Open Call for Partner Program Proposals

Translation from German:

Invitation to submit project proposals for the partner program of the Steirischer Herbst ’24

Steirischer Herbst is an interdisciplinary festival for contemporary art that has been held annually since 1968. Since the 1980s, it has consisted of both a program curated by the festival team and projects of local institutions that present themselves independently within the festival.

Since 2018, there has been an Open Call for this partner program. It aims not only to provide a place within the Steirischer Herbst for established institutions but also to enable young and emerging artists and cultural creators in Graz and Styria to participate in the festival.

Also for 2024, the Steirischer Herbst once again invites non-commercial cultural institutions or artists in Graz and Styria to submit proposals for newly developed works with an experimental and socio-critical character. Projects in the partner program are not bound to a specific theme or medium. Only proposals for projects that take place fully or partially during the duration of the Steirischer Herbst ’24 (19.9.–13.10.24) will be considered.

From the submissions, a selection of 15 to 20 projects will be made to be presented as part of the Steirischer Herbst and also included in the festival’s communication materials and on the website. In addition to comprehensive promotion and a platform with international reach, the festival also offers financial support for the realization of the projects in individual cases. Inclusion in the educational program of the Steirischer Herbst is also possible.

All projects in the partner program are completely independently organized by the participants. Steirischer Herbst does not undertake production or organization. This also includes finding locations.

Please send your submission by Monday, 15.1.24, 10:00, to: opencall [at] steirischerherbst.at. If you have any questions, please also contact this address or call +43 664 24 500 67.

Required documents:

• Short, concrete project description (not a theoretical concept, max. 500 characters)
• Detailed concept (max. 5000 characters)
• Implementation plan
• For financial support, a financial plan
• Information about the institution or, for artists, a resume, max. 1 page
• Information about the location where the project will be realized (if it differs from the institution)
• Reference and project material on previous artistic practice (video and/or audio material, installation views, texts) and, if applicable, image and text material on the submitted project. For performative projects (theater, dance, etc.), video material is absolutely necessary. (Links or attachments up to 10 MB)
• Submissions of already existing projects, institutions outside Styria, or artists who do not live in Styria, as well as incomplete submissions, unfortunately cannot be considered. Please note that submitted materials will not be returned or archived after the selection process.

The selection process lasts until March 2024. The complete list of projects in the partner program will only be announced with the publication of the entire program. If it is necessary for you to make announcements before that, this can be arranged individually.