OPEN CALL | Em Obras – Laboratório Experimental
30 Setembro 2025 00h00
OPEN CALL | Em Obras – Experimental Laboratory
The Em Obras Experimental Laboratory is an educational program in the visual arts aimed at students, artists, and other early-career cultural agents, taking place at Zaratan between October 6 and 20, 2025.
The aim is to encourage the activity of emerging creators by equipping them with the means to produce work in the fields of visual arts and new media, and to generate an opportunity for participants to test their research and artistic practices in a community environment.
Zaratan- Arte Contemporânea places itself in the tradition of artist-run spaces. Historically, artists have specialized in identifying cultural needs and making them available through the creation of independent structures. Distancing itself from traditional teaching methods, the laboratory offers an alternative experience that prioritizes practice, improvisation, debate, and growth.
The course is structured over 15 days of collective work with a group of up to 10 participants and 7 tutors: António Olaio, Daniel Antunes Pinheiro, Gemma Noris, João Fonte Santa, José Chaves, Nuno Direitinho, and Stéphane Blumer. The first 10 days of the laboratory will feature moments of reflection, sharing, and debate, with the active participation of other guests invited by Zaratan.
Together with the tutors, participants will develop practical activities with the goal of deepening their knowledge in the visual arts and facilitating dialogue among those involved and with the surrounding environment.
During the final week of the laboratory, the Zaratan - Arte Contemporânea gallery space will be open to the public and will be transformed into a stage for the participants, who can fill the physical space with transversal thought and productions: individual and collective, material and ephemeral.
The 2025 edition will be the fifth of the Experimental Laboratory. It is supported by the Lisbon City Council and theRepública Portuguesa – Cultura, Juventude e Desporto / Direção-Geral das Artes.
The aim is to encourage the activity of emerging creators by equipping them with the means to produce work in the fields of visual arts and new media, and to generate an opportunity for participants to test their research and artistic practices in a community environment.
Zaratan- Arte Contemporânea places itself in the tradition of artist-run spaces. Historically, artists have specialized in identifying cultural needs and making them available through the creation of independent structures. Distancing itself from traditional teaching methods, the laboratory offers an alternative experience that prioritizes practice, improvisation, debate, and growth.
The course is structured over 15 days of collective work with a group of up to 10 participants and 7 tutors: António Olaio, Daniel Antunes Pinheiro, Gemma Noris, João Fonte Santa, José Chaves, Nuno Direitinho, and Stéphane Blumer. The first 10 days of the laboratory will feature moments of reflection, sharing, and debate, with the active participation of other guests invited by Zaratan.
Together with the tutors, participants will develop practical activities with the goal of deepening their knowledge in the visual arts and facilitating dialogue among those involved and with the surrounding environment.
During the final week of the laboratory, the Zaratan - Arte Contemporânea gallery space will be open to the public and will be transformed into a stage for the participants, who can fill the physical space with transversal thought and productions: individual and collective, material and ephemeral.
The 2025 edition will be the fifth of the Experimental Laboratory. It is supported by the Lisbon City Council and theRepública Portuguesa – Cultura, Juventude e Desporto / Direção-Geral das Artes.
DATES AND SCHEDULE:
October 6–10 (14:30-20:00) Training
October 13–17 (14:30-20:00) Training
October 20 (10:30-16:30) Setup and organization of the public presentation
October 24 – November 2 (Wed-Sun, 16:00-20:00) Exhibition of the developed work
October 6–10 (14:30-20:00) Training
October 13–17 (14:30-20:00) Training
October 20 (10:30-16:30) Setup and organization of the public presentation
October 24 – November 2 (Wed-Sun, 16:00-20:00) Exhibition of the developed work
ELIGIBILITY:
Students (from higher education onwards), artists, and other emerging cultural agents, both national and international. Participation does not require any specific equipment or technical knowledge.
Students (from higher education onwards), artists, and other emerging cultural agents, both national and international. Participation does not require any specific equipment or technical knowledge.
APPLICATIONS:
Applications should be sent to the email info@zaratan.pt until September 30, 2025 (00:00h). We request:
Motivation letter (maximum 500 words);
Portfolio/Website or any other document/media that exemplifies the candidate's practice (maximum 24 MB - PDF file)
Applications should be sent to the email info@zaratan.pt until September 30, 2025 (00:00h). We request:
Motivation letter (maximum 500 words);
Portfolio/Website or any other document/media that exemplifies the candidate's practice (maximum 24 MB - PDF file)
PARTICIPANTS:
Maximum 10
Maximum 10
COSTS:
€80 (€30 / annual Zaratan membership fee + €50 / tuition fee). Participation is free for 2 unemployed applicants. The costs refer to the effective participation of the candidates. No fee is charged for the submission of the application.
€80 (€30 / annual Zaratan membership fee + €50 / tuition fee). Participation is free for 2 unemployed applicants. The costs refer to the effective participation of the candidates. No fee is charged for the submission of the application.
SUPPORT:
Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, República Portuguesa – Cultura, Juventude e Desporto / Direção-Geral das Artes
Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, República Portuguesa – Cultura, Juventude e Desporto / Direção-Geral das Artes
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TUTOR BIOGRAPHIES:
ANTÓNIO OLAIO (1963, Angola) Graduated from the Porto School of Fine Arts. Lives in Coimbra. His performances in the early 80s led him to music (Repórter Estrábico 1986-1991, António Olaio & João Taborda, 1996-2024, and since 2024, The Middle People, with Mikey Georgeson, and other duo projects with Manuel Guimarães or Vitor Torpedo). With the musician and actor Richard Strange, he created performance and theater projects presented in Portugal and the UK. Exhibitions and performances in Portugal, Spain, Germany, USA, France, Netherlands, UK, Mexico. Director of the Colégio das Artes of the University of Coimbra between 2013 and 2023, where he is a professor. Also a professor in the architecture course at the University of Coimbra. Researcher at CEIS20, Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Coimbra.
DANIEL ANTUNES PINHEIRO (Mozambique, 1980) divides his activity between Fine Arts, Photography, Sound, and university teaching. He holds a degree in Fine Arts – Painting and a Master's in Multimedia Art – Photography from FBAUL, where he is currently a PhD candidate (Photography). He has a Postgraduate degree in Musical Arts – Studies in Music and Technology from FCSH. Since 2012, he has been a Guest Assistant in the Multimedia Art department at FBAUL, teaching Photography and Sound Art. Since 2018, he has co-organized the exhibition program of the Ascensor space, based at the Goela Association. He has participated in several solo and group exhibitions since 2005. Lives and works between Lisbon and Montemor-o-Novo.
GEMMA NORIS (1986, Brescia) is the founder and artistic director of Zaratan. She graduated in Painting from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan (2010) and obtained a Master's degree in Multimedia Art from FBAUL (2014). Her work opposes the connection between art and permanence, moving towards collaborative intervention practices. She is interested in self-managed practices of artistic creation and production. Since 2012, she has collaborated with various independent and artist-run projects in Europe.
JOÃO FONTE SANTA studied Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Classical University of Lisbon. He began by dedicating himself to the production of underground comics in the context of the fanzine emergence. Slowly, however, his work would establish itself in the field of painting. Working from an extensive background of pop culture images and references, he would build a body of work that is as visually appealing as it is pertinent in how it presents a particularly critical worldview. He has been exhibiting regularly since the mid-90s.
JOSÉ CHAVES (1982, Lisbon) lives and works in Lisbon. He graduated in Advertising and Marketing from the Lisbon School of Communication and Social Sciences and obtained a Master's in Multimedia Art from FBAUL. In 2014, he founded Zaratan with a collective of artists, and has since coordinated the association's activities. His work incorporates various artistic languages, such as music composition, cinema, documentary, and video art. This intersection allows him to create his own body of work, which explores audiovisual images and their post-multi-effects. He has participated in festivals, residencies, and exhibitions worldwide.
NUNO DIREITINHO (1981, Lisbon) lives and works in Lisbon. He completed a Master's in Fine Art Media at the Slade School of Art, UCL London (2014) and a degree in Fine Art Photography at the Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow (2011). Recent exhibitions include: ‘Future Nothing’ - Zaratan Arte Contemporânea (2020, Lisbon); ’I’m in the bath where are you?’ - The Icing Room (2019, London); ’All Things Considered’ - Shed (2018, Frauenfeld); ‘We are All Lichens Now’ - Zaratan Arte Contemporânea (2016, Lisbon); ‘Cornerstone’ - APT Gallery (2015, London); ‘Get in Lane’ - Catalyst Arts (2015, Belfast) and ‘Open Cube’ - White Cube (2013, London).
STÉPHANE BLUMER (1985, Geneva, CH) is an artist who lives and works between Geneva and Lisbon. He is a co-founder of the association Comité (Lisbon), a research center in arts and social sciences. Drawing from his background as a lecturer in Arts, Sociology, and Anthropology, Blumer's artistic practice challenges established socio-cultural structures and conventions. His work is a reflection on our modes of communication, exploring both oral and written traditions. He investigates the communicative function of language through critical topics such as our relationship with the internet, censorship, and the globalization of cultural identity.