Organizer Information
Les antípodes is a cultural project based in Agullana, a village of nine hundred inhabitants in the Alt Empordà, Catalonia. Founded by arts producer Oriol Caba, the project combines a research and creation residency (housed in a converted village house) with a public programme of art, culture, and thought organized around four themes: frontera (border), utopia, pagesia (rural life), and comunitat (community). Les antípodes positions itself as a space connecting contemporary art and culture with rural communities in the Empordà, exploring new relationships between urban centers and rural ecosystems beyond market-driven logic.
Numèric is the organization's annual research and creation residency grant, now in its third edition. Past editions have focused on themes such as the border as a space of transition and, in 2025, the concept of play/game. For 2026, Numèric is a collaboration between Les antípodes, Bòlit, Centre d'Art Contemporani (Girona), and the Museu de l'Empordà (Figueres), with support from the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Agullana and Figueres town councils, and Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) through its PICE – Residencias Nacionales programme.
Title & Description
Numèric 2026 Grant — The Word
Numèric 2026 offers two research and creation residency grants in Agullana, Alt Empordà, open to artists, thinkers, and scientists across all branches — formal, natural, social, and applied — working at the intersection of art, culture, science, and thought.
This year's conceptual framework, "The Word," examines the word as a foundational principle of creation across widely differing cultural and scientific traditions — from the Judeo-Christian and Islamic conception of the word as a generative, divine force, to Sanskrit mantras, to Carl Sagan's description of DNA as a genetic text. The call uses this framework to interrogate large language models (LLMs), which for the first time generate language autonomously, without experience or intention. Numèric invites applicants to explore new forms of thought, creation, cognition, experience, and connection arising from LLMs or similar systems, treating them as "uncomfortable interlocutors" that question established categories of authorship, creativity, and intelligence — approached from artistic practice, critical thought, or scientific research, rather than simply as tools to be used instrumentally.
Selected residents will work simultaneously over a four-week residency period, preceded by one month of preparation and followed by a two-month closing/follow-up period. The residencies conclude with an informal public presentation of the work.
Theme
The Word — large language models (LLMs) explored as mirrors of language and human creativity, examined through art, critical thought, and scientific research, in relation to authorship, originality, meaning, and the boundary between comprehension and simulation.
Categories
- Research
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- New Media
- Technology
- AI
- Multiple Disciplines
- Multimedia
- Digital
- Cross Disciplines
Eligibility
- Open to everyone: artists, thinkers, and scientists of any discipline and origin
- Open to individuals or collectives (for collectives, the stipend is shared among members)
- Applicants must be of legal age
- Applicants must be able to reside in Agullana for the full four-week residency period
- Only one application may be submitted per person or collective
- Proposals must be genuine, original, and not copied
- Applications must be submitted in Catalan or English, regardless of the language the proposal will ultimately be developed in
Program Benefits & Awards
- Stipend of €1,000 per grant (taxable base, subject to applicable taxes and withholdings; shared among members if awarded to a collective)
- Round-trip travel within the European Union
- Accommodation in Agullana for the four weeks of the residency, in a shared, centrally located apartment (can also host the resident's immediate family, terms to be agreed during preparation)
- Meals during the residency period (covers residents only, not accompanying family)
- Support, advice, and accompaniment throughout the work process, including help connecting with local, academic, artistic, or professional contacts
- Access to spacious, independent work spaces and a shared terrace in central Agullana
- Civil liability insurance covering the spaces and activities of the programme
- Authorship and intellectual property of all work remain fully with the creators; the grant does not involve any acquisition or transfer of rights
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 8 September 2026
- Decision Announced: 22 September 2026
- Residency Period: 2–30 November 2026 (4 weeks, with 1 month of preparation beforehand and a 2-month closing/follow-up period after)
Location
Agullana, Alt Empordà, Catalonia, Spain
Additional Details
- Selection is made by a committee formed by Les antípodes and its collaborating entities; the call may be declared void if no proposal is judged to reach the required level
- Evaluation criteria, in order of relevance: (1) singularity and innovation — approaches that depart from familiar formulas; (2) relevance — engagement with the "Word"/LLM conceptual framework from artistic, critical, or scientific practice, beyond instrumental tool use; (3) interaction and transfer of value — relations with Agullana/Empordà's social and geographic environment, and the format of the residency's public outcome (editorial, on-site, performative, sound, audiovisual, etc.)
- Selected candidates commit to residing in Agullana for the full four weeks, participating in the final public presentation, and authorizing use of graphic documentation of the process for the programme's diffusion and reporting to collaborating entities
- Resulting works may be incorporated into Les antípodes' publications or public programme; credits and future diffusion materials must acknowledge Numèric 2026 and its collaborating entities
- Personal data submitted is processed by Les antípodes (Volga Tanganyika, SL) on the basis of applicant consent, is not shared with third parties beyond collaborating entities where strictly necessary, and applicants may exercise data rights via hola@tanganyika.eu