In 1924, the writer Raul Brandão left Lisbon on board the ship São Miguel. His destination was the autonomous regions of Portugal: Azores and Madeira, where he found inspiration for one of the most original examples of travel writing, portraying the islands' beauty in a book published in 1926, 'As Ilhas Desconhecidas (The Unknown Islands)'.

Now, in the context of the Centenary Celebrations of this same publication by Raul Brandão, APCA Madeira - Agency for the Promotion of Atlantic Culture promotes the open call ‘Atlânticos - Media Arte’, an initiative that aims to stimulate contemporary artistic reflection on the Madeira and the Azores islands.

How can contemporary art contribute to highlighting certain aspects of these islands? How do artists from the Azores see the island of Madeira, and how do artists from Madeira look at the insular space of the Azores? Aimed at artists from both islands, the call starts with these questions and challenges professionals working with installation, film/video, photography, multimedia, sound, digital art, and/or interactivity to develop proposals that relate the concepts of ‘island’ and ‘unknown’.

As a result of this open call, the artists will have the opportunity to join an artistic residency (taking place in June 2025), which will function as an exchange between artists from the Azores and Madeira. The works resulting from this residency will be presented for the first time in a group exhibition at the Baltazar Dias Municipal Theatre in September 2025. 

The open call ends on February 28th, and the applications should be sent to opencall@apca-madeira.org. Learn more on the APCA Madeira website.