MedSEA: an open call for artists and cultural professionals working with communities across the Mediterranean

MedSEA – Socially Engaged Arts in the Mediterranean Area is a European cooperation project that operates within a precise and necessary space: where artistic practices engage directly with communities, territories, and the social transformations shaping the Mediterranean today.

The project emerges from a clear need to build shared working environments in which art is not limited to producing content, but becomes a tool to activate relationships, generate processes, and contribute to the development of cultural models that remain meaningful over time.

Within this framework, MedSEA launches an open call addressed to emerging artists and cultural professionals working — or wishing to work — with participatory and socially engaged artistic practices.

The call will select 12 participants who will take part in a structured programme combining training, artistic residency, and fieldwork, developed across two specific contexts: Larnaka (Cyprus) and Sfax (Tunisia).

At the core of MedSEA is an operational approach. This is not a residency in the traditional sense, but a process of co-creation that unfolds within real contexts. Participants will work directly with local communities, developing artistic projects rooted in specific territories and contributing to collaborative processes.

The programme develops over several phases. It begins with a preparation and capacity-building phase, including webinars and workshops focused on community-based artistic practices, sustainability, and cultural project design. It then continues with a four-week residency, during which participants engage in fieldwork and co-creation processes with local communities, supported by project partners.

The residency periods will take place between October 2026 and May 2027, with two main phases:

– Larnaka (Cyprus): 5 October – 1 November 2026
– Sfax (Tunisia): 5 April – 2 May 2027

The works developed during the residency will be presented within two established festivals: Mahallart Festival in Larnaka and Hors-Lits Festival in Sfax, both focused on the relationship between art and communities.

Selected participants will receive full support, including travel, accommodation, artistic fee, mentorship, and access to an international network of artists and cultural professionals.

The call is open to artists and cultural professionals aged 18 or above, legally residing in countries eligible under the Creative Europe Programme, and actively engaged in community-based or socially engaged artistic practices across disciplines such as visual arts, performing arts, interdisciplinary practices, and public space interventions.

Taking part in MedSEA means entering a process that connects artistic practice, territorial work, and international collaboration. The value of the project lies not only in its outputs, but in its ability to build relationships, activate contexts, and generate skills and knowledge that can be carried forward beyond the project itself.

MedSEA is implemented by a consortium of organisations including Larnaka 2030 (Cyprus), Al Badil (Tunisia), Liv.in.g (Italy), and Busart (Greece), working together on community-based arts, capacity building, and international cooperation.

The project is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

Deadline for applications: 5 June 2026 — 23:59 CET

👉 Apply here: https://medsea.forms.app/medsea-open-call-local-residency-and-festival-1

For further information: maria@larnaka2030.eu