Open Call for Pastoral Twilight Residency Programme – BAU, Italy, 2026

BAU, an institute for contemporary art and ecology based in the Alps (Südtirol / Alto Adige, Northern Italy), invites artists and artist collectives from countries participating in the Creative Europe programme to apply for the 2026 BAU residency programme as part of the Pastoral Twilight project which is organised in collaboration with the organisations ARE: Woods (Czechia) and Inland (Spain). The residency will relate to the specific rural landscape of South Tyrol, the region where the organisation is situated. Thematically, it will be linked to vegetal knowledge at the intersection of art, education and more-than-human solidarity in mountain areas. How can we perceive the forest not merely as a resource, but as a toolbox for survival — a multispecies school that teaches us connection, interdependence, and mutual aid? A month-long residency will host an international artist or artist collective to explore the ecosystem of the local mountain slopes and forest in a small hamlet 1350 meters above sea level. The hamlet is nestled in a forest, whose wood was once the primary resource for its first inhabitants. The residency stay will take place at Südtirol / Alto Adige in June / July 2026 and will be split between a stay of up to 3 weeks in the hamlet and the rest of the time will be dedicated to research in the valley.