Open call for residencies
iMAL Project Office is our yearly open call for residencies, aimed at artists based in Belgium.
We announced our first three iPO 2026 calls last October.
Now we can finally reveal the fourth, dedicated to a two-month co-creation residency in collaboration with Antre Peaux (Bourges, FR), and taking place in the framework of EXTRA RESIDENCIES.
Initiated by The French Embassy in Belgium, EXTRA RESIDENCIES is a new network of residencies in Belgium and France.
In collaboration with two French partners (Antre Peaux and Octobre Numérique – Faire Monde) and four local ones (MORPHO, Wiels, our neighbours at games.brussels, and iMAL), it offers four residencies that aim to strengthen exchanges between the creative scenes of our two countries in the fields of visual arts, digital art and experimental video games.
This project is part of EXTRA, a program supporting and promoting contemporary French creation in Belgium.
The residency
As part of the EXTRA residency, iMAL and Antre Peaux are joining forces to encourage collaboration and foster dynamics of co-creation in digital arts between French and Belgian artists.
One artist based in Belgium and one in France will be brought together for a two- month co-creation residency to produce a joint project. They will benefit from the complementary support of the teams at each location, access to workspaces and equipment, as well as their networks and local partners.
Continuous residency periods are recommended for each residency. Upon mutual agreement by the artists, split residency periods, with a maximum of one interval, may be considered based on the availability of the host locations and their workspaces.
Theme
This program aims to foster a reflection on artistic practices capable of subverting dominant paradigms of progress through a residency bringing together artists around a co-creation project.
With a desire to encourage unifying, transformative, inclusive, and sustainable approaches in connection with technology, the residency provides a conducive framework for initiating a collective research process—whether it focuses on autonomous practices that strengthen local capacities, the adoption of low-tech technologies, feminist or ecofeminist methodologies, permacomputing, or salvage computing.
This residency is therefore aimed at artists who wish to question current technological infrastructures to reveal both their vulnerabilities and potentialities. These artists engage in practices that seek to repair rather than produce, collaborate rather than consume, slow down to better anchor themselves, and cultivate networks of care, mutual aid, and trust within digital communities.
While stimulating critical dialogue around technology and its uses, the residency offers a space for exploration where art becomes a means of reinvention, allowing for the construction of new narratives and alternative ecosystems.
In this spirit, it invites artists to imagine projects that, much like the appraoches compiled in the Damaged Earth Catalogue, explore multiple ways of making do, transforming, and recreating within a landscape marked by fragility but also an infinite potential for renewal.
Who is the residency for & how to apply?
The call is open to emerging artists engaged in a professional practice.
An “emerging artist” is understood as any artist active for a few years but still in the process of establishing their career, particularly regarding their involvement with various artistic and cultural institutions. Their practice remains precarious and relies on institutional support or partnerships for the production of their works.
Candidates must reside in France or Belgium.
There are two ways to apply:
Option 1: Duos to be formed
• Artists apply individually to the call without having a predefined partner. Applications will be pre-selected to verify the eligibility of candidates, then shared via Google Drive with all candidates on May 4.
• This stage will allow artists to review applications and connect with other candidates to explore the possibility of collaborating on a joint project. Candidates will have from May 4 to May 22 to engage in these exchanges.
• The pairs formed will be invited to complete a second questionnaire by May 22, with the name of their partner and a letter of intent regarding their co-creation project.
Option 2: Existing duos
• It is possible to apply directly with another artist for a co-creation project. The only prerequisite is that one artist must reside in France and the other in Belgium. Both artists are invited to respond individually to the call for applications, specifying that they are working on a joint project and providing the name of the artist they’re partnering with.
• Please note: Existing duos should only answer the first application form, which closes on April 24. They must therefore submit their letter of intent detailing their joint project using this form.
Applications will be pre-selected to verify the eligibility of candidates.
Application
The application file will include:
• Portfolio
• CV
• Letter of intent 1: The individual letter of intent submitted in the first questionnaire will only be used as a guide to facilitate exchanges between future duos and will not be a selection criterion for the jury.
• Letter of intent 2 (once the duos have been formed): this document will detail the joint project undertaken by the duo, the focus of experimentation and research to be explored during the residency, the artists’ interest in the Belgian and French scenes, and their expectations for this cross-residency.
The selection jury will be composed of prominent figures from the artistic world and the digital arts sector in France and Belgium. It will meet in June 2026.
In addition to evaluating the quality of the proposals in relation to the artists’ practices, the proposed artistic themes, and the identity of the host organizations, the jury will focus on the potential for collaboration and mutual inspiration that a co-creation residency could foster.
