night as commons and the dark side of light
Hypha_etc is calling for applications from Europe-based artists for a residency in Vármező / Câmpu Cetății, Transylvania, Romania, from 1 October – 10 November 2026.
Night as Commons explores darkness as a shared ecological, cultural and political condition. In a world increasingly shaped by artificial illumination, night has been fragmented, colonised and rendered scarce. Darkness — once a universal temporal commons — is now overshadowed by infrastructures that extend productivity, disrupt biological rhythms, and reshape the behaviour of humans and non‑humans alike.
The residency invites artistic and research‑based practices that engage with — or depart from — themes such as:
night‑time ecologies and photoperiodicity
the cultural, poetic or symbolic dimensions of darkness
sensory experience, perception and orientation
temporal critique, labour and the politics of illumination
speculative, spatial or ecological approaches to ‘unbuilding’ light
light pollution, skyglow and disrupted rhythms
The residency also offers interdisciplinary mentorship from experts in physics, biology and curatorial research, supporting both scientific grounding and artistic development.