Zodiak's open call for productions for the year 2026 will open on September 11, 2024. The deadline for applications is Mon, Oct 7, 2024.
General Instructions for Applying
Zodiak’s programme is artistically curated. The work of the curators and the programme selections are primarily based on this open call for applications, but some productions will also emerge through collaboration projects and from other sources.
The applications from the open call in autumn 2024 are reviewed by a workgroup consisting of three members, chaired by Zodiak’s artistic director Jenni-Elina von Bagh.
Categories and schedule
There are two application categories in this open call:
- Zodiak Laboratory (autumn 2025 and spring 2026)
- Zodiak CoProduction (2026)
The application deadline for both is October 7, 2024.
Production decisions will be communicated to the applicants by Jan 31, 2025. When applying for the 2026 programme (CoProduction), please note that productions will be scheduled in more detail after the selection of the programme.
This year, the CoProduction category is only open to artists from or working in Finland. We will develop our international co-production model during the autumn. Our next international co-productions will focus on the Nordic-Baltic framework. Please follow Zodiak's communication throughout the autumn for more information.
Stimuli for the Applications
We are looking for proposals that incorporate an essential relationship to dance and bodily performance, as well as an idea of how to form an audience relationship. When choosing the program, attention is paid to the originality and clarity of the work ideas and choreographic thinking, as well as to the relationship opened by the works with the audience.
For example, we encourage you to think and imagine the following:
- What topics and visions need to be addressed in the coming years / now?
- What kind of artistic starting points or practices does your suggestion entail or research?
- In what directions and by whom can contemporary dance and performance develop or make new openings?
- What kind of audience relations can the proposal create and generate? Does your idea appeal to a particular audience segment? Does it attach to the world in any particular way?
- What potential do you see for the work's future?
The final selection will be based on the artistic whole formed by the different projects and how realistic their production potential is considering Zodiak’s production resources and schedules of each production year.
Zodiak Laboratory
This form of support is intended to provide an opportunity for artistic experimentation without the pressure of an upcoming premiere.
We are now looking for Zodiak Laboratory residence applications for autumn 2025 and spring 2026.
Zodiak CoProduction
We are now calling for applications in the Zodiak CoProduction category for productions that premiere in 2026. As the name suggests, this is a coproduction support category, and the projects also need to have other funding.
Zodiak CoCommission
Unfortunately, it is not possible to apply for the Zodiak CoCommission category this autumn. In 2026 and 2027 we will only be able to produce one CoCommission production per year, contrary to previous plans. These two production slots have already been filled on the basis of previous applications.