News

Creative Coding Utrecht (CCU) and Amarte invite Netherlands-based artists to apply for Practices of Alliance: a research-driven residency for an artist working at the intersection of art, technology, and ecology. The residency takes place between the end of May and July 2026, primarily at Hof van Cartesius in Utrecht, and concludes with a one-week Summer Camp at Artphy in Groningen. Through an open-ended research trajectory, a selected artist will develop site-specific, scalable prototypes (e.g., performances, installations) that explore the transformative potential of making-with human and more-than-human others.

You can apply to this open call via this form.

Deadline: April 30, 23:59.

Theme
The residency explores the (re)generative power of kinship. Inspired by Donna Haraway’s notion of making-kin, the programme extends towards making-with: from recognising interconnectedness to actively co-creating across human and more-than-human worlds. Relating becomes a method and a practice of world-building: actively shaping ways of thinking, learning and living. What new rituals might emerge if we form new alliances across borders, disciplines and species boundaries?

Practices of Alliance creates a space for such alliances to take shape. Through artistic research and engagement with digital technologies, artists are invited to develop research trajectories that embrace slowness, uncertainty, and the challenges of navigating different materialities, rhythms, and scale. Direct observation, experimentation, reflection, and collective exchange guide this process.

We invite proposals that engage with (but are not limited to) the following thematic lines:

• Attuning: practices and tools to sense and engage with more-than-human worlds.

• Caring: cultivating rituals of multispecies care, responsibility and community.

• Symbiosis: imagining and prototyping forms of coexistence with more-than-human life through assemblages of humans, technologies, materials, and environments.

For who?

We are looking for one Netherlands-based artist working across disciplines such as:

• media art, creative coding, audiovisual practices

• speculative or social design

• music, performance, or embodied practices

• interdisciplinary and community-based work

You:

• have a research-oriented artistic practice

• engage with questions around ecology, technology, and more-than-human relations

• are open to process-based work, experimentation, and collaboration

• are interested in site-responsive and relational approaches

Timeline
Period: May/June to July 2026 (starting date and exact period to be decided in conversation)

• Phase 1: Situating & Sensing (1-2 weeks)

Exploring the context of CCU and the Hof van Cartesius as a network of social, ecological, material relationships.

• Phase 2: Focusing & Prototyping (5-6 weeks)

Developing a research trajectory emerging from situated encounters, supported by the CCU team and selected mentors. This phase also includes informal presentation and knowledge exchange moments, such as meet-ups, workshops of other participatory formats.

• Phase 3: Zoöp Camp (1 week: July 12th to 18th)

A collective working period at Artphy. This phase foregrounds communal practices, embodiment, and immersion in the new ecological and cultural context.

• Phase 4: Reflection & Documentation (1 week)

Reflecting on the process and crafting documentation.

What to expect?
Process & Learning:

• A residency program situated within CCU’s ongoing experience as a Zoöp: an organisational model that integrates more-than-human life into artistic programming and governance.

• Regular group sessions, peer-feedback, and exchange moments combining technical, ecological, and embodied approaches.

• Mentorship by artist-researcher and CCU’s Speaker for the Living Theun Karelse (eco-technical systems, more-than-human communication) and interdisciplinary artist and educator Camille Barton (embodied practice, feminism, ecological and social transformation).

• A one-week immersive camp in the rural context of Artphy, focused on collective working, exchange, and reflection.

Network & Exchange

• Working alongside a cohort of local and international artists, partaking in parallel trajectories and joining the Camp.

• Access to CCU’s wider community of artists, makers, and local stakeholders, enabling collaboration and knowledge-sharing.

• Presentation moments such as meet-ups, workshops, and presentations.

Workspaces & Facilities:

• Workspace and screens for individual and collaborative work.

• Access to a garden and outdoor studio spaces for site-specific experiments and direct engagement with a biodiverse environment.

• Shared kitchen and common lunch area.

• A bike is available to enable sustainable and flexible local travel between the workspaces and the city.

Technical & Production Support:

• Access to the workshops in the Hof van Cartesius, including woodwork, electronics, and digital fabrication, including a 3D printer.

• Tools, hardware, and CPU power for prototyping and development.

• Reused and up-cycled materials to minimise waste.

• Production assistance from CCU’s team, including logistical and technical guidance.

Fees & Financial support:

• Artist fee of €3.750 (excl. VAT)

• Budget for material costs €600

• Compensation of travel costs up to €400

How to apply
You can apply for the open call until April 30, 23:59. Click this link and use the form to submit your application. The application form is in English.

For questions please contact info[at]creativecodingutrecht.nl

Attachments
We would like to get an impression of your idea(s). In the application form, we therefore ask you to provide a description of your proposal. In addition, please include the following attachments:

• CV (max. 2 A4)

• Portfolio (max. 8 A4)

Review
The applications will be reviewed by a selection committee composed by members from Amarte and CCU. The selection will be based on the following criteria:

• Artistic quality and research approach

• Relevance to the theme and process-based methodology

• Openness to collaboration and exchange

• Engagement with ecological and relational practices

• Diversity of perspectives and backgrounds

A selection commission will review the applications and the selected artist will be contacted in the first half of May.

About CCU

Creative Coding Utrecht is a platform for digital creativity, co-creation and collective learning. Working with digital designers, creative technologists, media artists, live coders, and musicians, it connects communities driven by sustainability. CCU’s mission is inspired upon techno-eco-feminist thought, permacomputing, which has shaped CCU’s programme of workshops, exhibitions, and residencies since 2020 and has been formalised through becoming a Zoöp in 2024.