P.A.I.R. | Open call for artists

Create the Accessible Future of Art!

🔷 Are you an artist with or without a disability?

🔷 Are you interested in experimenting with accessibility tools and digital media to create works that open art to everyone?

As part of the European project P.A.I.R. (Paving Accessible and Inclusive Realities), an artistic residency programme invites artists from all fields to create accessible works of art.

The programme supports the co-creation of digital artworks by disabled and non-disabled artists or inclusive artistic teams, centred on the Creative Accessibility Methodology, an approach that treats accessibility as a source of inspiration, innovation, and artistic practice.

Poster for PAIR. A pink and white frame sets the stage for the program’s open call. In bold purple letters, it reads: “Open Call for Artists: Create the Accessible Future of Art! Application Deadline: January 10, 2026.” At the bottom, on a white band, appear the logos of the organizations, the EU, and the Ministry of Culture.

Through this open call, one artist or artistic collective will be selected in each participating country (Greece, Cyprus, and Estonia). Participants will receive the necessary tools and ongoing technical and creative guidance from a Collaborative Working Group, which will play both an educational and mentoring role.

Through this collaboration, artists will create artworks that embody the principles of the Creative Accessibility Methodology, expanding the boundaries of digital art while promoting inclusion and innovation in artistic creation.

Concept: Visible encounters

Fleeting connections and hidden encounters are a continuous process of the human condition, sometimes visible or lingering. They resonate through people, senses, across ideas, within the unfolding of a single moment. They shift, overlap, and ripple, revealing unexpected paths and opening new ways of feeling, thinking, and imagining.

How can we understand the meaning of connection and encounter as an everyday life occurrence? Can they become a force into the creative process? How might they be explored through digital art?

What Awaits Selected Artists

Selected artists and collectives will embark on a collaborative journey to create innovative digital artworks through the Creative Accessibility Methodology, a process that celebrates inclusion, experimentation, and co-creation. Working hand in hand with project partners (liminal, Alternative Brains Rule and Estonian Agrenska Foundation), Collaborative Working Groups, and a network of digital media artists and accessibility experts, participants will receive continuous artistic, technical, and production support throughout the creative process.

Their works will come to life at live events in Athens, Tartu, and Nicosia, presented in fully accessible, multisensory environments that embrace diverse bodies, minds, and artistic perspectives. The journey will culminate in a final international online event, featuring all participating artworks, the project documentary, and the Creative Accessibility Methodology Manual.

Five people are seated in a semicircular arrangement, laughing as they look toward a woman who is signing energetically. Next to her, a girl with short brown hair is showing a sketch with a marker on an A4 sheet of paper.
A group of nine white individuals is sitting in a circle in an enclosed room with stone walls. All of them are making the same hand gesture. With their palms open as if waving, their hands are raised high, elbows bent at a right angle. On the left side of the photo, the interpreter, dressed in black, is signing.

Artists will also have the opportunity to travel to Cyprus and Estonia to take part in related events and exchanges. Each selected participant or collective will receive an artist fee, production support, workspace access, and coverage of production and travel expenses.

Who Can Apply?

This open call is addressed to emerging artists and artistic collectives working across the full spectrum of the arts (visual, performing, digital, multimedia, music, performance, new media, etc.) who are based in Greece.

📋 How to apply?

Fill in the form provided below, keeping in mind that important information requested will be the following:

  1. Applicant Background & CV
  2. An Initial Project Description (Project Title, Type/Format)
  3. Budget Estimate
  4. Motivation for participation
  5. Accessibility Needs
Application Form

Selection Criteria

📌 Evaluation will take place by the Collaborative Working Groups Committee that will evaluate each application on the basis of the following criteria:

  1. Originality of Concept (25%)
  2. Accessibility Provisions (25%)
  3. Feasibility (20%)
  4. Relevance to the Concept (20%)
  5. Background & Motivation (10%)
During the selection process, you may be invited to a short interview for further clarification.

Key Dates

  • First week of December (exact date to be announced soon): Informative webinar on the application submission process
  • January 10, 2026: Application deadline
  • February 2026: Evaluation & Announcement of Selected Artists
  • February – May 2026: Creation of Accessible Digital Artworks
  • June 2026: In-person events in Greece, Estonia and Cyprus
  • Autumn 2026: Project’s final online event, showcasing the works from all three countries along with the program’s outputs

📢 Read the full open call here.

ℹ️ If you have any questions or encounter difficulties with the application process, contact us at [email protected]. We can arrange a video call in Greek Sign Language upon request.

➡️ Follow P.A.I.R. on social media:

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Banner in dark green featuring, in a row, the logos of P.A.I.R., the participating organizations, the EU and the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.

This program is co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe call (CREA-CULT-2024-COOP-1) (Project code: 101173834). With the financial support of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.