OPEN CALL: PERFORMA-Q RESIDENCY CYCLE 2
Stage for Untold and Erased Queer Stories from Europe’s Periphery
About the Call
PERFORMA-Q (Stage for Untold and Erased Queer Stories from Europe’s Periphery) is launching the project’s second Open Call for 6 artistic residencies, part of 18 residencies in 3 years. We are seeking performing artists, directors, playwrights, and collectives whose work explores the intersection of queer identity, marginalization, and peripheral European narratives. This project aims to excavate erased histories, amplify untold stories, and build a transnational queer performative network.
1. The Vision: Free to Create, Create to be Free
Art is not merely a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it. PERFORMA-Q is a transnational platform designed to surface erased queer stories through 18 partner-run residencies across three years. We are seeking performing artists, directors, playwrights, and collectives whose work explores the intersection of queer identity, marginalization, and peripheral European narratives.
Think of this residency not just as a laboratory, but as a dramaturgical incubator—a safe hub where fragile, untold narratives are given the resources, mentorship, and transnational oxygen they need to breathe, grow, and resonate across borders. We aim to shift queer performative art from the margins to the very center of the European cultural discourse.
2. What We Offer: The Residency Ecosystem
For this first cycle, we are selecting six artists or collectives. We understand that queer artistic processes require flexibility, so we offer a tailored framework:
– Duration: Residencies will run for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of one month.
– Tailored Financial Support: The financial support for selected artists and collectives ranges from €1,500 to €4,000. However, the final stipend is not a flat rate—it directly depends on the complexity, scale, and logistical demands of the submitted project proposal. The exact amount and conditions will be agreed upon individually and flexibly in direct dialogue with the specific host residency space after the successful conclusion of the selection process.
(Please note: This stipend is executed as a re-grant or subcontract)
– Logistics: Travel and accommodation are covered and managed as separate budget lines from your stipend.
– Mentorship & Infrastructure: You will receive dedicated rehearsal space, technical support and tailored 1:1 mentorship developed in collaboration between your host and at least one other consortium partner.
– „Deep Touring“ & Showcases & Networking: The culmination of your work will not sit in a vacuum. Selected works circulate through a “deep touring” strategy that prioritizes compact formats, with a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 public presentations across the partner network. Works may be presented at the Drama Queer Festival in Bratislava and Stockholm Pride, as well as regional showcases in Vienna, Brno, and Sarajevo.
3. Eligibility & Application Categories
We welcome applications from emerging or established professionals in the performing arts (theatre, dance, performance art, performative writing) based in an EU Member State or a country associated to the Creative Europe programme. You may apply as an individual or as a collective (capped at a maximum of eight individuals, strictly dependent on the host’s accommodation capacity). Artists selected in Cycle 1 are not eligible for Cycle 2.
To ensure focused dramaturgical development, the call features two primary eligibility categories:
– Category A: Text-Only (Research & Playwriting): For artists requiring dedicated time for writing and conceptual research.
(Analogy: You are drafting the architectural blueprint.) For these works, if the outcome is a dramatic text, host organizations will assume stage copyrights and take responsibility for local production.
– Category B: Production-Based: For artists actively devising, rehearsing, or finalizing a performative work.
(Analogy: You are building the house.)
A Note on Language: The working language of the transnational network is English, and applications must be submitted in English so that the full Artistic Board can read every proposal. Text excerpts in Category A may be submitted in the original language with an English summary. Final performances may be in local languages, supported by subtitling and translation strategies for our showcases.
A Note on Equality: PERFORMA-Q is committed to gender equality and to the representation of the full diversity of queer lives. Gender balance and equality are taken into consideration during evaluation and in the final selection, alongside the artistic criteria in section 6.
4. Choose Your Host: The Host You Choose Matters
Each of the six partner organisations hosts exactly one residency in Cycle 2. Your first-choice host therefore defines two things: the environment your work will grow in, and the group of applicants you are compared with. In Cycle 1, two hosts received almost two-thirds of all first choices while others received only a handful. Choose the host that fits your project, not the best-known city.
How to choose: read the six profiles below and ask yourself three questions — What does my project need most (a stage and actors, a text workshop, a shared studio, a network)? Which audience and context will challenge it best? Where will it travel from? Name your first and second choice in the form and tell us, in a few sentences, why.
Partners provide the venue, technical infrastructure and accommodation; none of this is deducted from your artistic fee. The Artistic Board may still offer you a different host than your first choice when it serves the project — your second choice tells us where.
Special Note Regarding Ukraine: Due to the ongoing war and the displacement of our partner UCPE (Mariupol Theatre in Exile), no artists will be sent to Kyiv. Instead, artists working with UCPE will be hosted in alternative partner locations or through specialized dispersed formats to ensure absolute safety.
5. How to Apply
All submissions are collected via a structured Google Form (Cycle 2). Incomplete applications and applications in languages other than English cannot be evaluated. You will be required to submit:
- Collective/Individual CV & Portfolio: Maximum 3 pages, or a link to a digital portfolio.
- Project Proposal (in English): A maximum two-page concept detailing your vision, its connection to the PERFORMA-Q theme, and your residency goals. If applying for Category A (Text-Only), attach a one-page description and a representative text excerpt (scene) of up to 6 pages — the excerpt may be in the original language with an English summary. Please submit a proposal, not a portfolio, synopsis or technical rider in its place.
- Host Choice (mandatory): Select your first-choice host and your second-choice host from the six partner organisations, and explain in up to 150 words why your project belongs with your first choice (see section 4). Applications without both choices are incomplete.
- Practical Information: Your availability between March and October 2027, number of people in the collective, and any technical or accessibility needs.
- AI Disclosure: Applicants must disclose the use of AI in their creative process. This will not disqualify your application; structured AI-use notes are simply provided to the Board for context.
Deadline: November 30, 2026, 23:59 CET. Late submissions are not considered.
Applications can be submitted until November 31 2026 via Google Form
5. Evaluation & Selection Criteria
Your application will be read by an Artistic Board consisting of two theatrical experts representatives per partner organization:
Bernhard Studlar, Martina Knoll (WIENER WORTSTAETTEN)
Róbert Pakan, Sandra Polovková (NOMANITELS)
Maja Burazerović, Ishak Jalimam (SARTR)
Alexandra Horoščák Bolfová, Klaudia Klembarová (CO.LABS)
Ulricha Johnson, Malin Tengvard (SPAC)
Evangelos Kosmidis, Mariia Boiko (UCPE)
We use a scorecard-based jury system with overlapping readings (a minimum of two reviewers per application, with a third acting as a tie-breaker).
The jury will evaluate based on the following weighted criteria:
– Intersectionality & Representation (30%): Does the proposal highlight voices from multiple marginalized backgrounds (e.g., queer artists from conflict zones, ethnic minorities, or heavily marginalized peripheral areas)?
– Artistic Quality & Innovation (30%): Does the work push aesthetic or narrative boundaries? Is the vision clear?
– Relevance to the Theme (20%): How effectively does the project engage with uncovering „untold and erased“ queer stories?
– Feasibility & Transnational Potential (20%): Can this be realized within the budget and timeframe? We prioritize the „travelability“ of formats across our partner countries.
6. Timeline
– Call Launch: October 21, 2026
– Application Deadline: November 30, 2026
– Selection & Review Phase: December 2026
– Shortlist Contacted: End of January 2027
– Public Announcement of Winners: February 2027
– Residencies: between March and October 2027
Partnerorganisationen / Residency-Hosts:
NOMANTINELS Divadlo Nomantinels, SK
SPAC Swedish Performing Arts Coalition, SE
SARTR Sarajevski Ratni Teatar, BIH
co.labs Kulturní centrum CO.LABS, CZ
UCPE Mairupol Theatre of Ukraine in Exile, UKR
WIENER WORTSTAETTEN Wiener Wortstaetten, AT
