Organizer Information
PLACE Network is a European organization working to advance inclusive societies by centering the leadership, creativity, and expertise of people with migration backgrounds, operating across Europe and beyond at the intersection of culture, democracy, and socio-economic innovation through three strategic hubs: Arts, Culture & Society; Governance & Policymaking; and Socio-economic Inclusion. Since 2023, PLACE has coordinated the Emerging Leaders Artivism Alliance, a program supporting individuals with migration or displacement backgrounds who combine art and activism, run in partnership with the Community Arts Network (CAN) — an organization that enables and empowers changemakers applying the arts for social impact. Over successive cycles, the Alliance has built a network of artivists across Europe and Africa, and has evolved from a focus on individual capacity-building toward supporting collective, cross-border movement building.
Title & Description
Artivism Alliance: In Motion Open Call 2026
Artivism Alliance: In Motion is an open call supporting artivists of all ages in developing cross-border projects that combine artistic creation with social impact. Now in its fourth edition, the call marks a shift from PLACE's earlier focus on individual capacity-building toward resourcing groups of artivists to collaborate across borders and create together. Selected groups receive mentoring, access to the wider Artivism Alliance network, and micro-grants to move their ideas from concept to implementation, alongside an invitation to a residency intended to deepen connections and strengthen collaboration.
Theme
Cross-border, collaborative artivism: projects that use artistic creation — not simply a social theme — as a tool for social impact, assessed on both the geographic diversity of the collaborating team and the quality of their co-creation.
Categories
- Residency
- All Discipline
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- Multiple Disciplines
- Culture
- Art
Eligibility
- Open to groups of artists, creative practitioners, cultural professionals, arts and cultural organisations, and networks/hubs/collectives
- Groups must consist of 2 to 4 members
- Collaborators must come from at least 2 countries
- The project must engage local communities or audiences in at least one participating country
- At least one group member must be a current or former Artivism Alliance participant
- The project must use artistic creation itself (not just a social-impact theme) as the tool for impact; projects focused solely on artistic production without a clear social-impact dimension are not eligible
- Existing projects are eligible only if they incorporate a new, collaborative element
- The lead applicant must be an organisation or a registered freelancer/self-employed artist able to legally receive the micro-grant
- A secondary point of contact must also be named
- Full information (name, country of residence, organisational affiliation if applicable) must be provided for every group member
- All countries involved in the collaboration must be clearly specified
- The call particularly encourages applications from communities whose work is often under-resourced, including people of colour, Black and Indigenous peoples, women and gender-nonconforming individuals, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, and neurodivergent individuals
Program Benefits & Awards
- Micro-grant of up to €2,500 for cross-regional collaborations (group members based in at least 2 different regions, e.g. Africa–Europe, MENA–Africa, or MENA–Europe)
- Micro-grant of up to €1,500 for same-region collaborations (all group members based in the same region, e.g. Africa–Africa, MENA–MENA, or Europe–Europe)
- Mentoring throughout the program
- Access to the broader Artivism Alliance network
- Invitation to a residency (venue and date to be confirmed, planned for March 2027)
- Masterclass sessions to refine strategies
- Monthly one-to-one guidance, plus opportunities for external connections
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Applications for Stage 1 are submitted by email to karla@placce-network.org.
Key Dates
- Stage 1 (Expression of Interest) Deadline: 31 July 2026, 18:00 CET
- Pre-selected Groups Notified: 18–20 August 2026
- Stage 2 (Full Application) Deadline: 15 September 2026, 18:00 CET
- Final Decisions Communicated: End of September 2026
- Project Refinement Period: October–December 2026
- Project Implementation Period: January 2027 – May 2027
- Residency: March 2027 (venue and date to be confirmed)
Location
Cross-border / international — applicants and project delivery may span Europe, Africa, and the MENA region; an in-person residency is also planned (venue and date to be confirmed).
Additional Details
- Applications that significantly exceed the stated word limits in the Expression of Interest template may not be considered.
- Stage 2 applicants are expected to develop their proposals independently, though selected groups receive dedicated support at the program's start to refine their projects — the full application does not need to be perfect, only clear and sufficiently developed for the jury to assess its potential.
- Projects must be delivered between December 2026 and May 2027.
- Full information for how "regions" are defined for the micro-grant tiers is provided in the call's FAQ, which is not included in the source text provided here.