mur.at and Collective Intelligence Association (CIA) – Open Call for Artist Residency & Worklab

About the Open Call

mur.at and the Collective Intelligence Association (CIA) invite artists or collectives to a 5-day artistic residency and worklab focused on 'Collective Intelligence' (KI). Hosted in Graz, Austria, the residency involves collaboration with CIA and the mur.at team to engage with previously collected intelligence material. The aim is to develop an artistic investigation, which can manifest as data-mining art, a documentary, net art provocation, or new software, within the thematic frame of collective intelligence. The worklab structure, based on an open Barcamp, will be collectively defined by the invited participants. CIA, a branch of the CMKK community (computer music and sound art), focuses on CIAPs (Collective Intelligence Access Points) – interactive digital portals. mur.at, established in 1999, provides physical and digital infrastructure for net culture, sound art, software art, and media art, prioritizing F/LOSS. They are looking for creative developers, activists, writers, and artists in network art, sound art, media art, digital art, or related practices interested in network-based artistic communities and collective intelligence. Guiding questions for the worklab include exploring forms of intelligence with diffused authorship, designing digital spaces for collective action, the political weight of distributed art, generating collective intelligence without consensus, and the viral potential of artworks. The worklab will take place from December 1-5, 2025, with final presentations on December 5, 2025, preceded by online meetings in October-November. Outcomes may include performances, workshops, publications, or digital/media-based work. Artists are expected to actively participate, deliver a final presentation, partake in documentation, adhere to Open Source principles, uphold mur.at's code of conduct, and engage collaboratively with the local community in a process-oriented worklab.

What is Offered

Travel reimbursement up to €150 for non-Graz-based artists (sustainable ways of travelling preferred). Accommodation for the duration of the residency for those based outside Graz. €500 fee per artist. Small production budget can be provided. Project assistance throughout the whole residency.

Requirements

Actively participate in the worklab and its public program. Deliver a final presentation during the last day(s) of the worklab for the public. Partake in the documentation. The artists are to share the values of the mur.at community, which includes the usage of Open Source software/hardware in every aspect of their work during the worklab (as much as it is possible). The artists must uphold mur.at code of conduct. Selected artists are expected to engage with the local community and work collaboratively to explore, experiment and create. It is a process-oriented and community-oriented worklab.

How to Apply

One A4 page with personal motivation for participation and a proposal for activities to be carried out collectively during the worklab; link to previous work(s) pertaining to the disciplines and/or topics mentioned above; short CV (max. one A4 page). Submit to cia@mur.at.