Open call: The Democracy Cycle 2025

Over a five-year period, The Democracy Cycle will commission and develop 25 new performing arts works across the fields of music, opera, theatre, dance, and multi-disciplinary performance. The commissioned works, to be selected over the course of three annual Rounds of Open Calls (2024, 2025, and 2026) will explore themes relating to the nature, practice, and experience of democracy. In each open call, The Democracy Cycle will commission at least eight projects.

The proposal must be a new performance project meant to be developed and performed live, and planned to be completed in 2026, 2027, or 2028. Works may be interdisciplinary and can include collaborators in other artistic forms. At the time of application, a work may be in an early, mid, or later stage of development so long as it is not planned to premiere before 1 May 2026.

To be eligible, lead applicants must be generative artists who are currently creating new work in music, opera, theatre, dance, and multi-disciplinary performance and they must have created two or more completed and presented works. Artists may either be US citizens or citizens of other countries.

The Cycle will provide $60 000 in support to each awarded project, consisting of a $30 000 commission as well as an additional $30 000 towards each commissioned project’s development process (research, readings, workshops etc.).

Interested artists should apply here before 1 April.

View the original call here.