Open Call - Mechanical Forests

Musica, Donaueschinger Musiktage and Kunstverein Global Forest jointly invite sound artists to apply for a residency of 3-4 months in St. Georgen in the
Black Forest in Germany in 2026. The residency will consist of a research phase leading to the development of a sound installation to be presented at Donaueschinger Musiktage in October 2026 and at Festival Musica in Strasbourg (year of presentation flexible). Moreover, the artist in residence will mentor a selected group of students of HEAR (Haute École des Arts du Rhin, Strasbourg) in workshops.

Nestled in the heart of the Black Forest, the town of St. Georgen bears the imprint of a singular ­history: as early as in the 1820s and 1830s, the region—already renowned for its cuckoo clocks ­— saw the emergence of the production of mechanical musical instruments. Building on the precision of local watchmaking, workshops in St. Georgen and nearby Furtwangen developed musical clocks, miniature organs, mechanical pianos, music boxes, and other sound automata that were exported across Europe. This flourishing 19th century industry deeply shaped the cultural identity of the region, as reflected today in the Deutsches Phonomuseum of St. Georgen. It also foreshadowed the exponential growth of sound reproduction devices, that can be traced from ­Edison’s phonograph to MP3 and streaming, as described by Jonathan Sterne in his genealogy of listening technologies.

The residency invites the selected artist to re-examine this technical, cultural, and sonic heritage while bringing it into dialogue with the natural environment of the Black Forest. The natural appearance of this region belies its human history. It was profoundly shaped by industrial forestry beginning in the 19th century. To meet the growing demand for timber — an essential material for watchmaking, ­mechanical musical instruments as well as for mining and energy — vast areas were cultivated and transformed into homogeneous spruce plantations at the expense of the original diversity of mixed forests. This history resonates with today’s perspective on forest management, raising tensions between exploitation, preservation, and landscape re-composition.

In this context — between mechanical memory and transformed landscapes, industrial echoes and ecological stakes — the selected artist will be invited to explore the tensions that shape both physical and imaginary territories.

We offer

• Residency of 3-4 months beginning in March 2026. The residency may be split into two parts.

• Rent-free stay at the Global Forest art association in St. Georgen (a spacious living and studio space with kitchen and bathroom is available)

• Development of a sound installation to be presented at Donaueschinger Musiktage in October 2026 and  at Festival Musica Strasbourg (year of presentation flexible)

• Mentoring a small number of students of HEAR (Haute École des Arts du Rhin Strasbourg) who work on  the same thematic focus in workshops. The time commitment will be about six days in total.

• Honorarium of a total of 15.000 EUR (including artist fee and teaching activity)

• Travel costs to St. Georgen as well as local travel for research purposes and to the presentations at the  two festivals. 

Application materials

• Project proposal: 2 pages in English, German or French with a short abstract in English or video presentation in English, German or French of max. 5 minutes.

• Draft of estimated production costs (up to a maximum of 10.000 EUR for the installation to be presented both in Donaueschingen and Strasbourg).

• C.V. including teaching experience (if appropriate).

• Links to documentation of up to three related works already realised (link accessible without password or time limit).

• Application deadline: October 19, 2025

The applications will be evaluated by a jury. The decision will be announced in early December 2025.

This project is part of the Les Trois Angles programme, with the support of Interreg Oberrhein/Rhin Supérieur, co-financed by the European Union.