TRACES Art & Science Residency at the EPFL Laboratory for Energy Materials

About this call

TRACES, an Art & Science residency programme run by the FDDM in partnership with EPFL Valais, Energypolis SA, the City of Sion and the Canton of Valais, invites one international visual artist for its pilot edition to work with the Laboratory for Energy Materials of Prof. Sascha Feldmann (EPFL) on the Energypolis campus in Sion, Switzerland. The laboratory studies how light and matter interact to design soft semiconductors used in flexible solar cells, energy-efficient displays and emerging quantum technologies. The residency runs three months, from 11 January to 18 April 2027, with access to a studio, production space and EPFL's scientific laboratories under conditions agreed with the research team, and ends with a public presentation on 15 April 2027. All visual art disciplines are welcome, including installation, sculpture, digital media, visual performance and photography, and the proposal does not need to be fully developed at the application stage.

Who can apply

• Open to applicants of any nationality
• Medium: Installation / Sculpture / New Media / Performance / Photography
• Entry fee: See official site
• Open to established, professional visual artists of any country, at least 25 years old, who finished their studies at least two years ago, have at least two years of professional practice, and have specialised training or equivalent experience with recognition shown by public presentations of their work (applicants must meet the State of Valais Culture Department's definition of professional, established and internationally recognised creators, which asks for at least two of: a recognised academic or professional qualification, regular paid professional experience, and recognition by qualified people or institutions in the field). Working languages are English (main), French and German. Artists must be available for the whole residency, 11 January to 18 April 2027, and take part in the public presentation on 15 April 2027. Apply through the project website in English or French with a cover letter of at most one A4 page (3,000 characters), a statement of intent of at most two A4 pages (6,000 characters) on the thematic framework, a portfolio of recent work and an artistic CV. The laureate is selected on 7 December 2026; the jury's decisions are final and no reasons are given. The total production budget is set by the project's curator in an agreement with the artist. Food, local transport and telephone costs on site are the artist's own; the artist arranges any visa and must provide proof of medical and accident insurance for the stay before the residency starts.