What is real?

Platform Dalí cultivates direct, experimental, research-led exchange between artists and scientific communities. As with the art of Salvador Dalí, Platform Dalí pushes at the boundaries of artists’ perception of the world and fosters new creative dimensions for all its participants.

On July 1, 2026, Platform Dalí presented What is real? the first public expression of its mission to explore the relationship between art and science, inspired by Salvador Dalí's lifelong fascination with scientific discovery. Launched by the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí in December 2025, under the direction of Mónica Bello.

This inaugural theme What is real? examines reality not as something fixed, but as a constantly evolving process shaped by emergence, uncertainty and imagination.

What is real? announced Lydia Ourahmane as Platform Dalí's newest resident artist, joining current fellows Tania Candiani and Israel Galván, and residents Estampa and George Mahashe. It also marked the opening of the physical space, Espai Platform Dalí in Barcelona with an exhibition of work of its residents ahead of its wider public programme launching in autumn 2026. Furthermore, Platform Dalí launched its first Open Call for Residencies, inviting artists to apply for research residencies at leading scientific institutions in 2027. The artworks resulting from all fellowships and residencies will be presented in a major exhibition in 2029.

Platform Dalí Director Mónica Bello: “The programme investigates how art and science construct, interpret and mediate reality, exploring invisible forces, unexpected phenomena and the boundaries between illusion, simulation and the hyperreal”.

Tania Candiani's fellowship spans the BSC-CNS, PRBB and ICM-CSIC, bringing together fields including evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence, ocean science and computational humanities. Her research examines memory, emergence and the transmission of knowledge across scientific and cultural systems. During What is real?, she presented an activation of her installation HUM and the performance Physics for an Imaginary Storm.

Flamenco artist Israel Galván, working with PRBB researchers, explored movement, ageing and creativity through scientific perspectives. He described the experience as “a source of entirely new questions”, reflecting on how they had “reshaped my understanding of the body and performance.”

Collective Estampa, working with ICM-CSIC, investigated how marine researchers made the invisible visible through data, signals and indirect observation, examining the relationship between perception, technology and representation.

At IFAE, George Mahashe explored cosmology, quantum technologies and astronomical observation. He considered alternative ways of sensing the universe, questioning the dominance of visual perception and asking, as he put it, "What kind of hiss does gravity make?"

Lydia Ourahmane will be the next artist in residence at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), where she will explore predictive biology and cellular self-organisation. Her practice focuses on long-term engagement with places and communities, allowing artworks to emerge through sustained research rather than predetermined outcomes.

Open call for residencies 2027
Platform Dalí’s Open Call for Residencies invites artists to develop a research and creation project in response to the theme What is real? through close engagement with one of five partner institutions: the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), ICFO—The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Institute for High Energy Physics (IFAE) and Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB).

The residency consists of a 12-month programme and it’s fully funded. Residents undertake an on-site residency of up to 45 days at their host centre in Barcelona, dedicated to research engaging in close dialogue with researchers and technicians. During this period, residents are also introduced to local artists and practitioners and take part in activities organised by Platform Dalí and its partners. This is followed by a second phase to develop and produce a new artwork. Platform Dalí welcomes applications from artists who are engaging with scientific contexts for the first time and values openness and willingness to learn through dialogue and collaboration. Applications will be accepted until September 7, 2026. Detailed guidelines and submission requirements are available on the Platform Dalí website.