In addition to the considerations above, of the 10 selected artists, they will select at least:
    • 2 artists from Cyprus (including one artist from the Turkish Cypriot community)
    • 1 artist from France
    • 1 artist from Greece
    • 1 artist from Spain
    • As well as 5 artists based in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain or Tunisia

Selection Criteria

• Selection will be based on:
  • Quality of artistic practice
  • Quality of response to the questions in the application form
  • Experience of participatory and socially-engaged practice
  • Experience of collaboration with other artists and across sectors
  • Demonstrable interest in the role of contemporary arts in heritage contexts, with particular reference to the themes of the programme

For more information, visit MATCH.