OPEN SITES Artist Residency Open Call

Organizer Information:

The call is organized by three associations working in cross-border collaboration: Atelier 2 – arts plastiques (Villeneuve d’Ascq, France), Centre culturel MJC Comines‑Warneton (Comines-Warneton, Belgium) and CultuurCentrum Het Perron (Ypres / Ieper, Belgium). Together they form the “Open Sites” network covering the Eurométropole Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai region and focus on in-situ creation, public art and collaborative cross-border cultural exchange. The initiative emphasizes bringing contemporary creation out of traditional gallery spaces, engaging with territory, history, landscape and community.

Title & Description:

OPEN SITES 2026 – Call for Projects
The call invites artists or artist teams to propose projects for one of three site-specific creation events in 2026:

• Entre-Lacs in Villeneuve d’Ascq (FR) — a residency in the chain of lakes, focused on aquatic or aerial / non-terrestrial works.
• Sporen in Ypres / Ieper (BE) — exploring the historical landscape around the city walls, nature and traces of human intervention.
• Courts-Circuits in Comines-Warneton (BE) — working in local shops/commerce with materials processed or sold locally, a short supply‐chain economy as a catalyst for creation.
  Selected artists will engage in residency/creation in situ, producing a work that responds to the specific site, its social, economic, cultural, historic or landscape footprint. The call emphasises the work being created on site rather than completely prefabricated, and visible to the public during and after the event.

Categories:

• Visual Art – installation, sculpture, site-specific work.
• Video / Digital Art (for example, in Courts-Circuit,s the works may be digital, video, photography, assembly)
• Photography, assembly, mixed media (particularly in Courts-Circuits)
• Public Art / Landscape Art / In-situ Creation (particularly for Entre-Lacs and Sporen)

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be aged 18 or over.
• Individual artists or artist teams/groups (maximum 3 persons per group) may apply.
• International/national artists are not explicitly restricted in the text; the event is cross-border (France / Belgium), and no indication of nationality requirement is given in the excerpt.
• Works must be created in one of the three territories and respond to the specific site/theme.
• Artists must be able to be present for the creation period (see key dates).

Program Benefits & Awards:

• For each selected project (one of the 3 tracks), there is an artistic creation budget (allowance) of €1,600 per selected and completed project.
• The allowance is paid after the event, upon submission of an invoice, material invoices, or travel tickets.
• In addition, the organizers cover accommodation, breakfast and lunch from Monday to Friday during the residency/creation week.
• The selected work remains in place for at least 7 days after the creation week; the organizers may extend this period with the artist’s approval.
• The process gives public visibility, engagement with local territory and communities, and exhibition/installation in a non‐traditional public space context.

Application Fee:

No Entry fee

Application Requirements:

Applicants must submit a PDF application file (max 12 pages excluding the application form) including:

• Completed application form / technical specifications form.
• Curriculum vitae (for individual) or for each group member.
• Copy of identity card (front and back).
• File showing the artist’s past work (photos, diagrams, press cuts) to provide jury with a meaningful idea of the candidate’s artistic activities.
• Photographs of recent works, including dimensions.
• Project description: outline of the proposed work, with technical diagram/dimensions, description of materials, site selection/preference (and alternative).
• Budget/list of used materials; specifying what the artist brings and what may be supplied by organizers/local partners.
• Fulfilling the technical specifications form that covers needs (electricity, tools, power, workshop vs on-site parts) and accommodation requirements.

How to Apply?

• Submit the application PDF by e-mail (or via Wetransfer/Swisstransfer) to the specific contact for the selected track:
  • For Entre-Lacs to: entrelacs@atelier-2.com
  • For Courts-Circuits to: e.biguet@cccw.be
  • For Sporen to: elien.derycke@ieper.be

Key Dates:

• Application Deadline: 12 January 2026
• Notification Date: mid-February 2026 at the latest.
• Residency/creation weeks:
  • Entre-Lacs: Monday 1 June to Friday 5 June 2026 (in Villeneuve d’Ascq) with the overall event from June 1 – July 6.
  • Sporen: Monday 7 September to Friday 11 September 2026 in Ypres / Ieper.
  • Courts-Circuits: Monday 21 September to Friday 25 September 2026 in Comines-Warneton; the overall event runs until Sunday 10 October 2026.

Location:

• Entre-Lacs: Chain of lakes, Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France.
• Sporen: On and around the city walls between the Menin Gate and Lille Gate, Ypres / Ieper, Belgium.
• Courts-Circuits: In local shops/commerce in Comines-Warneton, Belgium.

Additional Details:

• A single selection committee handles all three tracks, but each event has its own organizing association.
• Works must be created on site as much as possible (prefabrication must be limited) and must meaningfully respond to the site’s scale, history, material, and environment.
• Artists must clear the site by a certain date to avoid abandonment of work:
  • For Entre-Lacs: Monday 20 July 2026
  • For Sporen: Tuesday 18 October 2026
  • For Courts-Circuits: Tuesday 13 October 2026
• Insurance: Organizers cover civil liability for the duration of the event, but artists must cover their own equipment/work.
• Materials: Artists bring their own tools and any additional materials not pre-negotiated; water and electricity may be provided depending on site conditions.
• Visibility: Selected works and artists’ work may be photographed, published in the bilingual catalogue (French/Dutch) and on the event’s website without compensation.

Website Link: https://www.opensites.org/