Music Biennale Zagreb (MBZ) invites individual artists and artistic duos from Southeast and Central Europe working in sound and music to join MBZ LAB, a ‘project incubator’ experiment. MBZ LAB reimagines how festivals commission and produce new works, particularly collaborative, sound-based projects designed for unconventional spaces.
Stage 1 – Expression of Interest & Research Visit
Individual artists or artistic duos submit a portfolio and an expression of interest. At most, five applications will move to the next stage. Each selected application will receive:
- Travel and accommodation for up to two people (if applying as a duo) for a site visit to Zagreb (27-31 October 2025)
- A seed development fee of 1,000 EUR
The research visit will enable artists to connect with the MBZ team and local partners, explore potential locations, and develop their concept into a full proposal, which should include at least one other LAB artist.
Stage 2 – Commissioning & Production
Final projects will be selected in early 2026 and co-produced by MBZ for presentation in April 2027 as part of the 34th Music Biennale Zagreb. MBZ LAB production budgets and timelines for each selected project will be developed in collaboration with the chosen artists.
The project welcomes applications from composer-performers, sound and installation artists, improvisers, new-media artists, instrument makers, as well as visual, multimedia, and/or performance artists whose work engages with sound and music in expanded or non-traditional ways.
Applicants should be in the early-to-mid-career stage, with a developed body of work and some public presentation history, but are not yet regularly commissioned by major institutions or festivals (approximate age range: 25-35 years old). An ongoing collaborative practice is essential.
While priority is given to those based within approximately 500 km of Zagreb, the project also welcomes applications from artists with strong contextual ties to the region (e.g. origin, language, or past collaborations).
