Call for Applications until March 15 - Cosmophilosophy for the Arts: Rethinking production

agenda

DATE

16 Feb 2026

AUTHOR

Umbigo

Call for Applications until March 15 - Cosmophilosophy for the Arts: Rethinking production

AUTHOR

Umbigo

The Cosmophilosophy for the Arts: Rethinking Production program will take place at AiR 351 from May 18 to 30, 2026, with applications open until March 15, 2026.

Directed by Giovanbattista Tusa, the program invites artists, researchers, cultural professionals, activists, and curious thinkers to critically examine the conditions that shape and can be transformed by contemporary artistic practice. Starting from the idea that production is neither a mere technical procedure nor a linear path from idea to object, Cosmophilosophy for the Arts: Rethinking Production proposes understanding it as a complex field where power relations, modes of perception, and cosmological assumptions converge. Rethinking production implies making these forces visible and questioning how art can actively intervene in the political, material, and conceptual structures that organize contemporary life.

The program is structured around the theoretical seminar Theoria: A Very Practical Introduction to Contemplative Thinking, led by Giovanbattista Tusa, which aims to establish a shared space for critical reflection on the conditions under which artistic and cultural production develops. Through collective discussion, participants will be challenged to shift the notion of creativity from individual expression to a situated practice, deeply intertwined with social, ecological, and epistemic systems.

The program also includes three workshops with artists Alexandre Estrela and Claire Fontaine and philosopher Michael Marder, which expand these questions into the field of methodological and material experimentation. Situated at the intersection of critical research and artistic practice, these workshops offer practical and conceptual tools for rethinking creation as a process of negotiation involving intentions, techniques, material agents, environmental conditions, and institutional and planetary contexts.

A variety of backgrounds and practices are welcome, united by a commitment to critical reflection and experimentation. Applications should include a description of the applicant's practice and interest in the seminar, a brief biography, and, optionally, up to two links or examples of recent work. Up to 10 participants will be selected. The program offers a travel allowance for both local and international participants.

Cosmophilosophy for the Arts: Rethinking Production culminates in a public day, conceived and activated by the participants, in which the research developed will be shared and alternative possibilities for relating through artistic production will be explored. The program is intended for people who understand artistic practice as a space for investigation – conceptual, material, and political – and who are willing to engage deeply in a collective and research-oriented approach.

More information and application submission here. .

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