Westway LAB 2026 • Open Call EN

OPEN CALL

Artists-in-residence programme and City Showcases

(Submission of applications from July 17 to October 19, 2025)

Through this form, artists and musical projects can apply to the 2026 edition of Westway LAB, which will take place from April 8 to 11. Applications are open for both the artists-in-residence programme and/or the city showcases.

The residencies will take place between March 31 and April 7 at the Centro de Criação de Candoso, bringing together groups of two to four artists in a collaborative creative environment, with at least one of them required to be based in Portugal. During the artists-in-residence programme, participants will develop original compositions, which will be performed live as part of the festival line-up.

The city showcases are free-entry concerts held on the afternoon of Saturday, April 11, at various venues across Guimarães’ historic city centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

For further details and participation conditions, please refer to the "Frequently Asked Questions" section available below in this form.

Youtube

Tell us what your registration refers to

Artistic ResidenciesCity Showcases

Proponent name*

Email*

Telephone*

City*

Country*

Name of the project you are submitting*

What is the name of the musical project that you are applying for artistic residencies, city showcases or both.

Participants in the residence*

Max 2 participants. The fee will be payed to each selected application. If you are not applying for the artistic residency, enter a 0 in the field.

Participants in the city showcases*

If you are signing up for city showcases, tell us the number of elements on the project. The fee will be allocated per project, regardless of the number of elements. If you are not applying for the city showcases, enter a 0 in the field.

Entourage for the city showcase*

List the members of your entourage, in addition to the musicians (technicians, roadies, runners, etc.)

Tell us your motivations for participating in the Artistic Residencies and/or City Showcases at Westway LAB 2026*

Máximo 1500 caracteres0/1500

I'm signing up for:*

City ShowcasesArtistic Residence

Technical rider

Send us a document listing the equipment you usually use.

Website link

If the candidate project has a website, indicate it in this field

Instagram Tag

If the candidate project has an Instagram profile, tell us its @

Facebook Tag

If the candidate project has an Facebook profile, tell us its @

Link Youtube

If the candidate project has a YouTube channel, provide us with its link

Link Spotify, Bandcamp ou other*

If the candidate project has a channel on digital streaming platform, provide us with its link

Link to downloadable files

In this field, indicate a link where we can access your music

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the artists-in-residence programme?

Residencies will take place at the Centro de Criação de Candoso over eight consecutive days, from March 31 to April 7. Four working groups will be created, each consisting of two to four artists (with at least one artist in each group being based in Portugal. Each group will work on original compositions. The residencies programme, promoted as part of Westway LAB, has no set theme or script — artists have complete creative freedom. At the end of the week, each group will present the results of their work live, in a set of presentations lasting up to 30 minutes. Artists may not include previously released songs or tracks from their projects in these showcases; only material developed during the residency should be showcased. These live sets may be recorded in video and audio for future use by the artists.

Participation conditions for the artists-in-residence programme

➞ net fee of €200 awarded to each selected application (max. two artists per application) + transport, meals, and accommodation provided throughout the week; also includes PRO registration for the conference.

Who can apply for the artists-in-residence programme?

Individual artists and musical projects with a maximum of two members, both national and international, are eligible to apply.

What are the City Showcases?

The City Showcases are free-admission concerts held on the afternoon of Saturday, April 11, at various locations in downtown Guimarães and are part of the festival’s official program.

Participation Conditions for the City Showcases

➞ net fee of €400 + dinner and accommodation on the night of the showcase (if needed) for each selected project

Who can apply for the City Showcases?

All musical projects are eligible to apply.

Note: By applying, the artists and their legal representatives agree that Westway LAB may film and record all performances and share the footage through its channels and third-party channels for promotional purposes.

About data collection from this form*

I declare to have read and understood the purpose of data collection described in the data protection policy, available on the A Oficina website.

About the use of data from this form*

I agree to participate in the activities described above and allow the use of the data that I voluntarily provide, trusting that they will only be used for the purposes of registering for Westway LAB activities and the guarantees of confidentiality and anonymity given to me by A Oficina.