The open calls, foreseen in the Évora_27 Bid Book, are opportunities for artists, associations, institutions and communities, from Alentejo and from abroad, to be part of the artistic program of Évora 2027 – European Capital of Culture. They aim to encourage dialogue, collaboration and inclusion, with a view to the cultural and social coevolution of the Alentejo region. In this sense, four open calls are launched during the preparation of the European Capital of Culture.

Projects are expected that establish dialogues with the concept of Vagar, that deepen relationships between tradition and experimentation, that promote diversity and inclusion, that stimulate citizen participation and that contribute to a fairer and more prosperous future for all people.

We will give stage to new ideas, narratives and approaches that value cultural diversity, promote sustainability, cooperation, interdisciplinarity and intersectorality.

Évora_27 – European Capital of Culture will launch, on 4 September 2026, two calls for applications addressed to communities: one in the municipality of Évora and another covering the entire Alentejo Central region. These funding schemes aim to support proposals from people living in the territory that have a direct impact on everyday life, strengthening ties between people and contributing to more active and participatory communities.

The “Mê Vizinho” call will fund projects focused on activating public and community spaces in the municipality of Évora. The call has a total budget of €100,000, with financial support of up to €4,000 per application.

The “Comunidades do Vagar” call is aimed at residents of the Intermunicipal Community of Alentejo Central and supports projects that strengthen community life, neighbourhood relations and residents’ involvement in the life of their neighbourhood and city, while also promoting inclusion and intergenerational dialogue. This funding scheme will have two funding phases: the first phase will have a budget of €60,000 and will support projects of up to €2,000.

Applications for both calls can be submitted through an online form, which will be made available on 4 September 2026 at www.evora2027.com. Applications will remain open until 7 October 2026.

The scale and reach of a European Capital of Culture depend on its ability to engage the territories and the people who shape them. In this context, Évora_27 has been strengthening opportunities for participation among different communities across Alentejo, seeking to enable an ever-growing number of residents to find ways to get involved and contribute to the initiative. It is through this commitment to the territory and its communities that the “Mê Vizinho” and “Comunidades do Vagar” calls have emerged, designed to support ideas and projects that create space for participation and for communities to take action themselves.

Year of implementation: 2026 and 2027
Target audience: Mê Vizinho: individuals, informal groups and independent organisations working in the fields of community development and civil society; Comunidades do Vagar: individuals, informal groups and independent organisations working in the fields of community development, civil society and culture.
Budget: Mê Vizinho: €100,000; Comunidades do Vagar: first funding phase - €60,000
Applications: 04.09.2026 to 07.10.2026
“Mê Vizinho” Regulations:CLICK HERE
“Mê Vizinho” Application Form:CLICK HERE
“Comunidades do Vagar” Regulations:CLICK HERE
“Comunidades do Vagar” Application Form:CLICK HERE

WORKSHOPS

5 September

3pm – Presentation session of the Regulations – Ana Pais (Évora 2027 Artistic Direction)

3:30pm–7pm – Workshop led by Bússola: Activating and transforming communities through collaborative practices

With a prominent role in placemaking and the creative economy, Bússola is now a reference in the field of artistic creation in public space in Portugal. Its practice combines strategic consultancy, cultural programming and project development, with a clear focus on internationalisation and the promotion of emerging artistic trends. By fostering innovative practices and experimental languages, it reinforces the role of culture as a catalyst for urban regeneration, territorial identity and social cohesion.

Aligned with European policies on diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, belonging and sustainability, it responds to global challenges through a collaborative and future-oriented perspective. Viewing placemaking as a tool for building creative and resilient territories, it promotes the revitalisation of communities and the creation of vibrant environments that enhance cultural wellbeing.

18 September

5pm–8pm – Workshop led by Hugo Cruz: Artistic practices, participation and communities.
With the participation of Alexandra Libânio and Rosa Coelho, Marca ADL: Participatory processes in Casa Branca, the Travão de Emergência project case.

Hugo Cruz

Guest lecturer at the School of Arts — University of Évora and researcher at CHAIA-UE and CIIE-UP. He publishes and teaches in the fields of “artistic creation and public space”, “art and community” and “cultural policies”. Author and coordinator of several publications, he is particularly known for the book Práticas artísticas, participação e política, translated and published in several countries. He is a member of the evaluation team for the PARTIS/Art for Change Initiative - Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian and BPI/La Caixa. He directs DESEJAR_movimento de artes e lugares-comuns – Braga’25 (www.artandparticipation.com)

Alexandra Libânio

For more than 20 years, she has dedicated herself to the management, coordination and marketing of socio-cultural projects, including events, reception spaces, mediation projects and new artistic creations. In parallel, in the different locations and countries where she has lived, she has collaborated in administrative, organisational and programming areas with civil society initiatives seeking to reflect on and critically transform the contexts in which they operate, including residents’ associations, urban permaculture collectives and other initiatives related to self-construction, food sovereignty, cooperativism and the local solidarity economy.

She has been Vice-President of the Board of Estação Cooperativa since its foundation in 2021, taking on the role of operational and executive coordinator of the urban regeneration programme for the former railway workers’ neighbourhood in the village of Casa Branca.

2 October

5pm–8pm – Workshop led by Léa Prisca López: Collaborative processes and social intervention; occupation and transformation of public space

Léa Prisca López

Cultural mediator and programmer. She holds a degree in Fine Arts and a Master’s degree in Art Studies (École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts Montpellier), with interventions from the Centre Chorégraphique National de Montpellier, and completed her academic training with a Master’s degree in Regional and Urban Planning from the University of Aveiro, seeking to understand how cultural (a)gents can have an active voice in territorial planning and the importance of Cultural Policies as an absolute necessity in building a territory based on values of equality, solidarity, integration, interdisciplinarity and interculturality. She arrived in Portugal in 2005 through the European Artistic Residencies programme “Artist in Context” and worked at d’Orfeu until 2014, where she created all visual and multimedia communication. At the association, she developed all mediation projects connecting the local community with cultural agents, including d’Formação, the association’s training platform, the Seminar for Associations, OpÁ! Orquestra Percussiva de Águeda, educational visits, holiday camps and event mediation for Festival i and Ciclo Experimental. She is a cultural communication consultant and develops educational and community projects. In 2017, she coordinated the Águeda Child Friendly Action Plan for the Municipality of Águeda, under the UNICEF initiative. She also worked in the Educational Service of the Águeda Municipal Library, where she launched MALA - Manifestação Literária de Águeda, which had two editions (online and in-person). In 2021, she was curator, together with Andreia Brites, for Braga’s ECOC2027 bid. In 2022, she joined the 4iS Inovação Social team for the European “Tandem” Regions of Solidarity project, where she researched and developed the pilot mapping of community practices outside the radar, while also facilitating the Cultura em Comunidade Clubs sessions for the Aveiro Bid. She works as a mediator for the Dona Maria II National Theatre in the Odisseia Nacional project, within the participation strand “ATOS”, supported by the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian in the North, Centre and Azores (Faial) regions.

The open call “Vagar Line”, open until March 22, 2026, is funded by the Ministério da Cultura, Juventude e Desporto, through the Fundo de Fomento Cultural. It is aimed at cultural agents, artists, creators, and collectives active in Portugal, with the goal of strengthening the artistic programme of Évora_27 through collaborative creation and mediation proposals across all artistic fields. These projects will be presented throughout 2027 in various venues and locations across the Alentejo region, contributing to a diverse, participatory, and territorially inclusive programme.

See the results, announced on May 22, 2026: CLICK HERE

Year of implementation: 2027
Target audience: Cultural agents, artists, creators and collectives who are nationals of, residents in, or professionally active in Portugal.
Budget: €1,000,000
Applications: 22.01.2026 to 22.03.2026
Regulations: (PDF attached here)
Application form:Évora_27 VAGAR LINE 
FAQ: (PDF attached here)
Jury: John Romão, Jury President (Artistic Director of Évora_27); Delfim Sardo (Curator, university professor, writer, art and architecture critic); Filipa Oliveira (Director of MNAC – National Museum of Contemporary Art); Magda Bizarro (Co-director of the Artistic Programme of the Festival d’Avignon); Mário Carneiro (General Director of the GDA Foundation). Alternate members: Luís Fernandes (Musician, programmer, artistic director of Theatro Circo and Gnration); Sara Franqueira (Set designer, university professor, co-curator of the 16th edition of the Prague Quadrennial).

Information sessions: Closed.

More info: linhadovagar@evora2027.com

Our Lab is an open call open to artists, whether individually or collectively, and to collective entities of a private or public nature, residing or headquartered in Europe (excluding Portugal) or in non-European countries, with proven experience in the fields for which they are applying.

The open call Our Lab invites international artists and cultural organizations to explore the concept of Vagar, the central theme of Évora_27. The proposed projects should offer creations that strengthen human essence and imagine alternative futures, in harmony with European values.

The call covers the following artistic areas: Theatre, Dance, Music, Circus, Street Arts, Opera, Architecture, Design, New Media, and Cross-disciplinary Artistic Projects. Selected projects will be presented in Évora and across the Alentejo region in 2027, in four different types of spaces: cultural (such as theatres and museums); heritage (such as convents and churches); public and urban (such as streets, squares, and avenues); and natural (such as gardens or the Montado, Alentejo’s unique agroforestry ecosystem). The selected projects will form part of the official artistic programme of Évora 2027 – European Capital of Culture, during the year 2027.

See the results, announced on 17 April, 2026: CLICK HERE

Explanatory note: CLICK HERE

Year of implementation: 2027
Target audience: Artists, whether individually or collectively, as well as legal entities of a private or public nature, residing or headquartered in Europe (except Portugal) or outside Europe, with proven experience in the fields for which they are applying.
Budget: 2.000.000€
Applications: 13.11.2025 a 13.01.2026 - deadline extended until 31.01.2026
Regulation: (PDF attached here)
Application form:Évora_27 OUR LAB
FAQ: (PDF attached here)
Júri: John Romão, President of the Jury (Artistic Director of Évora_27); Chloé Siganos (Director of Performing Arts at the Centre Pompidou); Javier Peña Ibáñez (Curator, cultural programmer, director of the Concêntrico Festival); Joana Henriques (Director of Public Programs at MAAT - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology / EDP Foundation); Rui Horta (Choreographer, dancer and cultural programmer, founder and former director of O Espaço do Tempo). Substitute members: Lorenzo Pappagallo (Curator, cultural manager and artistic director of the Escena Patrimonio Dance Festival, UNESCO Spain); Lucía García (Director of IMAL - Interactive Media Art Laboratory, Brussels).

A Nossa Vez is an open call aimed at artists, associations, and cultural agents from Alentejo, covering all artistic fields and traditional arts & crafts of the region.

The general requirements for access to the open call require that projects have a European dimension and involve collaboration and co-production between cultural associations and/or national and international artists.

The selected projects are intended to be integrated into the official artistic programme of Évora_27 – European Capital of Culture.

See the results, announced on April 15, 2026: CLICK HERE

Explanatory note: CLICK HERE

Year of implementation: 2027
Target audience: Artists and cultural associations based in Central Alentejo and other subregions of Alentejo; artists from Alentejo who are not currently residing in the region
Budget: € 1.300.000
Applications: November 10, 2025 to January 10, 2026 - deadline extended until 17 February 2026
Regulation: (PDF attached here) 
Application form:Évora_27 OUR TURN
FAQ: (PDF attached here)
Júri: John Romão, President of the Jury (Artistic Director of Évora_27); Celina da Piedade (Accordionist, singer, composer and researcher); Jesse James (Curator, cultural programmer and artistic director of the Walk&Talk Biennial); Rita Fabiana (Curator and coordinator of Live Arts at the Modern Art Centre of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation); Tiago Navarro (Director of the School of Arts of the University of Évora). Substitute members: Ana Borralho (Artist and cultural programmer); Luís Sousa Ferreira (Designer, cultural programmer, and assistant to the Artistic Director of Teatro Nacional D. Maria II).

Information sessions: Closed.

More info: anossavez@evora2027.com

Are you between 18 and 25 years old and interested in joining a European cultural cooperation project? Do you want to contribute to the future of culture in the city of Évora? Would you like to travel to the European Capitals of Culture, Liepāja (Latvia) and České Budějovice (Czech Republic)?

We are offering 7 spots for young people to participate in workshops, study visits, and the creation of a cultural event in Évora and in Liepāja (Latvia).

This is more than just an international experience — it’s a space to learn leadership, event organization, and cultural cooperation in practice.

Participation is free of charge.

Apply to the ECoC Youth Clubs, an Erasmus+ program, by 3 May.

Target audience: Young people aged 18–25

Application deadline: 3 May, 2026.

Application form: CLOSED

The definition of happiness varies from person to person. It can even be considered a state — a state of well-being and satisfaction. How can we be happy? And above all, how can we be happy in an unhappy society?

Ana Borralho and João Galante, at the invitation of Évora_27, are looking for 12 young people, aged between 18 and 23, for the performance "Gatilho da Felicidade". An intense, honest, and necessary conversation. We fire towards love, fear, family, and the future, in a kind of Russian roulette, seeking to reach the core of today’s youth. In a game of questions and answers, we get closer to happiness.

Target audience: People aged 18–23

Rehearsals and performances after working hours: 8 to 16 May

Application deadline: 21 April, 2026.

Application form: CLOSED

Designed by the Artistic Direction of Évora_27 and coordinated by choreographer and programmer Madalena Victorino, the open call “Our Voice” is aimed at the eighteen school clusters of Central Alentejo and the two private educational institutions in Évora.

Including mapping periods, creation, artistic experimentation and curatorial work, “Our Voice” involves school communities in an active participation process, both inside and outside schools, fully discussed, reflected upon and defined by students across all levels of education. The results of the developed projects will be integrated into the official artistic programme of Évora 2027 – European Capital of Culture.

Évora_27 is looking for 18 artist-mediators to, over two academic years (Sept. 2026 – June 2027 and Sept. 2027 – June 2028), develop cultural inquiries, collective creations between classes and schools, experimentation labs, and curatorial workshops with students, who will also act as programmers of Évora_27.

Full information for the artist-mediators application: CLICK HERE (attached PDF)

Target audience: Artist-mediators with artistic experience in school contexts

Application deadline: April 8, 2026, at 11:59 PM

Applications for artist-mediators: CLOSED

Concept, funding and coordination: Évora 2027 Association

Institutional partnership: National Arts Plan

Institutional support: Alentejo Regional Services Directorate

Open call regulations

Open call form: Évora_27 OUR VOICE