SIXI AiR OPEN CALL 2027 SPRING & AUTUMN

[About SIXI AiR] Sixi Museum is a non-profit art institution that integrates the functions of collection, exhibition, academic research and public education in Nanjing, China. Launched in 2024 to support emerging artists, the Sixi International Artist-in-Residence Project is committed to facilitating exchanges between artists from different backgrounds and helping them achieve creative breakthroughs and personal growth in their creative work.

The Sixi AiR program welcomes applications from artists of all disciplines and cultural backgrounds. Capable of accommodating two artists concurrently, the program provides living and studio spaces, staff assistance, and financial support for production based on the specific characteristics of each project, catering to diverse creative and research needs. Nanjing is a distinctive Chinese city that combines traditional and contemporary culture, where contemporary art is vibrant in the midst of its rich history.

As one of the few local art residency programmes, the Sixi AiR Project hopes to provide artists with the opportunity to engage in dialogue with the city. We are dedicated to help the artists to engage with the local art scene, encouraging cultural research, experimentation, and exhibitions grounded in both cross-cultural and local contexts. Sixi International Artist-in-Residence Project is recruiting 4 artists for a three-month residency in Nanjing, China, scheduled for the spring and autumn of 2027.

This open call features two themes. Applications may address either theme. 1. Flux and Imprints: Contemporary Echoes of Migration History This theme focuses on cross-regional mobility, cultural reconstruction, and memory. We welcome research and artistic projects that explore topics such as the family histories of overseas Chinese, the legacy of colonialism in Asia, and identity formation within global geopolitical frameworks.

Artists are encouraged to examine the tension between historical archives, oral histories, personal memories, and grand narratives, redefining these historical imprints within a contemporary context. 2. Folds of Text: Cross-Media Intertextuality and Intervention This theme conceptualizes “text” as a fluid, dynamic medium extending far beyond literal signs. We invite interdisciplinary explorations that span literature, linguistics, music/sound, and the visual arts.

By deconstructing, rearranging, or translating varied medium languages, artists are expected to break traditional boundaries, uncovering hidden narrative possibilities and sensory experiences within the “folds of text”.