Decentralised networks of care
https://www.neme.org/blog/dnc-call
Call for Participants
2-day training school (18-19 April 2026) in Limassol, Cyprus
Hosted by NeMe at the NeMe Arts Centre.
This open call for speakers is for a COST funded Training School focusing on cultural care and its subservient function to politics, economy, bureaucratic decisions, and the environment.
In the EU, not all arts funding policies are created equal and official statistics 1 reveal that there are big disparities between countries. This inequality is mirrored in the arts production, dissemination, presentation, the sustainability of organisations and artists, and also in the quality of the events presented to the public.
This training program will discuss the problems that the cultural ecosystem faces and emphasise the crucial role that non-governmental organisations play in this system.
Although art is big business, where few artists and organisations are able to command large sums of money for their work, the vast majority are ignored, underfunded or dismissed by critics, and funders. According to Gregory Sholette marginalised artists and, for the purpose of this call, we would argue, NGOs, are the “dark matter” 2 of the art world, and are essential to the survival of the mainstream, but, as NGOs, with their limited resources empower their presence, he also asks the question “must the representation of institutional power function just as well as the real thing?” 3 As the hierarchies of our world are reflected in the art world, some non government organisations “speak clown to power,” for “clowns always speak of the same thing, they speak of hunger; hunger for food, hunger for sex, but also hunger for dignity, hunger for identity, hunger for power. In fact, they introduce questions about who commands, who protests.” 4
Despite their significant contributions to the artists, communities, and the economy, cultural nonprofit organisations face numerous challenges. These include the aforementioned funding constraints, but also, competition for resources, and changing audience demographics, reducing the role of cultural NGO workers in many countries as hobbyists with their work not sufficiently recognised as a vital part of the cultural economy, the development of the arts, and societal health.
The political, economic, social, and hierarchical (patriarchal) managerial systems and power structures in which cultural workers (in the case of visual arts: art directors, curators, historians, producers, artists, etc) try to function, force them into a survival mode and compels them to compete with each other for very limited funding. The EU system and structure appears to have been built to discipline the art world toward serving a productive ideal. This restriction clashes with the realities involved in the arts such as the confined funding sources, time limitations for research and development, production, presentation, dissemination, and distribution.
The training school Decentralised Networks of Care is symptomatic of our experience in cultural work in the EU and beyond and recognises its constitutive role in supporting Cultural NGO’s who provide the artists with the platform and opportunity to present artistic value.
Decentralised Networks of Care aims to make cultural labour visible within the context of power relations in the art world. It aims to develop an implementing framework securing resources to change the art environment’s precarious conditions. Some of these areas of concern are the exploitative issues incorporated in the institutional, economic, and political infrastructures that constitute cultural bodies.
What is expected
Each of the 8 selected speakers will be expected to attend the full two day training school, on the 18th and 19th of April 2026 (arrival date, 17th April; departure date, 20th April), deliver a 40’ talk, respond to 20’ Q&A, and contribute to the final round table discussion.
Important dates
- Applications deadline:
1522 March 2026 at 10:00 UTC (deadline extended). - Selection notification: 28 March 2026. Note that only selected speakers will be notified by email. The list of the selected speakers will be published on the NeMe website.
- Arrival date of speakers: 17 April 2026.
- Training school: 18-19 April 2026.
- Departure date of speakers: 20th April.
Who can apply?
Practitioners/researchers of any nationality or place of residency affiliated with an academic or other legal entity in one of these countries: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, 5 Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Republic of North Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine (government controlled territories), United Kingdom, as well as in one of the EU Member States Outermost Regions (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion Island and Saint-Martin, Azores and Madeira, and the Canary Islands). (pdf)
We especially encourage Young Researchers and Innovators 6 and individuals affiliated to COST Inclusiveness Target Countries to apply. We will consider gender balance and geographical diversity in our selection.
International participants shall have their travel expenses reimbursed (up to €500 for long-distance travel – unless otherwise arranged with the organisers – and up to €210 daily allowance for 3 days to cover for three nights accommodation and subsistence) according to COST Travel reimbursement Rules (A1-3.1) (pdf).
This training school is part of the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)-funded project: TOOLKIT OF CARE (TOC), CA21102. Previous talks from training schools organised by NeMe and delivered under the Toolkit of Care project can be found on neme.org/projects/toolkit-of-care/.
About TOOLKIT OF CARE
TOOLKIT OF CARE (TOC) is an international project led by an interdisciplinary group of creative practitioners, academics, researchers, and arts organisations that specialise in creative technologies and have considerable experience in the production and dissemination of this kind of knowledge across Europe and internationally, who have come together to form a “critical network of care.” The network collaborates to share their collective expertise and technical knowledge employed in creative ways to develop knowledge and methodologies of care. The main aim is to produce a well formulated and integrated TOOLKIT OF CARE comprising articles, prototypes, audiovisual documentation, technical manuals, theoretical analysis, and data. It will act as a model of how to successfully share knowledge and expertise across different geographical regions and social groups.
Notes
- Eurostat. “File:General government expenditure on cultural services, broadcasting and publishing services, 2022 (% of total expenditure) .png” ec.europa.eu/eurostat… )_.png.
- Gregory Sholette. Dark Matter. Pluto Press 2010.
- Gregory Sholette. “Speaking Pie to Power: Can We Resists the Historic Compromise of Neoliberal Art?” In Imagining Resistance - Visual Culture and Activism in Canada. Keri Cronin and Kirsty Robertson (eds). Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2011.
- Gregory Sholette. “Speaking Clown to Power.” NeMe, 7 December 2013.
- Following the CSO decision of the 16 October 2023, considering the new guidance from the European Commission, as of 1 November 2023 until further notice, individuals from universities maintained by public interest trusts established under Hungarian Act IX of 2021 and concerned by the Council Implementation Decision 2022/2056 (see entities listed in Annex I of the Hungarian Act IX of 2021) are allowed to participate in COST activities without receiving financial support from the COST Association (either grants or via reimbursements). Individuals from the flagged institutions can apply to get funded via the Guarantee Fund established by the Hungarian government. The Hungarian Act IX of 2021 is available in Hungarian. You can use one of the frequent translation web-based tools in order to get an English translation. A non-exhaustive list of the affected Hungarian legal entities is available on cost.eu/uploads/2023… -2056.pdf.
- A researcher or innovator under the age of 40.
Application
To Apply, upload an abstract of your presentation proposal, a short bio, and CV in one pdf using the form below. Before posting your submission we recommend compressing the pdf document on ilovepdf.com/compress_pdf. Expired.
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