Residency duration: up to 3 weeks
Residency dates: Jun 15 – Jul 5, 2026 or Aug 17 – Sep 9, 2026
Residency location: Estonia, Maajaam
Application deadline: Jan 31, 2026
Results of the open call: end of February / early March
Wild Bits is an exhibition concept that proposes a temporary art park in the wilderness. The exhibition seeks points of contact between people, technology, and nature. Through this open call, the technological art farm Maajaam is seeking proposals for installations, interventions, or processes to be placed in natural landscapes that explore the human condition in a contemporary technological society. The artworks should be able to withstand outdoor conditions. We encourage artists to consider energy-sustainable solutions, such as alternative sources (e.g., solar panels), and to be as economical as possible.
The first edition of the technological art outdoor exhibition Wild Bits piloted in 2018 in Maajaam, Southern Estonia. The next open call was launched in 2021, and the project spanned three years across the Baltic countries, with smaller outdoor exhibition collaborations in 2022 in Kaunas, Lithuania, and in 2023 in Savvala, Latvia. The main exhibition culminated at Maajaam in 2024, showcasing 15 new works of art from artists worldwide and becoming one of the highlights of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 official program.
With this open call, we seek artworks for the technological art installations are placed in nature around art & tech farm Maajaam – to a forest path, on a meadow or a lake or into the swamp.
After exhibiting a large-scale outdoor technological art exhibition over the summer of 2024, Wild Bits is transitioning into a triennial format, with the next edition planned for 2027. This ambitious project aims to establish a recurring platform for artists exploring the intersection of nature, technology, and human interaction within outdoor settings.
Within this triennial format, Wild Bits seeks to foster new artistic collaborations, expand its international reach, and offer audiences a continuously evolving experience of cutting-edge technological art in natural environments. The event will serve as a meeting point for artists, researchers, and visitors, encouraging dialogue about the role of technology in shaping our relationship with the world around us.
To diversify the curation selection and schedule residency camps for preparatory periods, additional open competitions will be announced.
This Open Call is organised by Wild Bits and Maajaam.
Wild Bits is a member of Estonian Creative Residencies Network LOORE.
Maajaam is situated in an old farmhouse, but is nonetheless operated as a media art experimentation residency. It lies on the frontier of these overlapping normalities, extending an invitation to contemplate, question and explore the aspects of a technological society, its influence on our behaviour, perception and thinking as well as on our surrounding environments.
This Open Call is funded by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.
The residency duration at Maajaam is approximately three weeks, depending on your production plan. During the residency, you will be expected to produce your artwork using the workspaces and available tools (see the list here). You will be accommodated in the Maajaam residency house. Two meals per day will be provided and covered by the host during your residency.
If you wish to apply as an artist group, Maajaam can accommodate and cover the travel costs of up to 2 people. If there are additional people in the artist group who are crucial to the execution of the artwork, we will seek to negotiate an appropriate solution.
The produced works will remain in the possession of Wild Bits and Maajaam until 2028. By participating in this open call, the artist agrees that their works may also be displayed in satellite exhibitions co-organised or co-curated by Wild Bits.
The selected projects will receive an artist’s fee of 3000€ (per collective, gross salary, all taxes included) for participating in the residency and carrying out the production of the artwork.
The production budget for the project is up to 5000€. Applicants are required to submit a preliminary budget. All expenses incurred within the framework of the project must first be coordinated with the Wild Bits production team and then processed through the organiser.
The artists’ travel budget is limited to 350€ per person within Europe and up to 700€ for artists traveling outside the EU. Accommodation will be provided by the organiser.
To scout possible locations for your artwork at Maajaam, please take a look at the map and panoramas from the Wild Bits 2024 exhibition. For inspiration, have a look at short documentaries of Wild Bits 2024.
Please include your artwork sketches and description of the idea, preliminary budget, creative CV or portfolio in your proposal.
Deadline: 31 Jan, 2026
Wild Bits places great importance on sustainability. We expect applicants to include a description of the planned materials. Maajaam will provide some production facilities and tools (see the list here).
Do artworks stay in Maajaam after the residency?
Wild Bits reserves the right to exhibit the artworks until 2028.
Can I propose an artwork that has been exhibited before?
We would prefer new works that are developed in the residency, but we also accept works done before to be adapted to the new landscape.
What equipment and facilities are provided in the residency?
You can see the residency possibilities on Maajaam website. If Maajaam does not have some specific tool or equipment, we try to rent or find a service locally.
Can I submit a light-based project?
As the main exhibition period is a summer with very long days due to northern latitudes it might be difficult to see. If submitting a light-based project this aspect must be taken into consideration.
How to power installation?
We do have solar power in the farm to supply energy to installations, but transmitting it to long distances might be problematic. If you need electricity for your work, please include a power management plan in your project. It’s best if installations use integrated solar panels, wind turbines or movement of visitors to create electricity. We are very happy with non-electric works also.
Do you accept AR/VR projects?
We are open to all kinds of projects, but we do prefer physical objects in physical spaces. In our view physical objects create better conditions for being present in the natural landscape. If the user experience is well thought through and is something more than watching (through) a screen, please feel free to submit!
Is the Open Call open to artists outside the EU?
Yes.
When and where will the audience see the artworks?
The final presentation of the artworks will take place at Maajaam, in Southern Estonia. The aim of the Open Call is to produce artworks for the Wild Bits 2027 triennial, but the organiser reserves the right to exhibit the artworks at Maajaam and other locations until 2028.
What happens to the artwork after the Wild Bits exhibition in 2027?
The artist may retrieve their artwork after one year from the Wild Bits triennial. However, the organiser does not cover transportation costs. Any equipment purchased for the artwork will remain in the organiser’s possession. If the artist chooses not to have the artwork returned or decides to leave it behind, it will become the property of the organisers.