Connect India

Arts at CERN and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia announce a new open call for the Connect programme – “Connect India”. This second edition offers one joint residency for two artists, one from Switzerland and one from India. The residency is fully funded, and it is aimed at artists with a distinct interest in a cross-disciplinary approach and a strong engagement with fundamental science.

Connect is a collaboration framework that was launched in 2021 by Arts at CERN and Pro Helvetia to serve as a platform for interactions and dialogue between artistic and scientific communities across the world.

Based on the same model as last year’s edition, Connect South Africa, the international format of Connect India will bring an artist from Switzerland and an artist from India together to participate in a residency at CERN in Geneva and at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) in Bengaluru. This residency exposes the artists to two unique scientific facilities as well as the fundamental research that is conducted there. While CERN offers a unique range of experiments in particle physics, the ICTS engages in research areas that include statistical and condensed matter physics, physical biology and mathematics.

Artists interested in applying to Connect India are invited to submit a proposal detailing a process of artistic research to be carried out in dialogue with CERN’s and ICTS’ scientific communities.

Online applications for Connect India are open from 3 November until 12 December 2022. On 23 November, Connect Info Day will give applicants the opportunity to find out more about the residencies and put their questions to the Connect India team. A jury of cultural experts and scientists will select the winning artists, who will start their residencies in 2023. The winners will be announced in February 2023.