The SMACH Biennale

The SMACH Biennale is seeking project proposals for artistic, sculptural, and installation-based interventions. The 10 winning projects will be brought to life with the awarded prize and showcased at various Alpine locations in Val Badia, set against the unique backdrop of the UNESCO Dolomites, from July to September 2025:

01/12/2024 – Announcement of the Call
02/03/2025 – Submission deadline for the project proposals
28/03/2025 – Announcement of the winners
01-08/06/2025 – Installation of the works (maximum 5 days during this period)
12/07/2025 – Inauguration
14/09/2025 – End of the exhibition
by 20/09/2025 – Dismantling of the works

For the seventh edition, the organizers have chosen a Ladin term that refers to an object: ‘la cu’. In Italian, ‘la cu’ in Italian is called “cote”, in English “whetstone”, in German “Schleifstein”. Different words refer to the same tool: the stone used to sharpen the scythe to cut the grass in the meadows.

The 10 winning projects will be brought to life with the awarded prize and showcased at various Alpine locations in Val Badia, set against the unique backdrop of the UNESCO Dolomites, from July to September 2025. The 10 selected artistic interventions will each be awarded a prize of 2,000 Euro per artist/collective (net amount, taxes deducted).

During the installation period of the selected works, authors will be offered half-board accommodation (including breakfast and dinner) for a total of no more than 5 days (4 nights) and for a maximum of 2 people in the case of collectives or informal groups. Attendance at the set-up, assembly and placement of the winning works is compulsory and is to be scheduled between 1 and 8 June 2025, choosing the preferred period within the period indicated.

The call is open to individuals, collectives, informal groups of any provenance, age, background.

Each participant may submit a maximum of 2 projects. However, in the event of a win, only one can be selected.

SMACH Biennale is a disseminated art exhibition that, every two years since 2012, has made a series of works conceived and installed in relation to some of the most beautiful places in Val Badia and the UNESCO Dolomites freely accessible to the public. In the six editions organized so far, we have presented 60 installations (many of which are now permanently exhibited at SMACH Val dl’Ert) that interact with nature, history, identity, and the culture of the territory, conveying non-stereotypical visions of the Alpine landscape. The Biennale aims to spark visitors’ interest both in contemporary visual art and in the locations where the artworks are set.