OPEN CALL
EDITION XVII
November 10-23, 2025
Epecuén, Buenos Aires, Argentina
UTOPIAN WORLDS
Resident Curator
Helena Lugo (MX)
Director
OPEN APPLICATION until August 10th HERE
SITE SPECIFIC PROJECTS FOR ALL DISCIPLINES ARTISTS
Residencia Epecuén invites applications for its 17th edition, which will take place from November 10 to 23, 2025, on the shores of Lake Epecuén, aimed at artists, researchers, and curators interested in site-specific practices.
UTOPIAN WORLDS
The XVII edition of Epecuén art residency program will be curated by Helena Lugo — curator and director of the Terremoto platform. During her participation, she will develop the research project Utopian Worlds and will actively participate in the creative, exchange, and support spaces alongside the selected artists.
Her curatorial proposal explores the relationship between the desolation of the landscape and the collapse of meaning. Her research starts from history and oblivion to reflect on the ends of the world — not as catastrophes, but as moments when familiar structures dissolve, are lost, or are taken away, giving way to other forms of imagination. The residency investigates collapse and ruin as sensitive and epistemic conditions, activating interrupted memories, narratives of oblivion, and cracks in the structures that uphold the very idea of the future. Through dialogue with the participants and the context of Epecuén, this collaboration enriches both local and collective research, the residents’ processes, and the programs driven by both residencies. Thus, the circulation of ideas, methodologies, and future projects is strengthened.
This exchange is part of the Ñandú Grant, a program that seeks to build lasting ties between Residencia Epecuén and international platforms, promoting artistic exchange and strengthening networks between artists, curators, and communities.
The purpose of this residency is to provide a space for creation and reflection around the ruins of Epecuén, its lagoon, and the city of Carhué. Participants will explore the context through field research and training proposals, promoting exchange, debate, and critical thinking, in a 14-day group living experience.
The training program includes workshops and theoretical classes focused on site-specific practices, guidance, debates, production support, and a process exhibition open to the community.
We encourage the participation of artists from all disciplines, curators, and researchers of diverse backgrounds and ages, fostering exchange and process development.
The residency promotes the exploration of individual and/or collective poetics framed within the Argentine Pampas territory, aiming to enrich the historical, social, cultural, and environmental heritage. We create instances of dialogue and exchange between the residents and the Carhué community, understanding contemporary art as a means to rethink, question, and work on memory, territory, identity, ruin, landscape, the environment, among others.
Participation in the program offers the possibility of subsequent project follow-up, dissemination, exhibition, and marketing of works, fostering dialogue between the residents and the local and international art scenes.
LOCATION
The residency is located in Carhué, Adolfo Alsina district, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the shores of Laguna Epecuén. Villa Lago Epecuén was the founding name of the now-ruined tourist town, whose thermal waters from the Epecuén lagoon (which have a salinity level higher than that of the Dead Sea) generated growing tourist and medicinal interest in the area. In 1985, a flood caused by the lake’s rise and political negligence completely submerged the city, forcing its total evacuation. After twenty years, the water began to recede, revealing the city’s ruins, which have become a focal point of interest and tourist attraction in themselves. The area has been declared a Historical Heritage Site due to the magnitude of the events and because it houses remnants of constructions by architect Francisco Salamone, such as the slaughterhouse and other buildings from Argentina’s modernist period.
SEE LOCATION ON THE MAP – CLICK HERE
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Open Call: Until August 10, 2025
Residency: November 10-23, 2025 (14 days)
We invite national and international artists, curators, researchers, and collectives whose work engages with the theme of Art and Territory.
Applicants must submit a project or line of work to develop during the residency that considers the historical, geographical, social, environmental, and/or cultural context.
Residencia Epecuén offers an open program to work in ephemeral art, site-specific works, interventions, performance, sound art, photography, video, research projects, sculpture, ceramics, drawing, painting, writing, dance, experimental theater, and other media related to the field of contemporary art.
Proposed works and projects to be developed on-site must preserve historical locations and must not damage or alter the cultural or natural heritage of these sites.
This call is for participation in the residency taking place from November 10 to 23, 2025. We also welcome applications for future editions.
Applicants must be over 18 years old and have research and/or artistic production interests aligned with Residencia Epecuén’s territory.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Participants are invited to work on their personal projects and follow a specific schedule for fieldwork, guided by the coordination, curatorial, and production team of Ambos Mundos: Eduardo M. Saubidet, María Villanueva, and María Bressanello.
CURATORIAL SUPPORT
Residencia Epecuén has its own curatorial team and invites a guest curator for each edition to support the creative process and exhibition, providing critical and constructive feedback.
PROJECT FOLLOW-UP
The Residencia Epecuén team will provide ongoing support to each participant, assisting with the development and execution of their projects and their engagement with the Carhué community.
There will be exchange and reflection sessions between the resident artists and the coordination team called «STATE OF THE QUESTION,» aimed at enriching critical thinking and fostering artistic production. During these sessions, participants will present portfolios and engage in discussions to further their works.
SITE-SPECIFIC ACTIVATIONS
Throughout the residency, various situated exercises will be proposed to encourage residents to interact with the territory.
GUIDED TOURS
Guided tours will be conducted to culturally and historically significant locations, such as the Epecuén ruins, the White Forest, the Historical Museum, Francisco Salamone’s model slaughterhouse, and the Carhué Cemetery. These visits aim to contextualize the artists’ work within the historical, cultural, and natural surroundings of the region.
OPEN STUDIO
A process-based exhibition open to the entire community and visitors will be held on the shores of the lagoon and/or at the Adolfo Alsina House of Culture, with the aim of sharing creative processes and showcasing the work produced during the residency.
ACCOMMODATION
Participants will stay in a shared house with bedrooms, kitchen, and shared bathrooms.
Respectful and collaborative coexistence is encouraged, understanding the space as an opportunity for connection, exchange, and collective building. The communal kitchen is a central part of the experience: group meal preparation, mutual care, and shared responsibilities are promoted as another way of inhabiting the territory and nurturing the group process.
CERAMICS WORKSHOP
For those with a specific interest in this area, the residency offers access to a shared ceramics workshop at the Carhué House of Culture and the use of a wood-fired kiln.
DOCUMENTATION
Video and photographic documentation will be made of the processes carried out during the residency, which will become part of the residency’s archive and will be used for future exhibitions in museums, fairs, and shows.
DISSEMINATION
The residency will publish the work of selected artists on social media, the Residencia Epecuén website, and press releases to promote the participants’ work.
ARCHIVE
The works produced in each edition become part of the residency’s archive. This archive is used for the presentation, dissemination, and promotion of the project within the framework of exhibitions organized by museums, fairs, and cultural institutions.
INSURANCE
The residency includes occupational risk insurance for participants. International artists are required to have international health insurance arranged in advance.
WORKING LANGUAGE
The residency will take place in a bilingual environment, offering support in both Spanish and English according to the needs and composition of each participant group, ensuring smooth communication between local and international artists, and facilitating cultural exchange and collaboration.
FEES
The Epecuén residency art program is fee-based and produced by AAMM / Ambos Mundos Arte Actual, an independent organization interested in promoting art and culture and creating networks among national and international artists and researchers.
INTERNATIONAL FEE: U$D 1500
Includes round-trip BUS transportation Buenos Aires C.A.B.A / Carhué.
Departure from Buenos Aires to Carhué: Sunday, November 9 at 8 PM
Return from Carhué to Buenos Aires: Sunday, November 23 at 11 PM
SUBSIDIZED FEE FOR NATIONAL ARTISTS: U$D 950
Fee for selected Argentine artists living in Argentina who do not have support from public or private institutions.
NOT INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAM
- Transportation to and from the airport
- Accommodation in Buenos Aires
- Transportation to Carhué (for national artists)
- Meals
- Materials / Equipment
- Personal work documentation
- Medical insurance (mandatory for international artists)
From Residencia Epecuén, we encourage all applicants to participate in the program. The organization manages and supports the process of applying for funding from public and/or private entities to help finance your participation. Invitation letters and necessary documents are available to submit to the required institutions. For any questions, write to residenciaepecuen@gmail.com or WhatsApp +56 9 9787 4908.
APPLY WITH YOUR PROJECT!!
APPLICATION SUBMISSION AND PROPOSAL HERE
Until August 10th , 2025
Applications from those interested in participating in the 2026 editions will also be considered. If this is your case, please mention it in your letter of intent.
OUR COMMUNICATION CHANNELS ARE OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND.
If you have questions, need information, or require documents to present in advance to an institution, do not hesitate to contact us.
SELECTION CRITERIA
The selection of proposals will be made by the curatorial team of AAMM / Ambos Mundos, who will serve as the selection committee. Selected participants will be notified by email and published on the Residencia Epecuén and AAMM websites and social media.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Any situation not covered by these terms and conditions will be resolved by the organizers.
Participation in this call implies acceptance of the proposed terms and conditions, acknowledging that slight changes may occur later if they contribute to the project’s success.
SELECTION CRITERIA
The selection of proposals will be made by the curatorial team of AAMM / Ambos Mundos, who will act as the selec
tion committee. The beneficiaries will be notified via email and their names will be published on the Residencia Epecuén and AAMM websites and social media.
CONSIDERATIONS AND ACCEPTANCE
Any situation not covered in these terms and conditions will be resolved by the organizers.
Participation in this call implies acceptance of the proposed terms and conditions, acknowledging that slight changes may occur later, as long as they contribute to the success of the project.
ABOUT US
AMBOS MUNDOS / AAMM is a contemporary art and cultural management platform. It is an open, collective, and ongoing project that, since 2012, has convened, incorporated, and worked together with artists and cultural actors, proposing alternatives and generating dialogues within an ever-evolving contemporary art field. Our daily goal is to create opportunities for exchange, supporting the production of works and the dissemination of artistic projects, both locally and internationally.
TEAM
Eduardo M. Saubidet (Director / Curator)
Graduated from the University of Salvador with a degree in Business Administration. With studies at the School of Fine Arts (IUNA / REA), he combines aesthetic order and conceptual work in the curatorship and general production of interdisciplinary exhibitions. With experience in both national and international fields, he has participated directly in social relation art projects, such as Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin and CC Mil Mts. 2 in Santiago de Chile. He is currently pursuing a specialization in critical texts and art dissemination at the Department of Criticism, Universidad Nacional de las Artes / Diploma in Micro-Curatorships Saco (Chile) / Futura CCEBA.
María Villanueva (Coordinator)
Artist and cultural manager. She has coordinated Residencia Epecuén since 2017, is a producer for AAMM art fund, and works at MAPA FERIA in Buenos Aires. She is active as a visual artist in sculpture, painting, site-specific actions, relational projects, and collective creations. She studied visual arts and Image and Sound Design at UBA. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions, residencies, and projects in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, USA, Spain, Germany, and Ecuador.
María Bressanello (Coordinator)
Holds a degree in Visual Arts from UNA and studied arts and culture management at UNTREF. She participated in the Biennial of Art and Science in Concepción, Chile (2022), received the Kenneth Kemble Award for her project Proyección Paraná (2021), and was awarded a residency grant in Paraguay for the project Memorias del Suelo, granted by Becar Cultura de Nación (2020). She was selected for the site-specific art residency Las Orillas at the Ernesto de la Cárcova Museum (2019) and has received support from the Fondo Nacional de las Artes in collective projects. Her work has been selected in the National Salon of Textile and Ceramic Art and in various National and Provincial Painting Salons. She works as a producer at AAMM and is part of the coordination team of Residencia Epecuén.
Paula Benítez (Curator and Commercialization)
Artist, manager, teacher, and researcher. She studied Visual Arts Teaching (REA) and holds a degree in Visual Arts (UMSA). She has participated in various training spaces, including workshops with Ana Gallardo, Verónica Gómez, Héctor Maranessi, seminars with Hernán Vargas, Clarisa Appendino, Jimena Croceri, Luis Terán, Chiachio & Giannone, Florencia Caiazza, La tercera oreja – Tsonami Chile, and the curatorial art camp with Kekena Corbalán. She participated as both artist and curator at Residencia Epecuén. She is part of the research project “Methodologies for addressing and producing artistic practices of semiotic decolonization” at REA (San Isidro, Buenos Aires). She provides seminars and training on ephemeral kilns (pre-Hispanic technologies).
GUEST CURATOR – EDITION XVII
Helena Lugo (Mexico, 1989) is an art historian, researcher, and curator. She is currently the Executive Director of Terremoto. She received her MFA in Contemporary Art Curation from Goldsmiths College with a FONCA-CONACYT scholarship for international studies. She was Project Coordinator at Salón ACME (2019-2024), Research Coordinator at MMAC Juan Soriano, Cuernavaca (2017-2018), and Associate Curator at Chalton Gallery, London (2015-2017). She is the editor of the publication A Return to the Island (2018) and founder of Palmera Ardiendo (2019-2025). She participated in the second edition of the Shanghai Curators Lab (2019) and in the Curatorial Program for Research: Back to the North (2022). She has been supported by institutions such as the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Fundación Ama Amoedo PAC, Coinversiones FONCA, Fundación Jumex, Alice Stone Ilchman Scholarship Fund, Goldsmiths International Scholarship, Goldsmiths Annual Fund, and the Academic Excellence Award from Universidad Iberoamericana.
SUPPORTERS AND PARTNERS OF AMBOS MUNDOS/AAMM AND RESIDENCIA EPECUÉN
Secretariat of Culture and Education of Adolfo Alsina
Red Quincho / Argentine Network of Art Residencies
JUNTA / Buenos Aires Network of Contemporary Art Spaces
CCEBA / Spanish Cultural Center in Buenos Aires
Williams Foundation
MICA
Ministry of Culture of the Nation
National Arts Fund
MAPA Art Fair
ACE / Pice
CONTACT INFORMATION
IG: @residenciaepecuen_aamm
WEB: www.residenciaepecuen.com.ar
EMAIL: residenciaepecuen@gmail.com
WP: +56 9 9787 4908 (Eduardo Saubidet)
