Open Call for one live art work for spring 2025

If you are interested in taking part in our program, please apply with one Live Art work which promotes the dialogue on how to increase or develop accessibility and/or diversity within the Live Art field. We welcome proposals for all Live Art formts from processes and performance gestures to all kinds of small-scale stage performances. You can suggest a new work or an already existing piece that you wish to develop further with the help of an accessibility/diversity expert. Our aim is to reflect together with artists, accessibility and diversity experts as well as diverse audiences on how to develop the accessibility and equality of our working structures.

What is Live Art? 

Live Art is a term that emerged in the 2000s to describe a new field of art at the crossroads of different performing arts traditions. Its roots are in contemporary theatre, performance art and other experimental art processes. Live Art is about rethinking the performance forms, expression and audience-performer relations.  

What are we looking for? 

We hope to receive proposals for Live Art works that center on questions of accessibility and/or diversity regarding the artists/makers, audiences, production methods, artistic working processes, and/or art spaces.  

We will choose one (1) Live Art work and it will be a part of the Reality Research Center’s 2025 Main Program as well as Mad House’s 2025 spring program. The chosen work will be performed three to five times at the Mad House’s venue in Tekstin Talo (black box on 6th floor) during May 2025.  

What do we offer? 

The Reality Research Center together with Mad House Helsinki offer the chosen artist or working group the following:  

• An accessibility/diversity expert (1 month of mentoring work during the production process): After the selection and discussion with the selected artist/working group, the Reality Research Center and the Mad House Helsinki will hire an accessibility or diversity expert to collaborate with the production and communication team, the curator as well as mentoring the chosen artists. The expert will consult on matters regarding access and diversity as well as artistic practices and will assist the both organisations towards a more equitable model of operations.  
• Budget and assistance 
• The Mad House venue for 2 weeks including the Mad House’s technical gear (see the link below) 
• Production budget 20 000 € from Reality Research Center. Funding can be secured in early 2025 after the operational grant decisions. 
• Curatorial support from RRC’s artistic director Olga Spyropoulou. 
• Production and communications’ support from both organisations. Culture for all will consult our communications’ officers throughout the project. 
• Technical assistance for 2 working days during the performance period. 

Pictures from the Mad House stage / Parvisali in Tekstin talo (Lintulahdenkatu 3, Helsinki) 
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rrq8bfNfUOl5lJnPjXe6jZnh4LCfJB75?usp=sharing (the link takes you to Google Drive) 

Link to the available tech:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FheY6jx-iQ51eHQxFyTkqTny0bc0Gj7ioOwgyhDIuao/edit?usp=sharing (the link takes you to Google Docs)

The space is located on the 6th floor and is accessible. 
https://tekstintalo.fi/esteettomyystiedot (the link takes you to the website of Tekstin talo)

If you wish to ask more about the space and technical facilities, you can contact emmi@madhousehelsinki.fi 

If you have any questions about the open call in general, please contact: 

Olga Spyropoulou +358 44 965 8088, only on April 15th between 10 AM to 1 PM. Inquiries only in English. 

Emmi Vainio, +358 44 791 5 944, only April 16th between 2 to 4 PM. 

Selection and criteria 

The selection process will be conducted by a team of curators, producers, and accessibility and diversity agents: Monica Gathuo, Maija Karhunen, Orlan Ohtonen, Marianne Savallampi, and Olga Spyropoulou. All applicants will be notified by email at the end of June 2024.  

The selected Live Art work will: 

• centre around questions of accessibility and/or diversity, 
• take into consideration the specificity of the venue (black-box performance stage), 
• be possible to produce with the resources listed under “what do we offer?” section. We urge you to think and allocate the budget fairly and realistically. Big scale performances are not possible with this budget, unless you can contribute towards the production cost. We welcome all sorts of suggestions or formats, e.g., artistic processes, small scale performances etc. 

We will grant special consideration to applications, which consider the following: 

• accessibility or diversity from more than one aspect (artists/makers, audiences, production methods, artistic working processes, and/or art spaces), 
• propose a sustainable way of working, 
• offer a strong aesthetic proposition   

How to apply? 

To apply, please book a meeting slot with one of the selection committee members through the form below. Next to their name, you will find each person’s working languages.  

The booking forms will open on Friday 26th of April at 10 AM. We offer thirty (30) slots (6 slots per committee member). The booking will close when all thirty slots have been booked. The duration of each slot is 45 minutes.  

The meeting is an opportunity for the applicants to share their performance concept and needs in relation to accessibility with the curators (accessibility riders are welcome). During the meeting, we will also discuss the allocation of the budget and matters regarding the production. 

The meeting will have the form of a remote video meeting. If you prefer a different form of application instead of the remote video meeting, it is possible to use your meeting slot to apply with a different medium such as text, pre-recorded video, or audio clip. In this case, please indicate this choice in the form when booking your slot. An email with further instructions will be sent to you after your booking is confirmed.   

About us 

Reality Research Center (RRC) is an artists collective with the shared aspiration to observe, question, and renew reality by creating performances. Our vision is that art opens the spectrum of reality. RRC, founded in 2001, has been solidifying the position of performance and live art on the Finnish cultural landscape. Our aim is to support both the long-term artistic work and research in collaboration with our local and international partners.

Mad House Helsinki is a culture house and a venue for live and performing arts founded by a group of independent artists. Mad House co-produces a diverse range of contemporary performing arts pieces and aims to make  them more accessible to a broader variety of audiences. Mad House's visiting artists work across disciplines bringing together different art forms and expressions. Mad House wishes to create a space for artists and practitioners to address contemporary issues in an experimental and critical way.