Open Call for Artists: The Big Green Project

Soil is one of the most sensitive and large organs on this planet. Disturbed ecosystems as well as disturbed balances are reflected in their deteriorating quality. Polluted soils, deforestation, degraded soil, conflict over resources, and agricultural monoculture: a lot of the climate change processes that are occurring can be linked to soil. At the same time, soil stores more than three times the amount of carbon than there is present in the atmosphere. Wetlands can be more effective carbon sinks than forests and a thriving soil improves the resilience against climate change, biodiversity and water quality.

SOIL is a collaboration between five partners: Riga, Wroclaw, Ancona, Faro and Budapest, within the framework of The Big Green. The Big Green is a four-year project supported by Creative Europe that brings together artists and collectives interested in environmental conservation, scientists and NGOs. Together, they experiment with ways to use art to promote sustainability and to innovate the arts in ecologically sensitive ways. In line with this purpose, the works will not be exhibited on an international tour.

This open call encourages artists to reimagine and reshape the relationship between soil, humans and the rapidly changing balances on this earth.

Whilst the guiding theme of this open call is soil, artists are free to explore this topic through their preferred angle and local settings. They should investigate their local (issues around) soil, and to be open to adjusting their practice to the site-specific conditions of this location.

How does it work?

• If selected, artists participating in SOIL commit to a collaborative process taking place between September 2024 and August 2025. In this period they will create a work with an environmental angle through an eco-sensitive process. Most of the collaboration will be with a local commissioning partner but there will be some online and offline moments together with all five artists and commissioners throughout the season. At the initial stage of the project, all artists will meet in person to agree on the common thread motif of the five artworks. The meeting is scheduled at the recreation and conference complex “Ratnieki” of Līgatne Parish of Cēsi County from August 23 to 27, 2024, attendance is mandatory.

Open call in Hungary

• Artists based in Hungary are invited to create a new artwork for SOIL, a project under The Big Green initiative, wherein works will be exclusively showcased within their respective countries and collectively presented digitally at the Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus in September 2025.
  • Conditions
    • You are an artist, working in Hungary.
    • You are willing to share your working methods with fellow artists, the public and partners that are part of this open call. These working methods will be shared during the digital / remote presentation of your work during Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus and through representative documentation during and after the open call.
    • You are able to participate in the artist retreat during 23-27 august 2024 (Latvia). Travel, accommodation and meals will be covered, fees are included in the project fee.
    • You are able to commit to a production process between September 2024 and August 2025.
    • You are free to determine the specific time period in which you will work together with your commissioning partner, as the fee won’t cover this whole time period. But take into account a few (online) meetings that can take place during this time period. These online sessions will occur between partners and artists and as well as among artists to share about the process and exchange experiences and inspiration.
    • You are able to create a digital or remote presentation of your work that will be shown during Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus, in september 2025.
  • What will you get?
    • A cross-border and cross-disciplinary opportunity for exchange and artistic enrichment with fellow artists, including a 6-day artist retreat in Latvia facilitated by international practitioners.
    • The opportunity to develop and/or expand your artistic practice through an ecological and site-specific focus.
    • The exhibition of your work in your country/city. For Pro Progressione this will take place in July 2024, at the Valley of Arts festival.
    • A digital or remote presentation of your work during during Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus in September 2025.
    • An artist fee and production budget, in which the costs of travel and stay during the artist retreat are included.
    • The possibility to work within a European context.

Open Call in Latvia

• They invite artists living in Latvia to apply for the creation of a new work of art in the “Soil” project.
  • Conditions
    • During the course of the project, from August 2024 to September 2025, artists will work on the creation of new work using environmentally friendly methods, as well as involve local scientists and/or community representatives in the creation of the work.
    • Each artist will work on his work individually, but at the same time consultative online and face-to-face meetings are planned for all artists and organizers represented by the five countries.
    • At the initial stage of the project, all artists will meet face-to-face to agree on the common thread motif of the five artworks. The meeting is scheduled at the recreation and conference complex “Ratnieki” of Līgatne Parish of Cēsi County from August 23 to 27, 2024, attendance is mandatory.
  • What will you get?
    • The selected artist/association of artists will receive a 3,500 EUR reward (including taxes) for the creation of the creative work, as well as guaranteed production costs (the amount of the specific amount will be specified after the selection of the artists).

Open Call in Portugal

• The work created in Portugal will be exhibited at Mar Motto, the art festival dedicated to ocean conservation organized by Sciaena, in June 2025, in Faro. Additionally, all works will be shown together in digital or remote format at the Homo Novus Contemporary Theater Festival (Latvia) in September 2025.
  • Conditions
    • Artist or collective based in mainland Portugal, preferably in the southern region.
    • You are available to share your working methods with other artists/collectives, the public and partners who are part of this call. These methods will be shared during the digital/remote presentation of the work during the Homo Novus Contemporary Theater Festival and through representative documentation during and after the call.
    • You are available to participate in the retreat between August 23 and 27, 2024 in Latvia. Travel, accommodation and meals will be covered by the project.
    • You are available for the production/creation process between September 2024 and August 2025. The specific time you will work, in collaboration with Sciaena, will be determined jointly and depending on your availability, as the amount will not fully cover this period. Online sessions (between partners and artists or between artists) to share ideas and information about the process and exchange experiences and inspirations, may take place during this period (September 24 – August 2025).
    • It is available to create a digital or remote presentation of the work that will be shown during the Homo Novus Contemporary Theater Festival, in September 2025.
  • What will you get?
    • A cross-border and interdisciplinary opportunity for exchange and artistic enrichment, including a 5-day retreat in Latvia facilitated by international professionals.
    • The opportunity to develop and/or expand your artistic practice through an ecological and site-specific focus.
    • The exhibition of the work developed at Mar Motto, in Faro, in June 2025.
    • A digital or remote presentation of the work developed, during the Homo Novus Contemporary Theater Festival in September 2025.
    • A creative fee and production budget, in which travel and accommodation costs during the retreat are included.
    • The possibility of working within a European context.

Open Call in Poland

• Conditions
  • You are an artist, working in Poland
  • You are willing to share your working methods with fellow artists, the public and partners that are part of this open call. These working methods will be shared during the digital / remote presentation of your work during Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus and through representative documentation during and after the open call.
  • You are able to participate in the artist retreat during 23-27 August 2024 (Latvia). Travel, accommodation and meals will be covered, fees are included in the project fee. Please note that English is spoken during the retreat, co communicatory command of the language is necessary.
  • You are able to commit to a production process between September 2024 and June 2025.
  • You are free to determine the specific time period in which you will work together with your commissioning partner (Art Transparent), as the fee won’t cover this whole time period. But take into account a few (online) meetings that can take place during this time period. These online sessions will occur between partners and artists and as well as among artists to share about the process and exchange experiences and inspiration.
  • You are able to create a digital or remote presentation of your work that will be shown during Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus, in September 2025.
• What will you get?
  • A cross-border and cross-disciplinary opportunity for exchange and artistic enrichment with fellow artists, including an artist retreat in Latvia (23-27 August 2024) facilitated by international practitioners.
  • The opportunity to develop and/or expand your artistic practice through an ecological and site-specific focus.
  • The exhibition of your work at in Wrocław at Survival Art Review in June 2025.
  • A digital or remote presentation of your work during during Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus in September 2025.
  • An artist fee and production budget, in which the costs of travel and stay during the artist retreat are included.

For more information, visit zusa.