Laboratorio Temporal (Temporal Laboratory) is an ongoing, transdisciplinary residency program that invites artists, researchers, writers, and scientists to suspend the rhythm of major cities and engage in a situated practice. Located in the unique, semi-rural environment of El Marquesado (where forest, dunes, cliffs, and sea converge), the residency aims to dismantle extractivist logics of fast consumption and production. Grounded in the material turn, our goal is to foster projects that treat the territory, its matter, and its biological cycles not as a passive backdrop, but as active co-producers of meaning and memory.

Programming & Structure
The residency rejects rigid structures. Instead of fixed dates, we offer a highly flexible format where the duration and timing of each stay are co-designed with the residents on a rolling basis to match the needs of their research and the seasonal shifts of the environment. Programming includes critical accompaniment and mentorship by the founders, field support through alliances with scientific institutions (such as Fundación Azara), and the opportunity to activate processes locally through community-engaged formats like Open Studios, shared walks, workshops, or archive activations.

Conditions & Workspace
Residents live and work in an outstanding 100 m² wood architectural structure, featuring a large communal hall for collective thinking, private mezzanine workspaces, a shared kitchen, and direct access to the surrounding landscape. Accommodation and studio space are covered by the program. Residents are responsible for travel and production materials; however, the residency provides official support letters to assist selected applicants in securing external funding or mobility grants. Applications are accepted year-round.

Duration of residency

Unlike rigid residency structures, “Laboratorio Temporal” adapts to the processes of each specific research project.
Dates and duration: There are no fixed time blocks. The duration of the stay and the arrival schedule are determined and planned jointly between the resident and the La Zona team, seeking an optimal balance between the technical and conceptual needs of the project and the habitability of the space.

Accommodation

Selected residents live and work at La Zona’s headquarters, a remarkable 100 m² wood and corrugated iron architectural structure designed by the architecture studio a77. The space features:

A large, open-plan hall for shared work and collective thinking.
A mezzanine with rest areas and individual studio spaces.
A communal kitchen and common areas integrated into nature.
Immediate access to the surrounding forest and coastline.
Field connections and support in collaboration with the Fundación Azara and the Miramar Museum of Natural Sciences for projects requiring scientific dialogue or guidance.

Disciplines, work equipment and assistance The open call is available to local and international creators (no age limit) working within the following disciplines: Visual arts (photography, video, installation, performance, land art, organic materialities). Creative writing, poetry, philosophy, political ecology, and curating. Natural, environmental, or social sciences interested in aesthetic intersections, expanded methodologies, and non-extractivist knowledge. Individual or collective projects. Studio / Workspace The residency offers a comfortable and functional living arrangement tailored to research processes. It features a private or shared room (depending on the coordinated modality of the stay), equipped with its own private kitchen and bathroom, ensuring autonomy and privacy for the residents during their time here. In addition to the living accommodations, La Zona's headquarters features two distinct workspaces designed to stimulate both reflection and material production. Thinking and Reading Space, a warm area featuring wooden floors and sweeping views of the surrounding forest, designed for writing, theoretical research, and digital work. It houses a specialized library focused on art and contemporary practices, providing a quiet and reflective environment in direct dialogue with the natural surroundings. The Experimentation Space is a spacious, open-plan workshop conceived for material experimentation, large-scale work, and raw production processes. This space is equipped with an adobe stove (mud stove), perfect for maintaining a warm and comfortable environment for collective work during the winter days. Fees and support

Accommodation and studio space: Included at La Zona during the agreed residency period.
Mentorship and support: Critical feedback and accompaniment by the La Zona team and local networks.
Public presentation: Depending on the nature of the research, a public instance (Open Studio, workshop, shared walk, or archive activation) can be coordinated with the local community.
Note: Travel expenses and production materials are the responsibility of the resident. Proyecto La Zona will provide official acceptance letters to selected applicants to facilitate funding requests, external grants, or mobility subsidies in their home countries.

Expectations towards the artist

We do not expect residents to deliver finished, polished masterpieces or conform to the pressures of rapid production. Instead, our expectations center on engagement, respect, and dialogue:
Respect for the Environment and Matter: We expect artists to inhabit the space with an ecological consciousness, respecting the local ecosystem of El Marquesado, avoiding destructive practices, and embracing a non-extractivist relationship with the territory and its community.
Active Engagement & Community Interaction: Depending on the nature and duration of the project, residents can participate in any public-facing or community activation instance. This is not a formal exhibition request, but rather an invitation to share processes through an Open Studio, a workshop, a shared thematic walk, or an archive activation.
Care for Shared Spaces: Since La Zona is a co-designed space for collective living and thinking, we expect a commitment to collaborative care, respect for shared workspaces, and the maintenance of common areas (such as the specialized library and workshops).
Openness to Dialogue: We value transdisciplinary exchange.

Application information

Since this is a year-round open call, you can submit your proposal at any time. Applicants must send a single PDF file to lazonaproyecto@gmail.com including:
Contact information and a brief bio/CV (max. 1 page).
Artist Statement outlining the conceptual or material lines of your practice (max. 300 words).
Project Proposal: Explain what you wish to research or develop and how it dialogues with the environment of El Marquesado under the program’s premises. Please include an estimated duration and preferred time of the year (max. 500 words).
Portfolio: Between 5 and 10 images of previous work and/or links to videos/texts.

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Temporal Laboratory – Situated Practices in the EnvironmentResidencias de otoño en Casa Garcés