Metamorphosis: Arquetopia SUMMER Festival 2025 International 3-Week Academic Festival & Residency Program

About the Open Call

In celebration of Arquetopia's 15th anniversary, the Metamorphosis Festival reinvents its flagship program into an international academic festival and critical residency. This immersive experience brings together artists-in-residence, local students and professors, and community members, fostering interdisciplinary inquiry, experimentation, and ethical engagement. The festival engages a broader public through open lectures, an exhibition, and events, designed to spark dialogue and facilitate the exchange of ideas between diverse audiences, reinforcing commitment to inclusive education and socially engaged art practices. The program analyzes material culture as material practice, exploring how artistic and cultural production shape and reflect power, national identity, and ideology, with particular attention to how 19th-century images and descriptions constructed national imaginaries. Through mentorship, artistic research and experimentation, site-responsive learning, and scholarly dialogue, it encourages residents to rethink materiality as a dynamic, embodied way of knowing and making. The festival spans three weeks (July 28 to August 18, 2025) across multiple venues, including BUAP (Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla), Universidad para Adultos, the Facultad de Artes Plásticas y Audiovisuales de la BUAP, and various museums in Puebla, offering a diverse range of academic and artistic activities.

What is Offered

Entrance to all activities including lectures, master classes, exhibitions, and other cultural events. A public program aimed at engaging with the local artistic community is also featured. Residents receive weekly individualized research assistance/resources, project guidance, and group critique from directorial and curatorial staff. Accommodation includes a furnished, private bedroom, 24-hour access to a kitchen, wireless internet, use of Arquetopia’s common spaces and outdoor terraces, shared serviced bathrooms, and housekeeping. Studio workspace includes 24-hour access to a large, bright, shared art studio with natural light, a personal workspace with a large table and wall space, some tools provided, and an on-site darkroom for photographers.

Requirements

This program is open to emerging and mid-career, national and international artists, curators, art educators, art historians, and students age 20 and over. Artists are expected to allocate self-directed studio hours as part of their weekly schedule and bring their own materials and supplies or obtain them locally.

How to Apply

Applications are processed and selected in the order in which they are received. Apply online by clicking the link at https://www.arquetopia.org/residency-application. If you missed the original July 15 deadline, you may email info@arquetopia.org for an extension.