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Worldbuilding

MORPHO presents Worldbuilding
Development Residency 2025–2026
Open call for artists based in Flanders

You can now apply for Worldbuilding: a residency programme inviting artists in Flanders to indulge in their wild imaginations or concrete plans to work towards alternative, more interesting or bearable worlds.

Worldbuilding is a term usually associated with writers and gamers, especially in science fiction and fantasy genres. This call targets visual artists that work within and beyond those specific interests, who want to develop their work during a five-month funded residency in Antwerp and who have singular interpretations of what worldbuilding can mean today.

MORPHO’s development residency is dedicated to the exploratory phase in an emerging work, no matter how early or advanced in one’s career, when a project needs support to develop into a meaningful trajectory in one's practice. Rather than imposing a strict theme, we want to propose a shared framework that hopefully appeals and rings relevant to many in different ways.

Period

The residency in Antwerp, Belgium lasts 5 months. There are 3 cycles between which you can choose, and we will select 3 artists per cycle.

  • Cycle 1: Fall 2025 (01.08-31.12.2025)
  • Cycle 2: Spring 2026 (01.02-30.06.2026)
  • Cycle 3: Fall 2026 (01.08-31.12.2026)

For whom?

  • You are a visual artist, possibly with a transdisciplinary approach.
  • You want to focus on artistic research, the development of your work and the professionalization of your career in the presence of peers.
  • You live in Flanders, including Brussels. At least 1 spot per cycle goes to an Antwerp-based artist.
  • You can apply as an individual artist or a duo.
  • You are welcome regardless of age, ethnic-cultural background, gender diversity, neurodiversity, and more.
  • We do our best to accommodate everyone’s needs, such as artist-parents, but the specific architecture of the building (stairs, no lift) means the residency is not suitable for all conditions. You are welcome to contact us in advance to discuss your personal situation.

What we offer

  • Use of our shared residency house (including kitchen, living room, library and bathroom).
  • Individual workspace (ranging between 20-30 m2).
  • Use of our project space and monastery garden.
  • Artistic, productional and administrative guidance from the staff.
  • Weekly programme of sessions (composed in response to the residents’ input and interests).
  • Access to the production facilities of Sint Lucas Antwerpen (dark room, ceramics, lasercutting or screenprinting workshops…).
  • Online presentation of your work (website and social media).
  • Newly commissioned portrait by artist-photographer Aurélie Bayad.
  • Free entrance to exhibitions and events at neighbouring Kunsthal Extra City.

Financial support

  • We pay a monthly fee of €1,000 gross. We review with each resident what is the best option to arrange this administratively, taking into account their professional status and personal situation.
  • Duos are paid per person.
  • Accommodation is not provided. For artists living outside of Antwerp, we reimburse around 10 single train rides per month by means of a rail pass.

Endnotes

Little Adam, in the award-winning 1983 Belgian children’s book of the same name, is convinced that the world is an unfixable mess. He takes a broom to sweep the whole world down the drain and then ventures to draw a more colourful, peaceful version of the world. But despite his great efforts, everything and everyone ends up loud and angry again. We were reminded of his story when considering new debates about dealing with old worlds. Such as these (for your information, you do you!):

  • adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, 2017: “Authentic, exciting unity takes time, and lots of experimenting.”
  • Paul B. Preciado, “Notre Dame of Ruins,” Artforum, 2019:
    “Let us make of its ruins a punk monument, the last of a world that ends and the first of another world that begins.”
  • Sara Ahmed, The Feminist Killjoy Handbook, 2023:
    “To destroy what is destructive is to create something that would allow more of us to see ourselves reflected in the world.”

Selection procedure

How to apply?

  • Recommended first step: come to the open info day, see the residency, meet the artistic team, and ask your questions. Sign up here.
  • Fill in the application form here (in Dutch or English).
  • Do you have additional questions? Ask them via opencalls@morphoantwerp.be.

Selection criteria

  • The match between the artist’s needs and what the residency can offer.
  • The impact the residency is likely to have on the development of the artist/project.
  • Projects offering a pronounced experimental or collaborative approach are particularly welcome.

Attention points

  • Try to answer as authentically as possible. We want to know what motivates you specifically.
  • Be selective. Focus on arguments and documentation that support your proposal.
  • Be clear in your project proposal, even if it may well still change.

Jury
Applications will be reviewed by MORPHO’s artistic council:

  • Dušica Dražić (Artist and Curator at Out of Sight, Antwerp)
  • Mekhitar Garabedian (Artist and Educator, Antwerp)
  • Bas Hendrikx (Curator at KANAL-Centre Pompidou, Brussels)
  • Marlie Mul (Artist and Educator, Brussels)
  • Sorana Munsya (Independent Curator and Psychologist, Brussels)

Save the dates

  • Open info day: January 16, 2025 at 4pm
  • Application deadline: February 2, 2025
  • Announcement of results: end of April 2025

About MORPHO

We are an artist-centered organisation supporting the development of artistic work in the visual arts. We do this by setting up residency programs, international exchanges and renting out workspaces below market value. We also give visibility to the artists in our network in our presentation space and advocate their place in the city with policy makers. Our main premises are located behind the Antwerp Central Station and Zoo, in a townhouse (the residency) and former monastery (the studios). We share the monastery site and garden with Kunsthal Extra City. We are funded by the Flemish government and the city of Antwerp.