Open Call 2026
DOM Art Residence is launching an international open call for artists across all disciplines — painting, sculpture, video, photography, installation, performance, digital art, and cross-disciplinary practices.
We are selecting 12 artists from over the world to take part in Personal Structures 2026, a biennial art exhibition organised by the European Cultural Centre (ECC). The exhibition takes place in the historic palazzi of Venice, coinciding with the Venice Biennale (9 May – 22 November 2026)
We are selecting 12 artists from over the world to take part in Personal Structures 2026, a biennial art exhibition organised by the European Cultural Centre (ECC). The exhibition takes place in the historic palazzi of Venice, coinciding with the Venice Biennale (9 May – 22 November 2026)
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Deadline: 28.02.2026
About Personal Structures
- Personal Structures is one of the largest recurring contemporary art exhibitions in Venice.
- It is organised by the non-profit European Cultural Centre (ECC).
- The exhibition takes place in Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and the Marinarezza Gardens.
- The 2026 edition will run from 9 May to 22 November 2026.
- It is held on the same dates as the Venice Biennale, welcoming the shared international public.
- Over the years, world-renowned artists such as Yoko Ono, Marina Abramovic, Herman Nitsch, and others have participated in Personal Structures.
Detailed information:
Open Call
→
Project Concept
Accepted Without Review
This experiment challenges the mechanisms of traditional institutions built on selection, competition, and rigid frameworks. Instead of filtering or dictating formats, we accept the artist’s practice as it is — without review.
It is an act of trust, an affirmation of artistic freedom, and recognition of the creative process as a value in itself.
Inside the historic Palazzo Bembo, one of the official venues of Personal Structures during the biennial exhibition, DOM will install a scenographic replica of a shipping container, the same industrial object used for transporting goods.
The container becomes our metaphor. From one angle, it is a symbol of institutional rigidity: closed, opaque, impenetrable. From another, it is a vessel in constant motion, carrying stories across borders, echoing DOM’s own nomadic, independent spirit.
But inside the container is life.
A large screen will stream live footage from the studios of DOM’s artists-in-residence. Over six months, each month, two artists will share their processes from tentative sketches and failed attempts to breakthroughs, reflections, and final works.
This is DOM’s first digital residency. Unlike traditional residencies, artists will not travel. Instead, they will remain in their own studios, in their own cities, working within their daily rhythms and personal contexts.
We will stream not only the artwork creation, but also the artist’s live environment: routine, thoughts, anything that feeds their practice.
For visitors in Venice, this means encountering the creative process live, raw, and unfiltered.
At the start of the Biennale, the container will stand empty. Over time, as works are completed, artists will ship them to Venice, and they will be installed inside the container. Gradually, the container becomes an archive of time, trust, and an uncompromising creation.
This experiment challenges the mechanisms of traditional institutions built on selection, competition, and rigid frameworks. Instead of filtering or dictating formats, we accept the artist’s practice as it is — without review.
It is an act of trust, an affirmation of artistic freedom, and recognition of the creative process as a value in itself.
Inside the historic Palazzo Bembo, one of the official venues of Personal Structures during the biennial exhibition, DOM will install a scenographic replica of a shipping container, the same industrial object used for transporting goods.
The container becomes our metaphor. From one angle, it is a symbol of institutional rigidity: closed, opaque, impenetrable. From another, it is a vessel in constant motion, carrying stories across borders, echoing DOM’s own nomadic, independent spirit.
But inside the container is life.
A large screen will stream live footage from the studios of DOM’s artists-in-residence. Over six months, each month, two artists will share their processes from tentative sketches and failed attempts to breakthroughs, reflections, and final works.
This is DOM’s first digital residency. Unlike traditional residencies, artists will not travel. Instead, they will remain in their own studios, in their own cities, working within their daily rhythms and personal contexts.
We will stream not only the artwork creation, but also the artist’s live environment: routine, thoughts, anything that feeds their practice.
For visitors in Venice, this means encountering the creative process live, raw, and unfiltered.
At the start of the Biennale, the container will stand empty. Over time, as works are completed, artists will ship them to Venice, and they will be installed inside the container. Gradually, the container becomes an archive of time, trust, and an uncompromising creation.
This is DOM’s first digital residency.
Residency Format
- Each artist streams from their everyday environment for one month. This could be a studio, a home, a street, a walk — wherever their practice unfolds.
- Streaming schedule: 2 consecutive days of 8 hours (with a 1-hour break), followed by 2 days off. The cycle repeats
- Two artists stream each month, alternating.
- Each artist must complete at least one work during their residency month.
At the close of the Biennale, all artists will gather in Venice to:
- Give interviews,
- Meet curators, journalists, and audiences,
- Attend exhibitions and the ECC Award Ceremony.
What Artist gets with DOM
DOM Art Residence offers artists not only participation in Personal Structures 2026 (9 May – 22 November, Venice) but a complete professional experience designed to expand visibility, foster connections, and support artistic freedom.
Exhibition Presence
Visibility & Recognition
Venice Immersion Program
Representation Opportunities
Exhibition Presence
- Participation in Personal Structures 2026, a major biennial exhibition by ECC, held in historic palazzi of Venice and visited by the same international audience as the Venice Biennale.
- One-month presence at the exhibition through live-streaming from your own studio.
- Technical kit (camera, tripod, microphone, instructions).
- Filmed interviews and continuous media promotion through DOM and ECC platforms.
Visibility & Recognition
- Nomination for the ECC Awards (collective project nomination).
- Visibility to ECC’s curatorial team, international jury, and visiting curators.
Venice Immersion Program
- Exclusive three-day program at the end of the residency, including:
- 3 nights in a hotel in central Venice
- Guided tour of Biennale pavilions and ECC venues, led by ECC’s team (Lucia Pedrana, Sara Danieli)
- Introductions to curators of selected National Pavilions hosted by ECC
- Access to ECC networking events, and the official closing of Personal Structures
- A welcome dinner and a private cultural tour of Venice
Representation Opportunities
- The possibility of a one-year representation contract with DOM Art.
Conditions
- Application fee: €84.
- Open to artists of all disciplines, from all countries. No age restrictions.
- One work created during the residency becomes part of the DOM collection and the project’s history. In case of sale, the artist receives his percentage.
Artist Commitments
How to Apply
- Secure workspace with a stable high-speed internet connection.
- Ability to install and use DOM equipment.
- Streaming during assigned dates, from 10:00 to 19:00 (2/2 schedule).
- At least one completed artwork must be shipped to Venice.
- Availability to attend the Biennale closing in Venice.
- Agreement for the recordings/streams to be used in the final project film (granting DOM broad, irrevocable rights).
- Fill out the application form: https://forms.gle/6pDw2hbem5anhX8b6
- Attach your CV and portfolio in PDF format (links to websites/clouds will not be accepted).
- Pay the application fee (€84).