O Castro Art Village · Ribeira Sacra, Galicia, Spain
Supported by Culture Moves Europe · Creative Europe · European Union
Open Call: Visual / Mixed-Media Artist in Residence
Eight stone houses. Two hectares of forest. A village that time left behind.
O Castro de Mourelos is an abandoned rural settlement in the Ribeira Sacra region of Galicia; one of the most biologically and culturally dense landscapes in northwestern Spain. The stone houses stand in varying states of ruin. The forest presses in. Lichen covers stone. Light falls differently here depending on the hour and the season.
We are inviting one visual or mixed-media artist, with a particular interest in video or expanded image practices to make work here.
The proposition
Depopulation is not only a demographic fact. It is a sensory condition: the textures, sounds, and materials of a life that persisted and then stopped. O Castro holds that condition in its fabric.
We are looking for an artist who works with place as material; someone whose practice can absorb the specific history and physicality of this site and produce something that could only exist here. Working in close dialogue with a sound artist, an architect, and artistic director Davoud Gerami, you will develop a permanent visual installation integrated into the ruins of the village.
We strongly encourage the use of reclaimed materials, native organic elements, and site-specific processes. The work should be durably installed and designed to remain in place.
The residency
30 days at O Castro Art Village during October 2026.
October here is the turning point of the year. The chestnuts fall, the vines go red across the terraced hillsides of the Ribeira Sacra, the light becomes horizontal and golden by mid-afternoon. It is the season when the relationship between what grows and what decays is most visible, most available as material.
You will live in a climate-controlled geodesic dome with a full bathroom. Meals are shared collectively. There is forest to walk through, a community to engage with, film screenings, and the daily life of an active creative residency around you. You will not be working in isolation; but you will have solitude when you need it.
A mentor will accompany your process throughout the stay.
Who we are looking for
A visual artist whose practice engages with memory, landscape, materiality, or the poetics of inhabited and abandoned space. Video, installation, photography, land art, or hybrid approaches are all welcome. What we are looking for is a serious commitment to site-specificity and an openness to working in genuine dialogue with the land and with the other resident artists.
Eligibility
- You must be a legal resident of a European country other than Spain.
- You must be available to stay and work at O Castro for the full 30 days, uninterrupted.
What you will receive
- A travel allowance of €400 per round-trip (€800 for distances of 5,000 km or above).
- A daily allowance of €30 for each day of the residency, for food, local transport, and personal expenses.
- Accommodation in a furnished geodesic dome on site (Private or shared depending on availability).
- Mentorship and full integration into the life of O Castro.
- Accessibility top-ups available upon request.
To apply
Send the following to info@ocastroartvillage.com before midnight of 5 July, 2026:
- A short letter of interest (max. 400 words) explaining why this residency and what you propose to do here (in English)
- A portfolio or documentation of recent work (PDF or link, max. 10 pages or 10 minutes of video, in English)
- A brief CV or biography (in English)
- One proof that you are legally residing/live in one of the 41 Creative Europe countries: Including your full name and address. Such as:
- ID Card or passport
- Work/House/Insurance contract
- Gas/electricity/water bill
- Bank statement
- Proof for accessibility support (if applicable)