A Journey of Artistic Discovery Across Europe
La Biennale di Venezia - Biennale College Musica 2026 - Call for applications
La Biennale di Venezia
Deadline
Restrictions
The call is open to applicants of legal age from all over the world who have not reached the age of 30 by the application deadline (19 February 2026).Participation fee
Participation in all residency sessions is mandatory in order to take part in the programme.The selection will be made at the sole discretion of Caterina Barbieri, Artistic Director of the Music department of La Biennale di Venezia. The outcome of the selection will be communicated by email by mid-March 2026.
Only the selected participants, following notification of their admission, will be required to pay a registration fee (€ 80,00 including VAT, non-refundable), exclusively via credit card and no later than the indicated date.
La Biennale di Venezia will organize and cover travel and accommodation for participants, who will also have the opportunity to attend the programme of events of Biennale Musica 2026.
Each participant will receive a gross payment of € 2,000 for the realisation of the project.
Selection of up to 5 proposals by composers, sound artists and performers for a residency, research and production programme of new projects within the 70th International Festival of Contemporary Music organised by La Biennale di Venezia (10 - 24 October 2026).
The young participants selected through the open call are invited to propose a project that explores music as an open and intuitive process, rather than as a closed and static form. Just as children’s play is able to transform rules and limitations into a space of invention and creative vision, the young participants are encouraged to integrate performative and compositional practices linked to improvisation and aleatoric processes, exploring liminal territories between electronic music, new audiovisual technologies, acoustic instrumentation, and performance.
The eligible musical project categories are:
- live performance (with optional audiovisual component)
- acousmatic composition with multi-channel diffusion
- audiovisual installation
Those selected will participate in a programme of in-depth study, research, creation and production of a new project, structured in three residency sessions in Venice. Projects will be defined in all their aspects with the support of the Artistic Direction, the mentors and the production team of La Biennale.
Residency sessions in Venice
13 - 24 April 2026 (arrival 12 April - departure 25 April)
29 June - 10 July 2026 (arrival 28 June - departure 11 July)
28 September - 9 October 2026 (arrival 27 September - departure according to the project presentation date)
Projects will be presented within the 70th International Festival of Contemporary Music (10 - 24 October 2026).
Deadline
Restrictions
The call is open to applicants of legal age from all over the world who have not reached the age of 30 by the application deadline (19 February 2026).Participation fee
Participation in all residency sessions is mandatory in order to take part in the programme.The selection will be made at the sole discretion of Caterina Barbieri, Artistic Director of the Music department of La Biennale di Venezia. The outcome of the selection will be communicated by email by mid-March 2026.
Only the selected participants, following notification of their admission, will be required to pay a registration fee (€ 80,00 including VAT, non-refundable), exclusively via credit card and no later than the indicated date.
La Biennale di Venezia will organize and cover travel and accommodation for participants, who will also have the opportunity to attend the programme of events of Biennale Musica 2026.
Each participant will receive a gross payment of € 2,000 for the realisation of the project.