Short Description:
Medialab Matadero presents the fourth edition of the annual program of Situated Research residencies seeking 3 research projects to be developed starting in November 2025 through November 2026.
Context
Medialab Matadero’s mission is to promote transdisciplinary, collaborative, and open research. Our public organization fosters the development of projects that may have either national or international reach and that will consolidate Medialab as a creative research center focused on the present and, possibly, the future of our technologically mediated society.
The Situated Research residency program is looking for proposals that explore emergent territories, combining conceptual development with creative practice while aligning with the most significant trends in research in art, design, science, technology and society. Medialab Matadero is committed to cultural innovation and critical thought and welcomes projects that are too exceptional to fit into the tight contours of academic research.
The program supports experimental and collaborative research proposals that are both rigorous and operational. We promote the analysis of emergent landscapes and testing solutions with a social and ecological approach, including speculative strategies, learning-by-doing methods and explorations of what appears counter-intuitive.
Application Requirements:
- The project’s goals should be aligned with Medialab’s
In general, proposals must explore possible intersections between art, design, science and technology. Their results or method should contribute to creatively address the major contemporary challenges that Medialab Matadero considers its fields of action and, in particular, the urban and global challenges within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
- A public and situated research
Projects in residence must establish links with other Medialab Matadero activities. They must show their capacity to transform and enrich themselves in dialogue with other initiatives, residents, agents, communities, and the general public. This role involves carrying out documentation tasks and programming public activities focused on learning, dissemination, and feedback.
- Topics
It is essential that the submitted projects respond to some of the thematic research tackled by Medialab Matadero since 2021. Topics include infrastructures as planetary-scale sensoria; energy flows and more-than-human metabolisms; emerging synthetic forms of cognition; the technological imaginaries of uncertainty that coalesce around the tentative concept of teslaforming. A detailed description of these themes, as well as examples of previous research, can be found in the annual programs LAB 01 Sentient Media, LAB 02 The Metabolic Sublime, LAB 03 Synthetic Minds and LAB 4 Weird Futures.
Research proposals should be related to these topics and expand them in new directions by observing new case studies or areas of interest, developing new tools or languages, or connecting them to specific communities.
To whom it is addressed?
This call is for projects that investigate disciplines such as design, art, architecture, urbanism, economics, film, photography, journalism, digital media, environmental sciences, philosophy, engineering, social studies, political science, programming, materials science, activism, or any other field that aligns with the residency’s goals. We will consider each applicant’s specific background to promote an exchange between expert and emerging practitioners. If you’re not sure whether your profile fits in this call, feel free to reach out via email at info.m@medialab-matadero.es (preferably in July and September).
Eligibility:
Open to projects from diverse fields such as art, design, architecture, urbanism, economics, environmental sciences, philosophy, engineering, political science, programming, activism, and more. Both emerging and expert practitioners are encouraged to apply.
Program Benefits or Awards:
Medialab technical and administrative team will be available to respond to your needs and doubts. We will encourage you to establish an ongoing dialogue with the curatorial team and, in particular, with Medialab’s lead curator, who will do their best to provide you with local and international support, theoretical reflection and concrete feedback, according to the needs of your project.
Funding: €14,950 + VAT
Entry Fee: none
Location: Madrid, Spain
Deadline: September 17, 2025
Website link:
https://www.medialab-matadero.es/en/announcements/open-call-situated-research-residency-25-26
