Currently 11 active paid grants, fellowships and residencies taking place in Spain, across AI, arts, film, journalism, research, tech and cross-disciplinary practice. Many are open to applicants of any nationality; check each entry for residency and citizenship requirements. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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QueerCineMad (formerly LesGaiCineMad), organized by Fundacion Triangulo in Madrid, is a Goya- and Feroz-qualifying LGBTI+ film festival offering prizes up to EUR 2,500. International submissions close 15 August 2026 via Festhome or FilmFreeway (platform fees vary).
The European AI & Society Fund is launching Building Narrative Power, a EUR 2 million funding and learning programme to counter Big Tech's dominance over how AI is understood, and to help people and communities shape new ways of thinking and talking about the technology they want. The Fund's strategy is to build the power of the public interest community to shape the direction of AI in Europe; narratives are central to creating the conditions for a greater say over how AI is adopted and used. THREE THEMES where research shows the public already feels strongly: (1) DATA CENTRES: as the EU aims to triple data centre numbers in the next five to seven years, pollution, energy prices and compromised grid access have mobilised communities across the political spectrum; proposals should explore narrative questions that move communities beyond resistance towards engagement in shaping data centre expansion. (2) AI AND JOBS: 57% of the public in a recent study expressed concern about how AI will change employment, more pronounced among lower-income people, and the concern is not only displacement but the quality and nature of work, autonomy and dignity; proposals should move the debate from generalised anxiety into a mobilising issue that shapes the future of work. (3) YOUNG PEOPLE: beyond the strident social media ban debate, young people encounter AI in education, friendships and future careers, and their wider views are rarely heard; proposals should build narratives that help young people shape the technologies that will influence their lives. LEARNING PROGRAMME: grantees join a community of practice, sharing experiences across issues and places, supporting each other through delivery and reflecting on which strategies and stories have most salience, with findings feeding back to the Fund and other funders. ABOUT THE FUNDER: the European AI & Society Fund is a pooled fund with 18 funding partners that mobilises a public interest community in Europe to fight for AI that serves people, society and planet; it takes no EU, government or Big Tech money. ELIGIBILITY: this call is only open to organisations in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Republic of Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland; applications from the UK, the Western Balkans and other non-European countries are not accepted. Guidance for applicants and a full application-form preview are published so you can prepare a draft before submitting. HOW TO APPLY: create an account on the Fund's application platform Optimy (link in the guidance documents) and submit the first-stage application before 31 August 2026. KEY DATES: call launched 16 July 2026; information sessions 22 July, 29 July and 24 August 2026 (11:00 to 12:00 CET); first-stage deadline 31 August 2026; unsuccessful applicants notified 16 October 2026; shortlisted applicants invited to submit a detailed proposal on 19 October 2026, due 16 November 2026; funding decisions notified 14 December 2026; grants start February 2027. Questions to info@europeanaifund.org; an FAQ covering eligibility, coalitions, non-profit status and what the grant can be spent on is published at the bottom of the programme page.
DRIFT (Dance and Research In The Future Time) is a four-year Creative Europe cooperation between ten European organisations, led by Theatre de Liege and Maison de la danse. The distinguishing feature is that it funds artistic research rather than production: you are expected to arrive with questions, not a finished piece you already intend to make, and reviewers read every section of the application through that lens. STRUCTURE: each of the ten partner organisations selects one choreographer from its own country, forming a cohort of ten. Over the programme you get an Onboarding Lab, two weeks of residency with your national partner, three collaborative Online Labs, a Festival Lab in Tunis, individual artistic and curatorial mentoring, and a work-in-progress showcase at the Biennale de la danse in Lyon, all backed by a EUR 20,000 research budget that covers your fees, travel, accommodation and any collaborators. SECOND PHASE: after a further evaluation, five of the ten artists may receive co-production support and touring across the DRIFT network. That phase is separate from this application and is not guaranteed. ELIGIBILITY: professional choreographers in contemporary dance or performance, at a mid-career stage, meaning an established national practice but not yet fully established internationally. You must be based in Belgium, France, Germany (Berlin region only), Greece, Norway, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia or Portugal, and you apply through the partner organisation representing your country of residence, not centrally. Good English and availability for all programme dates are required. The country list is strict, so check it before you start. TIMELINE: applications opened 1 July 2026 and close 31 August 2026; selection through September; results 9 October 2026; programme runs November 2026 to September 2027.
Fundacion Cotec (a Spanish innovation-focused non-profit) and Sonar+D, building on an initial experiment at Sonar 2026, invite proposals for a long-term installation at KNOWCASE, the street-level showcase of Cotec's Madrid headquarters in Chamberi, visible to the public 24 hours a day. THEME: digital culture, meaning projects that combine knowledge, research, science and data with art, technology and social impact. Cotec's stated priorities are the big transitions (analogue to digital, linear to circular economy, tangible to intangible) plus innovation ecosystems and R&D&I, the climate crisis, the future of work and learning, social divides, citizen participation and democratic health. WHAT YOU GET: a budget of up to EUR 100,000 plus VAT covering everything (design, production, installation, maintenance, documentation, artist fees, travel, accommodation and insurance), and a minimum 24-month public display from February 2027. WHO CAN APPLY: artists, collectives, designers, technologists, universities, research centres, startups, businesses, creative agencies, producers, cultural institutions and multidisciplinary teams, internationally; applicants must demonstrate solid experience and a relevant portfolio. CONSTRAINTS: the proposal must be original and never previously exhibited, must include participative or interactive elements, must encourage critical thinking, and must be technically and financially viable for the full 24+ month exhibition period (durability and maintenance are central selection criteria). Selection weighs conceptual quality highest (40 percent), followed by public interactivity (25 percent). HOW TO APPLY: one PDF of maximum 15 pages containing summary, concept, technical proposal, visuals, budget, timeline, team profile, portfolio and declaration, in Spanish, another official language of Spain, or English, via the application portal linked from the terms and conditions. Results announced 14 October 2026. Deadline 7 September 2026 at midnight CEST.
PICE Movilidad is AC/E's collaboration scheme with foreign cultural institutions: a festival, biennial, museum, venue, gallery or platform OUTSIDE Spain applies for AC/E to cover the costs of programming Spanish or Spain-resident artists, collectives and cultural professionals in its own public programme. This is one of the clearest routes for a non-Spanish festival to have a foreign national fund pay for part of its programme. Ten thematic areas are covered including Artes visuales, Musica y creacion sonora, Podcast, Videojuego y animacion and Arquitectura y diseno, so tech-crossover, sound-art and media-art programming is squarely in scope. For visual arts and architecture/design, covered costs include production materials, purchase or rental of technical equipment, hiring of technicians, curators, coordinators and designers, reproduction and exhibition rights, logistics and transport of works, publications, documentation, accommodation, per diems, travel and insurance; for Musica y creacion sonora coverage is narrower (travel, accommodation, per diems, internal transport). Non-EU and UK organisations are fully eligible; there is no EU-membership requirement. Natural persons are barred. TIMING: Phase 3 closes 7 September 2026, provisional list 21 October, definitive award list 30 October, and Phase 3 projects may not begin before 1 November 2026, so this window cannot retro-fund an event already scheduled for autumn 2026.
PICE Visitantes is the inbound mirror of PICE Movilidad: a Spanish festival, biennial, fair, museum or platform applies for AC/E to fund bringing international programmers, curators, producers and cultural professionals to its event in Spain, so that they meet Spanish artists and go on to programme them abroad. It is direct money to an organisation to enrich a festival or public programme it is already hosting. The same ten thematic areas apply as in Movilidad, including Artes visuales, Musica y creacion sonora, Podcast and Videojuego y animacion, giving good coverage for media-arts, sound-art and creative-technology events. Covered costs are travel, accommodation, travel insurance, internal transport, text translation and simultaneous or consecutive interpretation for the invited visitors, with the exact list varying slightly by thematic area. Only entities constituted in Spain may apply; natural persons are barred. Invited guests may come from any country including non-EU and the UK. TIMING: Phase 3 closes 7 September 2026, provisional list 21 October, definitive list 30 October, and visits may not start before 1 November 2026. Applications go through the AC/E PICE online system in Spanish or English with no fee.
Híbrides is a biennial of artistic research co-organised by the Axolot.cat collective and the DARTS (Design, Art, Technology and Society) research group at the UOC in Barcelona. The second edition, "Small Embodied Data," centres on the concept of classification -- approached through machine learning, data science, algorithmic systems, and questions of who designs classifiers, under what ethical codes, and to what end. The biennial brings classification into dialogue with its previous themes of Small Data (community-defined, intentional data collection and analysis) and Embodiment (bodily experience as a foundation of situated, sensory knowledge). Both academic and non-academic contributions are welcome. FORMATS ACCEPTED: Oral Presentations (20 minutes; artistic practice, artistic research, or academic research projects; may be video-recorded for a public archive and developed into short papers); Performances (20-30 minutes; must engage with the physical body, stage, and technology; complete works, including previously presented work; takes place in a multipurpose space with technical support). SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: online form with abstract (max 1,000 characters), professional biography (max 1,000 characters), and link to representative materials (3-5 images; video and technical rider required for performances). HONORARIA: oral presentations €100; performances €400; invoice required in both cases. Participants must follow the event's code of conduct. Event runs 26-28 November 2026 at UOC Poblenou campus and Convent de Sant Agustí, Barcelona. Deadline: 7 September 2026. Submit at https://hibrides.axolot.cat/opencall.html.
Medialab Matadero in Madrid selects three projects for a research and creation residency bringing together contemporary art, design, science, technology and society, welcoming critical, experimental and collaborative work. Each project must connect clearly with one or more themes from Medialab's recent programs: LAB 1 Sentient Media, LAB 2 The Metabolic Sublime, LAB 3 Synthetic Minds, LAB 4 Weird Futures and LAB 5 The Mechanics of Truth. Open to individuals and collectives from any discipline (design, art, architecture, film, journalism, digital media, environmental science, philosophy, engineering, programming, activism and more). SUPPORT: EUR 10,000 per project (before taxes), individual workspace, access to the Fablab and technical materials, curatorial team guidance, and logistical and financial support for public activities; proposals must include public engagement plans and produce documentation. RESIDENCY: January to July 2027, in person in Madrid. DEADLINE: 27 September 2026. No application fee.
Global art prize celebrating how art is made, open to artists worldwide working in any medium or art form. Instead of a traditional application form, artists submit a digital presence (website, portfolio or social profile) linked through a .ART domain that documents identity, process and work as one continuous record. PRIZES: Grand Prize (USD 15,000 cash); Artist Residency Award France (one month at Chateau du Fresne, near Paris); Artist Residency Award Spain (residency at Anfitrion, Marbella); Publication Award (editorial coverage in Whitewall Magazine, the campaign's media partner); .ART Domain Award (USD 10,000 premium .ART domain name). ELIGIBILITY: individual artists and artist collectives from all backgrounds (cultures, ethnicities, gender identities, abilities); 18 or older at time of submission; open to artists from all geographic regions with no restrictions on nationality or place of residence. Multiple entries permitted, as long as each submission (single artwork, series or overall practice) is presented on or linked to a SEPARATE .ART domain. NOTE: a .ART domain is required for submission; this is the de facto entry mechanism. ANNOUNCEMENT: winners revealed during Art Basel Miami on 3 December 2026. DEADLINE: 1 November 2026. APPLY via the .ART Award site.
The European Media Art Platform (EMAP/EMARE) is a network of leading European media-art organisations offering fully funded two-month production residencies for artists working with digital media, including media art, bio art and robotic art. Each residency provides a EUR 4,000 grant to the applying artist (including subsistence), a EUR 4,000 project budget, host-provided accommodation, travel covered according to EU ceilings, and access to technical facilities and media labs; a collaborating artist receives an additional EUR 2,000 (EUR 6,000 total for a duo). Residencies take place at one of 15 host institutions across Austria, France, Slovakia, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, Germany and Poland. ELIGIBILITY: applicants must be EU residents or taxpayers in an EU member state, or residents/taxpayers of one of the eligible non-EU countries (Netherlands-based artists qualify). Undergraduate and Master's students are not eligible; PhD candidates and emerging artists of any age and academic background may apply. IMPORTANT: applicants must apply as a duo or collective, or propose a collaborative project, rather than as a purely solo applicant. The 2027 open call runs from 3 September 2026 to 6 November 2026 at 14:00 CET. Apply online at call.emare.eu. No application fee.
NO PUBLISHED CLOSING DATE: the call gives no application deadline, so the operative cutoff is the gathering itself on 2-5 November 2026; apply early. The European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance (ESWA) brings back its Digital Rights Gathering in 2026 as The (W)horrors Edition, in Barcelona just after Halloween. It is a capacity and community-building space by and for sex workers, convened to confront the surveillance, censorship and digital violence they face online and to imagine and build more resilient digital futures. A limited number of spaces is reserved for allies working in adjacent digital rights and harm reduction spaces to host sessions. TWO CALLS ARE OPEN. (1) CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS, for sex workers who want to deepen their knowledge of digital rights, online safety and community resilience. Requirements: be a current or former sex worker who is also a member of an organisation in ESWA's network; be available for three days of interactive sessions, skill-sharing and collective learning on 2, 3 and 4 November, and free from 1 November (travel out) through 5 November (travel home), even though some final-day sessions are optional. Selected participants receive full funding covering travel, accommodation and food. (2) CALL FOR TRAINERS AND SESSION PROPOSALS, for facilitators, trainers and educators experienced in digital rights, online safety or sex worker-led organising, who want to deliver an interactive workshop, skill-share or creative session. Sessions run 90 minutes and are compensated at EUR 300 per session, with travel, accommodation and meals covered. Open to current or former sex workers, and to allies with experience in digital rights, digital discrimination, digital security and related fields. SESSION STRANDS: Digital (W)horrors, naming the threats faced online and unpacking how surveillance, censorship and platform policy work against sex workers, including shadowbanning and algorithmic censorship, over-zealous content moderation, law enforcement and third-party surveillance, deplatforming, non-consensual data scraping and retention, and the platforms and policies that enable them; Building Resilience, practical hands-on skills covering open source and privacy-respecting software, how and why to divest from Big Tech platforms, alternative and encrypted communication tools, digital security basics such as protecting data, devices and identity, and other harm-reduction strategies for working and organising online; Imagining Better Futures, creative forward-looking sessions on what a sex worker friendly internet would look like, including prototyping inclusive digital tools, platforms and spaces built by and for sex workers, new apps, alternative social platforms, community-owned tech, and speculative design exercises; Resourcing the Group, sessions focused on care and resilience, including writing and reflection, grounding and somatic exercises, tools for self-care and sustainability in activism, and space for radical rest. The organisers welcome grounded, political and creative contributions from anyone who would like to lead a session. Separate application forms for participants and for session proposals are linked from the call page. Questions: ana@eswalliance.org.