Writing on music
International call open to young under-30 graduates from all over the world with an excellent knowledge of spoken and written Italian language, researchers in Music, to write critical texts that will be collected in a publication of la Biennale di Venezia.
Research will be on the ground: the selected candidates will be invited to participate in the 70th International Festival of Contemporary Music.
On the basis of the theme proposed by the Director of the Music Department, Caterina Barbieri, the selected candidates will carry out in the Archives, guided by a tutor, a research for sources and historical references, to write a text in Italian of a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 15 pages, from its first draft to the printed version.
A maximum of 4 candidates will be selected.
Three phases of research and activities are planned in Venice in the Biennale venues (Ca’ Giustinian, Arsenale, Giardini, Biennale Library at Giardini, Historical Archives at Vega)
Thanks to Swiss Seaside Foundation.
TITLE
Music as the childhood of the spirit: a pure and radical listening experience is at the heart of the Biennale Musica 2026, “A Child of Sound.”
THEME
The title of the 70th edition of the Biennale Musica, *A Child of Sound*, draws inspiration from childhood as a metaphor for a pristine way of listening: a form of listening that precedes language and reconnects us to a state of openness, vulnerability, and experimentation.
Drawing inspiration from the figure of the “child of sound” as a symbol of radical listening, expressive freedom, and catharsis, the Biennale Musica 2026 brings together some of the most interesting, innovative, and multifaceted voices in contemporary music. Transcending rigid distinctions of genre, era, and geography, the Festival presents an unprecedented program of world premieres and site-specific works, continuing the curatorial trajectory initiated by Caterina Barbieri in the previous edition. The program highlights new commissions and collaborative works, exploring more dynamic and participatory ways of listening, in contrast to the more static and passive format of the traditional concert.
“Music is the childhood of the spirit”, writes Artistic Director Caterina Barbieri, “an experience that reconnects us to a primordial state of innocence, vitality, and creative potential. The grace of a child who looks at the world with the wonder of a first glance, or rather of a first listen, while respecting its mystery is the same revolutionary grace with which music knows how to disarm us.”
One of the central figures of the European avant-garde, Karlheinz Stockhausen, often linked musical experimentation to a child’s ability to play with sound, emphasizing that musicians must maintain an open ear, free from prejudice and cultural conventions.
This exercise in listening and radical presence—which music trains us to practice—also opens up the possibility of catharsis. For many artists, in fact, music has been a tool for purification and healing since childhood: a process through which to transform the world’s pain into beauty and thus protect the human essence. This is both a gift and a duty of the artist: to share with the community the therapeutic and redemptive power of music, in which its spiritual and political value resides.
The concert, then, is a unique opportunity to pause, to start anew from silence, to listen, and to connect with oneself and with others, allowing oneself to be disarmed by the music.
That first listening experience—which only untrained ears possess—is revelatory not only for understanding the music of the present, free from the filter of prejudice and the categories that confine the imagination, but also for returning to truly living—and not merely surviving—in the contemporary world.
Perhaps this revelation also holds the possibility of a revolution—carried out with the same seriousness and devotion with which a child devotes itself to play, breaking the rules to create new ones, just as the artist necessarily transgresses the laws of the known to generate innovation.
A “child of sound” is thus the starting point for building a Biennale Musica that restores to music its role as both redemptive and revolutionary—as a practice of collective catharsis.
Tutor: Federico Sardo
Cultural journalist, he contributes to publications such as Esquire, Rivista Studio, and GQ. He teaches at the Civica Scuola di Cinema Luchino Visconti and serves as editorial director of the monthly magazine Quants-Tempi Moderni. He is also the author of documentaries including BEAT, dedicated to the JAZZMI festival. Over the years, he has covered electronic music and festivals such as Atonal and Terraforma for international outlets like Resident Advisor, and has written monographic essays on avant-garde artists including, among others, Giacinto Scelsi, Luigi Nono, Fausto Romitelli, Alice Coltrane, Rhys Chatham, John Fahey, Moondog, Midori Takada and Muslimgauze.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
First phase - from 10-25 October 2026
Participation in the activities scheduled within the 70th International Festival of Contemporary Music (14 days) and beginning of research activities at the Historical Archive and Library guided by the tutor.
Second phase - from 2-6 November 2026
Specific research activities at the Historical Archive and Library guided by the tutor;
Deadline for sending the first draft of the text: 15 November 2026
Third phase - from 16-20 November 2026
Analysis and in-depth study of the first draft of the text with the tutor at the Historical Archive and the Library;
Deadline for sending the final text: 17 December 2026
Conditions and rules of participation
The international call is open to young under-30 graduates from all over the world with an excellent knowledge of spoken and written Italian language.
Attendance for the whole programme is mandatory for participation in the project.
A maximum of 4 candidates will be selected.
The selected participants will be hosted in shared apartments provided by la Biennale di Venezia.
La Biennale di Venezia will also provide participants with tickets for local public transport and meals (lunch).
Selected participants will be required to pay a registration fee in the amount of € 80 (VAT included, non-refundable), to be paid exclusively by credit card.
Note: Applications will not be accepted from candidates selected in previous Biennale College ASAC - Writing in Residency editions.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Documentation
The documentation - which must be sent in Italian exclusively via the online form - consists of:
a) Curriculum vitae - please also specify:
a.1) Bachelor's/Master's degree or equivalent degree
a.2) thesis degree title, course of study
a.3) knowledge of spoken and written Italian - minimum required level C1
a.4) other languages known and level
b) submission of 2 texts
1 - cover letter (maximum length 2 pages)
2 - an essay, including bibliographical references, on the theme of the call (maximum length 2 pages)
Two selection phases are envisaged, the first on the basis of the requested documentation and the second by interview.
La Biennale di Venezia reserves the right in any case to modify, cancel or interrupt the initiative described above, in that the announcement or the selection do not constitute a binding contract for the same, nor do they entail the right to the reimbursement of any expense other than those specified above.
The integral acceptance of the conditions of the Biennale College Archivio – Writing in residency - Music call makes the application eligible.
Applications open on 3rd July 2026
Applications deadline 26th July 2026