Organizer Information
Platform Dalí is a new international art-and-science programme launched by the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, based in Barcelona and anchored in the city's scientific ecosystem, established through collaborations with five leading science centers: the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), the Institute for High Energy Physics (IFAE), and the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB). The programme is directed by Mónica Bello, an internationally recognized leader at the intersection of art and science, and former Head of Arts at CERN and curator of the 2022 Icelandic Pavilion. Starting in 2026, Platform Dalí fosters research, creation, and mediation through annual artistic fellowships, residencies, laboratory encounters, and public events, with its inaugural cohort of invited fellows including artists such as Tania Candiani, Israel Galván, Taller Estampa, and George Mahashe.
Title & Description
Platform Dalí Open Call for Residencies 2027: "What is real?"
Platform Dalí's inaugural annual Open Call for Residencies, part of its Research and Creation Programme, invites artists of any nationality and discipline to develop a research and creation residency project in close engagement with one of Platform Dalí's five partner scientific institutions. Five artists will be selected, each undertaking a residency at a different partner institution, structured as a two-stage process: an initial period of open-ended research and enquiry, followed by the development and production of a new artwork informed by that research. The programme treats research as a creative practice in its own right — residents are not expected to arrive with a predefined artwork, but to let questions, methods, and ideas emerge through dialogue and experimentation within the scientific environment.
Theme
"What is real?" — Platform Dalí's inaugural annual theme, inspired by Salvador Dalí's idea that reality is continuously shaped by perception, imagination, and interpretation rather than simply given. The theme invites artists to explore how art and science participate in constructing, mediating, and interpreting the real world — including what exists beyond direct perception, the invisible relationships connecting life, matter, and consciousness, and the thresholds where illusion, simulation, and representation meet the hyperreal conditions of the present.
Categories
- Residency
- Research
- Technology
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- New Media
- Multiple Disciplines
- Cross Disciplines
Eligibility
- Open to artists of any nationality and discipline
- Applicants must demonstrate an established artistic practice and a minimum of eight years' professional experience
- No prior experience working with scientific institutions, laboratories, or research environments is required
- Applications focused primarily on academic, scholarly, or theoretical research without a clear artistic dimension or creative outcome are not eligible
- Artists may apply as individuals or as part of a collective (maximum two members of a collective may participate in the introductory visit and on-site residency; fee, budget, and covered expenses are shared among members)
Program Benefits & Awards
- Artist fee of €7,500
- Production budget of up to €25,000 for developing a new artwork
- Curatorial support from Platform Dalí and the partner scientific institution's team throughout the residency
- Access to the host institution's facilities, expertise, and research communities, subject to the institution's own regulations
- For artists based outside Barcelona: travel, accommodation, subsistence, and travel insurance costs covered for both the introductory visit and the on-site residency, within a predefined budget
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 7 September 2026
- Notification of selected artists: by November 2026
- Public announcement of residents: 2 December 2026
- Residency period option 1: February–April 2027
- Residency period option 2: September–November 2027
Location
Barcelona, Spain
Additional Details
- Residency structure spans 12 months across three phases: an Introductory Visit (up to 3 days), an On-site Residency (up to 45 days) involving close engagement with researchers and staff, and a Research Development and Artistic Production phase (approximately 10 months) involving remote dialogue and curatorial guidance.
- Within the first six months of the programme, residents must submit a proposal for the new artwork resulting from their research; the remaining period is dedicated to production and development.
- Final residency dates are agreed upon between Platform Dalí, the host institution, and the selected resident.
- The present Open Call is dedicated exclusively to the Residencies programme; Platform Dalí's parallel Fellowships are awarded by invitation only, not through open application.
- Queries can be directed to platformdali@fundaciodali.org.