Pro Progressione invites artists, who work in Hungary, to create a new work for SOIL.

SOIL is a collaboration between five commissioning partners in Riga, Wroclaw, Ancona, Faro and Budapest. These five commissioning partners are collaborating within the framework of The Big Green. The Big Green is a four-year Creative Europe project that unites environmentally engaged artists, scientists, NGO’s and scientists. Together we experiment with ways of using art to promote sustainability and innovate the arts in an eco-sensitive manner. In line with this purpose, the works will not go on an international tour or a group exhibition. In an attempt to explore alternative ways of touring, this open call will consist of a physical presentation of your work in your respective country only. In addition, all the works will be shown together in a digital or remote presentation at the Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus (Latvia) in September 2025. 

About the Open Call

Soil is one of the most sensitive and large organs on this planet. Disturbed ecosystems as well as disturbed balances are reflected in its 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. 

This open call encourages artists to reimagine and reshape the relationship between soil, humans and the rapidly changing balances on this earth. Is it a relation characterized by existential threats, or can we imagine positive exchanges between our species and the soil?

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

In order to inspire ecological imagination, we need to inspire change and raise awareness. Artistic imagination stimulates (re)imagination, both within the ecological field as well as in and beyond the arts. With SOIL we aim to contribute to this (re)imagination, hence the topic and eco-sensitive proces of this open call. Next to that, we encourage the artist to document their process as a means to showcase their creative process and working methods. This documentation will be used in the digital or remote presentation of the work during Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus as well as a means to communicate the developments and lessons of this project to Creative Europe. 

The five works that will eventually make up SOIL are unique and yet related through the topic of soil and their shared approach of a site-specific focus. In addition, there are some moments of exchange with fellow artists and the European network in which you will work. Five artists or collectives (one in each participating country) will be selected to simultaneously create their own works locally. SOIL is open to any art discipline, but partners might select with regard their respective expertise.

If selected, artists participating in SOIL commit to a collaborative process taking place between September 2024 and August 2025. In this period you'll create a work with an environmental angle through an eco-sensitive process. Most of your collaboration will be with your local commissioning partner but there will be some online and offline moments together with all five artists and commissioners throughout the season. The collaborating partners in Riga, Wroclaw, Ancona, Faro and Budapest are, respectively: Latvijas Jaunā Teātra Institūts, Art Transparent, Marche Teatro, Sciaena and Pro Progressione.

This project includes an artist fee and production budget. Group application is allowed. But please note that the organizer will offer the same fee as for individuals.

Conditions of participation (please read carefully):

• 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.
  

This call closes on May 20th 2024 (23:59). You can apply by filling out this form. Applications after this date will not be taken into consideration. 

For further inquiries, please contact: