Across eleven editions, the programme has hosted more than thirty projects and around fifty artists, fostering the development of new works across a wide range of artistic disciplines.

Focusing particularly on image, sound, performance, interactivity, music and dance, as well as interdisciplinary practices, the Summer Laboratories take the form of an artistic residency programme designed to encourage experimentation and the development of original projects that will later be presented to the public. The 2026 edition is organised in partnership between gnration, CAAA – Centro para os Assuntos da Arte e Arquitectura, and Solar – Cinematic Art Gallery.

Four projects will be selected for a two-week residency taking place between July and August 2026, shared between the partner institutions. The resulting works will be publicly presented at gnration (4–12 September 2026), at Solar – Cinematic Art Gallery (5 December 2026 – 30 January 2027), and at CAAA (1–29 May 2027), in the form of performances or installations/exhibitions. An additional presentation may also take place at the LAC – Laboratório de Atividades Criativas in Lagos in February 2027, subject to mutual agreement.

Each selected project will receive €2,000 in financial support, intended to cover artistic fees and materials necessary for the project’s development, as well as technical, production and curatorial support throughout the residency.

The call is open to artists or collectives residing in or originally from the Braga district or the municipality of Vila do Conde, proposing original artistic work within the programme’s fields.

The jury for the 2026 edition includes Luís Fernandes (Artistic Director of gnration), Maria Luís Neiva (Artistic Director of CAAA), Nuno Rodrigues (Artistic Director of Solar – Galeria de Arte Cinemática), and João Terras (curator).

The selected projects will be announced on May 11th. Applications can be submitted online using the following form: https://tr.ee/r14iJR.

Summer Laboratories 2026 is promoted by gnration, CAAA – Centro para os Assuntos da Arte e Arquitectura and Solar – Cinematic Art Gallery, in partnership with LAC – Laboratório de Actividades Criativas, and is a candidate for support from the Portuguese Republic – Culture, Youth and Sports / Direção-Geral das Artes within the framework of the Portuguese Contemporary Art Network.