Anna Siekierska – sculptor, cyclist, faculty member at the Sculpture Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and activist advocating for the protection of old-growth forests. She is the co-author of numerous public space installations, socially engaged projects, and actions that foster sensitivity to the lives of other beings. Her practice centers on the complex web of relationships between humans and the more-than-human world. She spends a lot of time in thickets and swamps. She enjoys swimming, hiking, and eating tomatoes (in season).

About the Open Call 

Soil, one of the most sensitive and largest organs of our planet, became the main theme of the SOIL/GLEBA project, which ran as part of a European creative network from September 2024 to June 2025. The project focused on exploring the connections between soil, people, and the shifting balance on Earth, inviting artists from five countries to create works delving into these themes.

Artworks were developed in five cities — Riga, Wrocław, Ancona, Faro, and Budapest — in collaboration with local partners: Latvijas Jaunā Teātra Institūts, Art Transparent Foundation, Marche Teatro, Sciaena, and Pro Progressione. Each project addressed local conditions and themes such as soil degradation, carbon storage capacity, impacts on biodiversity, and water quality.

Artists selected through the previous open call undertook the challenge of creating works that were both unique and thematically connected. In line with the project’s assumptions, the creative process was consciously limited in terms of environmental impact. The results were presented at the Homo Novus Contemporary Theatre Festival and in other international contexts.

Numerous online and offline meetings were held throughout the project, enabling an exchange of experiences between artists and partners from different countries. A shared approach was developed, incorporating similar materials and creative methods, highlighting the coherence of the resulting artworks.

The SOIL/GLEBA project not only helped raise ecological awareness but also encouraged the search for new, less destructive relationships with the surrounding environment. Thanks to the documentation of the creative process and international collaboration, the project contributed a significant voice to the ongoing discussion on climate change and artistic representations of environmental issues.

Participation Conditions:

• You are an artist based in Poland.

• You acknowledge that, as part of the project, you will share your creative methods with other artists, audiences, and partners. Your working methods will be presented during a digital/remote presentation at the Homo Novus Contemporary Theatre Festival and documented during and after the open call.

• You are available to participate in a meeting in Latvia from August 23–27, 2024. Travel, accommodation, and meals will be covered as part of the artist’s fee for participation. Please note that the working language of the meeting will be English, so communicative proficiency is required.

• You are available to engage in the project from September 2024 to June 2025.

• You can freely choose the period during which you will collaborate with your commissioning partner (Art Transparent), as the fee does not cover the entire year. However, participation in several (online) meetings organized throughout the year will be required. These meetings will involve project partners and fellow artists, aimed at sharing experiences and inspirations during the creative process.

• You can create a digital or remote presentation of your work, which will be shown during the Homo Novus Contemporary Theatre Festival in September 2025.

Selected Artists Received:

• The opportunity for international and interdisciplinary exchange with other project participants, including during a meeting in Latvia (August 23–27, 2024) with international practitioners.

• The opportunity to develop and/or expand their practice by integrating ecological issues and site-specific approaches.

• The opportunity to present their work at the SURVIVAL Art Review in Wrocław in June 2025.

• The opportunity to digitally or remotely present their work during the Homo Novus Contemporary Theatre Festival (Latvia) in September 2025.

• An artist’s fee and production budget, including coverage of travel and accommodation expenses for the meeting in Latvia.