Mattering Worlds: Media Art in More-Than-Human Ethics and Ecologies
Mattering Worlds is an international media art residency exploring artistic practice in relation to more-than-human ecologies, technological infrastructures, and environmental transformation. Hosted by Ars Techne in Armenia, the program brings together artists, researchers, and cultural practitioners working across disciplines such as media art, sound, bioart, speculative design, and critical technology studies.
The residency supports research-driven and process-based artistic work that engages with ecological responsibility, situated knowledge, and experimental forms of collaboration. Participants are encouraged to develop projects that reflect on planetary conditions, local contexts, and the entanglements between human and non-human agencies. Rather than focusing solely on production, the program emphasizes dialogue, field inquiry, collective learning, and public engagement.
Residents take part in workshops, site visits, reading sessions, and open studio moments, while also contributing to Ars Techne’s public program through talks, presentations, or small-scale interventions. The residency aims to foster meaningful exchange between international and local communities, strengthen interdisciplinary networks, and create space for critical reflection on how artistic practices can respond to contemporary ecological and technological challenges.
Residency Program Information
Residency Program Summary
Application Information
Additional Eligibility Information
Mattering Worlds is open to media artists, researchers, and interdisciplinary practitioners from any country and at any career stage. Individuals, duos, and collectives working with ecological, posthumanist, material-focused, or technologically engaged practices are encouraged to apply. No academic degree is required.
The residency welcomes process-based, research-driven artistic approaches that explore relationships between humans, technologies, natural systems, and material forces. Applicants should demonstrate openness to experimentation, dialogue, and collaborative exchange within a shared learning environment.
Participants are expected to take part in public engagement formats such as talks, workshops, or open studios and to work within the residency’s shared-responsibility model. This includes covering travel, accommodation, and project production costs, as well as contributing a modest curatorial fee that supports mentoring and community programming.
Application Requirements
Applicants must submit a single PDF including:
– Project proposal (1–2 pages)
– Artist statement (250–400 words)
– Portfolio (6–12 works with descriptions)
– CV or short biography
– Preferred residency dates
– Location preference (Yerevan / Gyumri / both)
– Technical or spatial needs
– Optional links (website, video, documentation)
Residency duration ranges from 2 to 8 weeks and is coordinated on an individual basis.
The residents are invited to make a modest curatorial contribution, understood as a voluntary donation that helps sustain mentoring, coordination, and community programming. This contribution supports the residency’s collective infrastructure rather than functioning as a commercial participation fee.