Embassy of Foreign Artists is launching a new cycle of Art&Science residencies (2026–2028) around the cross-cutting theme of imagination in research processes.

Context

For more than ten years, the Embassy of Foreign Artists (EOFA) in Geneva has been hosting artists in residence and promoting collaborations between art and science.

In partnership with the Campus Biotech Geneva Foundation, the University of Geneva, EPFL, the Fluxum Foundation, and several research laboratories, the Art&Science programme has enabled numerous artists and scientists to develop joint projects at the crossroads of disciplines, giving rise to unprecedented experiments, publications, and international presentations (Ars Electronica, Geneva International Film Festival, Moscow Biennale, etc.).

New programmme for 2026–2028 : Imagination

From 2026 onwards, the programme will be rolled out on a new basis, centred on the cross-cutting theme of imagination — considered to be an essential driver of thought, creativity and research.

This cycle of residencies will run for three years (2026–2028), with three three-month sessions, and will be open to new scientific, academic, medical, technological and industrial partners.

The aim is to create artist-scientist duos around ongoing research projects, in which artistic practice questions, enriches or recontextualises scientific processes and representations.

At a time when generative technologies are revolutionising the way we think and create, the role of human imagination is becoming a field of exploration common to all disciplines.

With imagination in research processes as its guiding principle, the programme invites participants to explore together:

• the role of intuition in scientific and artistic research;
• how images, representations and metaphors influence the construction of knowledge;
• the links between natural, visual and digital languages, between reason and sensitivity,
  between formula and form.

Call for participation – for scientists and laboratories

We invite researchers, doctoral students, professors, engineers, clinicians and laboratory managers interested in participating in this programme to propose a research framework or an ongoing project that could accommodate an artist in residence.

The selected artist will be hosted for three months at the laboratory (in Geneva or the surrounding region), working directly with the scientific team, and will receive mediation support from the programme team.

Objectives for collaboration

• Explore new approaches to research, analysis and communication through the encounter
  between art and science.
• Promote mutual understanding of the methods and languages specific to each discipline.
• Experiment with innovative forms of interpretation, visualisation and restitution.
• Participate in the creation of a collective map of scientific and artistic imagination.

Each pair will be invited to present the results of their collaboration at an interdisciplinary round table and in a collective publication at the end of the cycle.

Required profile

• Laboratories or researchers involved in an innovative scientific or technological project (neuroscience, biology, engineering, physics, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, linguistics, ecology, medicine, etc.).
• Interest in transdisciplinary dialogue and openness to experimental approaches.
• Ability to welcome an artist into the laboratory’s daily work (access to space, discussions, non-confidential data, etc.).

Practical details

• Duration of the residency: 3 months (to be agreed according to the 2026–2027 calendar).
• Location: At the partner laboratory, in Switzerland or abroad.
• Support: The artist will receive accommodation in Geneva, a residency grant, as well as
        mediation and communication support provided by EOFA.
• The laboratory has no direct financial responsibility, but undertakes to welcome and support the artist in their research.

Application

Interested scientists or laboratories are invited to submit a statement of interest including:

1. A brief presentation of the laboratory or research project (1 page max).
2. Potential areas or themes for collaboration with an artist.
3. The name and position of the scientific project leader.
4. Possible hosting periods in 2026 and 2027.

Contact and information

To be sent by email to: residence@eofa.ch
Subject line: “Call for scientific participation – Art&Science – Imagination”
Deadline for receipt: 15 January 2026

The selected proposals will be discussed with the EOFA team in order to identify possible matches with the shortlisted artists. This will enable the laboratory to choose the artist who best suits its research project and affinities.