ALTernative ECOLOGIES

September 2026 – June 2027
Institute for Postnatural Studies

The Institute for Postnatural Studies is launching Alternative Ecologies (ALT–ECO), a new long-term independent postgraduate program dedicated to exploring how contemporary artistic practices can critically and imaginatively engage with ecology under present planetary conditions.

Conceived as a hybrid learning ecosystem, the program brings together online laboratories, individual and collective artistic production, critical study, and three intensive in-person encounters in France and Spain. It fosters sustained experimentation across physical and digital contexts, encouraging participants to develop practices responsive to complex ecological realities.

How can art become ecological inquiry?

In a world reshaped by climate crisis, technological acceleration, and unstable ecosystems, ALT–ECO invites artists, designers, and researchers to approach ecology not as a theme to represent, but as a living, relational practice.

Grounded in postnatural, posthuman, ecofeminist, and decolonial thought, the program positions artistic practice as a form of inquiry. Moving from research about ecology toward ecology as practice, ALT–ECO foregrounds practice-led research — where experimentation itself generates knowledge, concepts, and material understanding.

The program culminates in a collective, time-based exhibition in Madrid and a publication bringing together artists, curators, critics, institution directors, and the wider cultural community. The final encounter becomes a living laboratory — an evolving constellation of gestures, works, and assemblies that emphasize process over product.

Who Is It For

ALT–ECO is open to artists, designers, researchers, and practitioners working across visual arts, performance, sound, writing, theory, architecture, cinema, choreography, design, science, and related fields.

We welcome participants at different stages — emerging, mid-career, or established — who demonstrate a strong engagement with artistic research and a willingness to work experimentally.

Applicants may enter with a clearly defined project or with the desire to develop new directions through the program’s intellectual and practical ecosystem.

Contributors & Guests

Lectures:
T. J. Demos
Kim TallBear
Karen Barad
Astrida Neimanis
Jennifer Mae Hamilton
Filipa Ramos

Workshops & Crits:
Laura Tripaldi
Lucia Pietroiusti
Marielsa Castro

Artist & Studio Visits:
Anne Sophie Tisseyre and Anne Stenne (Pierre Huyghe’s studio)
Rafael Pérez Evans
Cooking Sections (Daniel Fernández Pascual & Alon Schwabe)
Harun Morrison
Angelo Custodio
Carlos Monleón
Teresa Solar
June Crespo
and more to be announced.

Applications & Fees

Applications open: March 1, 2026
Deadline: May 17, 2026 (23:59 CET – Madrid time)
Program begins: September 14, 2026 (online)

Tuition: 6,000 EUR
Installment plans and partial/full fellowships available.

Full program guidelines:
www.instituteforpostnaturalstudies.org

For questions and upcoming Q&A sessions:
[email protected]

Program Team

Gabriel Alonso — Program Director & Faculty
Cristina Ramos — Program Curator & Academic Lead
Karol Muñozcano — Program Manager & Institutional Relations
Yuri Tuma — IPS Faculty
Alicia Sánchez — Graphic & Visual Designer
Daniel H. Rey — Curator of Programs & Networks