Open Call: WORM, De Fabriek, Amarte: ‘CIRCUIT’

CIRCUIT is a trajectory for making, testing, breaking, and rebuilding live work across two cities. WORM (Rotterdam) and De Fabriek (Eindhoven) are joining forces with Amarte to support artists working across the broad field of LIVE ART. We are looking for 4 makers or collectives, connected to the cities of Rotterdam or Eindhoven, ready to experiment and develop their ideas with the support of our cultural institutions.

Deadline: August 14, 2026, 23:59.

For who?
We are looking for makers – individuals or collectives – with strong ties to either Rotterdam or Eindhoven, working multidisciplinarily with live art, and who could use a helping hand to realise a new work.

By live art, we mean practices that unfold in real time and space: visual performance, theatrical or embodied work, experimental music, sound art, installation with a live or durational element, or anything across those lines that might surprise us!

We embrace performance in its many forms, with a focus on experimentation, hybridity, and research across or beyond disciplines. The proposed work should aim toward a clear, presentable outcome.

We especially encourage makers who:
– Are developing their first larger-scale production;
– Are stepping outside their usual practice;
– Are trying something they don’t fully know how to do (yet).

We welcome applicants from non-traditional or non-linear artistic backgrounds, and we are
excited to meet creators exploring unconventional, progressive ways of making and
presenting.

What to expect?
Selected artists will enter a 10-week development trajectory under the respective organisation of their city; two projects will be selected per organisation. The specific timeline of development is expected to reflect the needs of the project and the budget limitations.

All participants will receive:
– €5,000 budget per project;
– Artistic coaching and feedback;
– Production and technical support;
– Access to rehearsal and test space;
– Exchange with fellow participants.

Each project will be presented twice:

– Once in Rotterdam (WORM)
– Once in Eindhoven (De Fabriek)

The trajectory will run from mid-September to end of November 2026, with public presentations between late November 2026 and early January 2027. The exact dates will be determined with the selected participants at the kick-off meeting.

Review
Applications will be reviewed by an advisory committee formed by WORM, De Fabriek, and Amarte. The selected candidates will be informed in the beginning of September.

Projects are selected based on:
– Artistic quality and urgency;
– Experimental and interdisciplinary approach;
– Feasibility within the timeline and budget;
– Relevance to live art and the wider ecology of the affiliated city.

Please note: Amarte, WORM, and De Fabriek highly value honest, ethical, and professional practices. This means offering the makers you work with fair payments, clear agreements, and a safe and inclusive working environment. Take this into account when preparing the application and budget, and ensure the allocated grant is adequately divided in a feasible way within the timeline and budget. Make sure that you, or each maker involved, is adequately paid.

How to apply?
You can apply for the open call until August 14, 23:59. Click this link and use the form to submit your application.

The application may be filled in either English or Dutch.

For questions, please contact elio@worm.org.

Attachments
We would like to get an impression of the makers’ artistic practice(s) and plans. In addition to answering the questions in the application form, we ask you to upload the following documents:

– Project proposal (including a description of your plans, the artist/collective’s name, the project title and the expected timeline of development) – max. 1 A4 or a link to a video presentation of max. 2 minutes
– Budget plan for the allocation of the received funds – max. 1 A4
– Portfolio (with a minimum of two relevant previous projects) – PDF (max. 50 MB) or a link to video documentation

WORM
WORM is an artist-driven institution devoted to the development, promotion and staging of alternative cultural talent. We do not limit ourselves to any discipline, on the contrary: we support artistic expression in any curious, messy, analogue, experimental, heartfelt and magical form. We’re a maker centre for film, radio, art, performance: what’s in a name(!), and function as a club, gallery, social centre, alternative library and a bar. WORM is the ultimate playground, a place to create and enjoy avantgardistic recreation.

WORM offers alternatives to mainstream culture in Rotterdam and beyond. Our programme focuses on socially and culturally engaged, upcoming makers. WORM looks to fuse genre and disciplines, and in doing so, challenge this city’s social, artistic and cultural preconceptions about what art, culture, or entertainment can be.

De Fabriek
De Fabriek is a unique art space founded more than forty-five years ago by and for artists. With roots in resistance, the space was squatted and occupied in 1980, De Fabriek continues to stand as a place of perseverance, care, and the freedom to push boundaries. It showcases art and artistic practices while providing space for new, radical, experimental, and diverse perspectives. De Fabriek acts as a catalyst and mediator, fostering exchanges
beyond the beaten path. Through its residency programmes, it supports creators’ working processes and makes them accessible to a broader audience. Through collaborative projects and events, it creates opportunities to rethink and challenge existing systems, structures, and ways of working. In this way, De Fabriek creates a space not only for artists but for everyone who practices and experiences culture, enabling people to collectively engage with fundamental, difficult, and essential questions without requiring immediate answers.