UNIDEE Residency Modules 2026: Languages, Please

Overview

UNIDEE Residency Programs, founded by Michelangelo Pistoletto, invites applications for two week-long intensive residential modules as part of the Fall 2026 Languages, Please programme. The modules bring together artists, curators, researchers, and cultural practitioners for interdisciplinary research, knowledge exchange, experimentation, and socially engaged artistic practices. Up to 12 residents will be invited to participate in each module.

Module IX: Beyond the Phrase

Led by writer and translator Haytham el-Wardany, this module takes place 9–13 November 2026 and investigates how language can be re-learned and reconfigured in moments of political danger, social rupture, and violence. Participants will consider how language can resist oppressive structures, create solidarity, and imagine possible futures through texts, sounds, films, poetry, and collective study.

Module X: Returning to the Body

Led by choreographer and interdisciplinary artist Sara Mikolai with guest Jee-Ae Lim, this module takes place 23–27 November 2026. It explores the body as a primary medium of perception and investigates how sensory experience is influenced by historical, social, and political conditions through attention, listening, movement, voice, and South Asian aesthetic concepts.

Who May Apply

International and open to participants from all backgrounds working across cultural practice and research. Artists, musicians, performers, curators, storytellers, writers, theorists, designers, activists, and interdisciplinary practitioners from any discipline may apply. Both individuals and collectives may apply; collectives must specify the number of participants and describe the nature of their collaborative practice. Selection is based primarily on the relationship between the applicant's artistic practice, concerns, and research interests and the curatorial framework and themes of the selected module.

Residence Details

• Single room with bedding and towels for individual participants
• Shared-room accommodation for members of participating collectives
• Access to communal spaces and basic cooking facilities
• Opportunities for intensive exchange with international peers, mentors, and invited guests
• Participation in practice-based workshops, discussions, research activities, and collective experimentation
• Access to the artistic and cultural environment of Cittadellarte
• Opportunities to explore Biella's urban and rural surroundings
• Support and guidance regarding visa applications and travel arrangements
• A limited number of partial travel bursaries for applicants who would otherwise be unable to attend