Collide Copenhagen 2023

CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva, and Copenhagen Contemporary (CC) are proud to collaborate in the framework of the Collide residency award. Established in 2012, Collide is the international residency award that brings arts and science together in collaboration with leading cultural institutions in Europe.

Arts at CERN, the Laboratory’s arts programme, fosters significant exchanges between art and science. Artists across all artistic disciplines are welcome to CERN to experience the way the big questions about our universe are pursued by fundamental research.

Copenhagen Contemporary is Copenhagen’s international art centre showing installation art created by established artists and new emerging talents. CC creates collaborative partnerships and organises events with different partners across cultural genres locally and internationally.

Collide Copenhagen residency award is the new collaboration framework between CERN and CC that aims to support artistic research on art, science, and technology. Within this unique collaboration framework, Collide will be taking place annually over a three-years period (2023-2025).

Open Call

Collide is an annual residency programme for artists with distinct interest in science and technology, and with a strong motivation for  dialoguing with scientists and engineers from different fields. The goal is  to invite artists to immerse themselves in the Laboratory’s communities and to engage in a close dialogue with scientists, engineers, and staff at CERN in Geneva and in the context of Copenhagen Contemporary.

For the first edition and the following annual calls, Arts at CERN and the CC are inviting artists to reflect on the impact of science and research in contemporary culture. Proposal that consider the role of advanced technologies and novel scientific models as major topics in society are welcome. Collide is especially reaching for artistic proposals that reflect on themes such as artificial intelligence, the modelling and analysis of vast datasets, the emergence of quantum technologies, and their interpretation from philosophical and ethical standpoints.

The artists selected for the 2023-2025 editions will be invited to take part in an ambitious exhibition at CC in 2025, investigating technology’s impact on humanity.

Artists from any country in the world are invited to submit an application proposing a project that combines research and production of a new work to develop during a two-months residency. The residency will be split in two periods, the first month at CERN and the second month in Copenhagen. The scope of this proposal will include a research period in both locations, and a posterior development phase to define and produce a new artwork, with the curatorial support of both curatorial teams in Geneva and Copenhagen.

Eligibility and application criteria

The Collide Call for Applications 2023 is open to:

• Artists from any country in the world, older than 18 years old.
• Artists with a convincing body with at least 5 years of professional artistic experience.
• Artists, or their collaborators in the case of a collective application, may not be an applicant on more than one propose project per year.

Collide especially encourages the participation of artists interested in the ideas described above and who meet any of the following criteria:

• Artists interested in the cultural significance of scientific research and technology.
• Artists interested in extending their connection with the field of science, and entering into dialogue with scientists, engineers and staff at CERN and at the CC.
• Artists whose work considers the implications of advanced technologies, in particular developments in artificial intelligence, the modelling and analysis of vast datasets, and emergent quantum technologies.
• Artists with a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively, and flexibly across disciplinary boundaries.
• Artists interested in CERN’s community and in the interaction with its social fabric, its history, and narratives.
• Artists whose work and proposal aims to reflect on new models of social enquiry and the potential synergies between art, science, technology and society.

Conditions of the residency

Collide offers the selected artist or artist collective the following financial support and conditions:

• Living expenses for two months at CERN, Geneva, and Copenhagen.
• Travel costs and accommodation within a fixed budget for the artistic residency period at CERN and Copenhagen.
• A production stipend of CHF 15,000.
• In case of an artist collective, all these costs will be split between the members. A maximum of 2 members of a collective can be hosted at the same time as residents.

Application submission

Artists intending to apply to the Collide Call for Applications 2023 shall submit a proposal adhering to the eligibility and criteria of the call.

To apply, please submit your application in English using the online form.

The application form requires the following information:

• Personal and contact details: name, address, nationality, date of birth, email address, and telephone number. If a collective is applying, one member should act as its representative.
• An artist dossier or portfolio with the most relevant artworks of art projects including a brief statement and the artist’s biography.
• Project proposal consisting of: Project title & project description (maximum 1500 words).

Please describe the project proposal you intend to undertake during the two-month residency at CERN and Copenhagen. The scope of this proposal should include a research period in both locations and a development phase after the residency to define and produce a new artwork with the curatorial support of the teams in Geneva and Copenhagen.

• Project motivation (maximum 600 words): Please describe your motivation to apply for this residency in relation to your artistic practice.
• Project summary (maximum 300 words).

Timeline

• Applications accepted from March 23rd to May 8th, 2023 at 23:59 in Central European Time (GMT+1).
• Public announcement of the results of the Collide Call for Applications 2023: by the end of June 2023.
• Residency at CERN: October 2023.
• Residency at Copenhagen Contemporary: November 2023.

Selection and announcement

One artist or artistic collective will be selected for the residency. The selection will be based on the call criteria and the evaluation of the submitted project proposal. A jury board formed by cultural experts and scientists, as well as representatives of each institution, will reviewed the submissions. The names of the jurors will be revealed after the call.

Submissions of entry in this competition constitute the acceptance of these terms and conditions. The jury’s decision will be final and allow no further communication.

The jury’s decision will be published on both Arts at CERN and CC’s websites and their social media channels by the end of June 2023. Only the selected artist(s) will be notified by e-mail.