Located in Switzerland, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) is a leading university and one of Europe’s most vibrant and cosmopolitan science and technology institutions. EPFL hosts more than 350 labs at its international campus in the Lausanne area.

Initiated by the EPFL College of Humanities (CDH), amplified by EPFL Pavilions, and in partnership with the City of Lausanne, the EPFL-CDH Artist-in-Residence (AiR) Program Enter the Hyper-Scientific reflects the CDH mission of fostering transdisciplinary encounters and collaborations between artists and EPFL’s scientific community. The program invites professional Swiss and international creative practitioners, both emerging and established, for three-month residencies to realize innovative and visionary projects at the intersection of art, science, and advanced technologies.

CDH is now welcoming proposals for the 2024-25 edition of the Enter the Hyper-Scientific program.

ONLINE APPLICATION FORM
Deadline October 16, 2023 (23:59 CEST)

The EPFL-CDH AiR Program promotes artistic research and experimentation that connects art, humanities, science, and technology by supporting up to four artists for three-month residencies at the EPFL.

The program is open to emerging and established Swiss and international artists interested in the area where arts, science, media, and technology intersect. It enables selected artists to develop interdisciplinary projects and carry out their research in conjunction with scientists and researchers at EPFL. It also offers an opportunity to access the cutting-edge engineering, infrastructure, materials, and science developed or made available at EPFL, thus fostering intense experimentation in new forms of expression. At the end of each residency, the resulting project will be presented in a public exhibition or event held at EPFL Pavilions, Amplifiers for Art Science and Society.

Who should apply?

• Professional Swiss and international artists, emerging and established, with proven career paths or clear potential, who are interested in harnessing science and technological interventions in their artistic endeavors. Applicants should outline the specific contribution they believe the residency would make to their artistic practice.
• EPFL welcomes projects in diverse fields: visual and media arts; film, digital, mixed media, and imaging; sound and experimental forms of music; experimental design; literary, critical, and speculative writing.

What is being offered?

• Travel costs and accommodation in Lausanne. Preferably, applicants will reside in the city during their residency. Offered by the City of Lausanne, accommodation is located in the housing cooperative La Meute, where various cultural practitioners and artists reside. It includes access to a shared studio space, allowing an exchange with Lausanne’s rich cultural scene and local community.
• A monthly flat fee for living expenses (of CHF 1500).
• A production budget (of maximum CHF 15000).
• Curatorial mentoring and supervision for the duration, including the final presentation of the project at EPFL Pavilions.

Enter the Hyper-Scientific – Call 2024

The goal of the EPFL-CDH AiR Program is to further interpretative and aesthetic avenues around the multifaceted scientific landscape of the EPFL through artistic productions. Forging encounters between artists and scientists in various disciplines, the program aims to establish a dynamic, critical, and inspiring platform for propelling new approaches and aesthetic investigations within the exponentially developing scene at the intersection of art, science, technology, and the humanities. The program functions as a facilitator and promoter of investigations in multiple directions, many of which will be discovered through the submitted projects themselves.

Transversal Interest in Artificial Intelligence

This year’s edition of the program aims to support and encourage an interdisciplinary interest in artificial intelligence. Applicants are invited to consider the role of AI in their proposed projects, in terms of possible applications and the aesthetic and conceptual potential of co-creation with AI.

How to apply

• Proposals should be written in English and submitted by October 16, 2023 (23:59 CEST) using the online application form.
• The following elements should be considered: the residency should extend over a maximum duration of three months and the project should be realized within a maximum budget of CHF 15000.

Timeline 2024-2025

Residencies will take place between March 2024 and June 2025

Slots for first three tracks Open Transdisciplinary, Scientific Imaging, and Environmental Transformation:

• September–November 2024
• January–March 2025
• April–June 2025

Slots for Special Track Computational Geometry:

• Spring 2024 or Spring 2025

Despite a preference for a continuous stay in Lausanne, the program offers flexibility according to artists’ schedules.

Information needed

• Contact information: name, surname, address, email, phone, and (if applicable) website.
• A short pitch of the project (maximum 300 words).
• Path
• The preferred timing of the artist’s stay.

PDF Documents to be submitted

• A motivation letter, including a statement on how the project investigates the intersection of arts, humanities, science, and technology, and the relevance of conducting the project at the EPFL at this specific phase of the artist’s career (maximum 700 words).
• A detailed description of the project, the stages of its development, and the final production imagined as the outcome of the residency (maximum 8 pages).
  This should include:
  – The envisioned benefit of the exchange for the EPFL labs and other EPFL entities involved.
  – A draft production budget of maximum CHF 15000.
• A short biography, CV, and portfolio.
• Reference letter.

Deadline for submission of the application: October 16, 2023 (23:59 CEST)

Evaluation and selection

A selection committee including senior members of CDH and EPFL Pavilions plus external jurors from the cultural, artistic, and art/science sector will assess each proposal on the basis of the following criteria:

• The project’s innovative, visionary, and timely nature and its relevance to the applicant’s career.
• A clear interconnection between art, humanities, science, and technology throughout the entire development of the project.
• The importance of conducting the project within the EPFL context, the exposure of the EPFL community to the creative process, and the anticipated benefit the research and public engagement activities will bring to the EPFL labs and entities involved.
• The project’s feasibility, and the coherence between the requested budget and the proposal.

The committee will notify applicants of its decision by January 2024.

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