RESIDENCIES
PHI IMMERSIVE: XR for Impact x x
About PHI Immersive
PHI Immersive is an intensive six-week residency program led by PHI Studio in Montréal, in partnership with Agog: The Immersive Media Institute. The program supports creators and changemakers who wish to use extended reality (XR) for the common good by providing tailored guidance, collaborative opportunities with PHI Studio experts, and access to its creative and technological resources.
In a time of profound social, political, and environmental change, immersive media offers powerful tools to question reality and imagine more just futures. PHI Immersive supports North America–based creators whose practices engage new media, extended reality (XR) technologies, artificial intelligence, or immersive sound to address contemporary challenges and the common good.
By positioning art as a driver of responsible social transformation, the program invites participants to deepen their practice, cultivate new visions of collective life, and foster empathy, understanding, and activism.
PHI Immersive is open to artists whose projects actively engage audiences with pressing contemporary issues and global challenges.
The program supports projects in the development phase, with the goal of transforming an idea or work-in-progress into a strong, structuring prototype, conceived as a key step toward larger-scale production.
Over the six-week residency, the selected artist(s), group, or collective receives tailored support from PHI Studio teams. This guidance brings together creative, technical, and strategic expertise, dedicated workspace, and opportunities to connect with community partners, helping to consolidate the concept, test creative directions, and prepare the project’s next phase.
Submit your application
→ Application Deadline:
May 8, 2026, at 11:59 PM (EDT)
Please refer to the “Toolkit” and “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) sections below for application resources on the selection process, evaluation criteria, and additional information about the PHI Immersive residency.
Information Session
PHI Immersive 2026-2027
Residency Location: Montréal, Québec, Canada
Residency Period: February 15 to March 26, 2027 (6 weeks)
Schedule Overview
→ Prior to the Residency:
Preliminary Meetings — Fall 2026
Prior to the residency, the artist(s) meet with the PHI Studio team to refine project goals and anticipate narrative, technical, and aesthetic needs.Amplify and Shape — 2 weeks
Confirmation of creative intentions, critical questioning ideas, opening up new lines of thought, and strengthening the concept and narrative thread. Preparation of the elements required for the creative and technical exploration phase.
→ Experiment and Prototype — 4 weeks
Week 1 — Dive In and Explore
Approval of the work plan and launch of the first prototyping sprint, with support from the software development team.Weeks 2 and 3 — Prototype and Adjust
Ongoing prototyping to design the user experience, while refining technical operations and key elements.Week 4 — Optimize and Plan
Finishing touches on the prototype and consolidation of key project elements.
→ Final Presentation — Share and Discuss
→ After the Residency:
Post-Mortem Meeting
A review meeting is organized with the PHI team at the end of the residency.
Call for applications
The call for applications is now closed. Thank you to all the artists who submitted their projects.
What Artists Are Saying
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“The PHI Immersive Residency was an incredible experience where I really got to think big. (…) It allowed me to scale up my thinking in a way I couldn’t do on my own. (…) You’re in conversation with creative directors, developers, scenographers—people who each bring a totally different way of thinking. (…) Those perspectives coming together made the experience incredibly rich.”
— Peter Burr, PHI Immersive 2024-25
“This residency was a fulfilling human experience, both for me as a person and for my project. Sharing such an intimate work could have been a challenge, but thanks to the personalities present at the PHI Centre and the inner process they allowed me to go through, the challenge turned into a real collective adventure.”
— Emeline Courcier, PHI Immersive 2024
“My favourite part [of the residency] is time; just having time with my project, going through the ideas, getting to know it on a deeper level, and understanding how I should communicate it to other people [...].”
— Ismaila Jallow, PHI Immersive 2023
“The people I met here, their competence in different fields, the exchange of knowledge, and being inspired by the way people at PHI talk about creative processes, as well as VR as a form of expression [were my favourite parts of the residency].”
— Filip Myrberg, PHI Immersive 2023
General Information
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must be artists, groups, or collectives in which each member is a permanent resident of North America (Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and Bermuda). We encourage submissions from artists from diverse backgrounds, including those who are new to working in immersive media.
Applicants must propose an immersive project in the development phase that uses new media, extended reality (XR technologies), artificial intelligence, or immersive audio/sound, exploring new avenues toward empathy, understanding, and activism. The project must aim to generate tangible and sustainable change, and be further developed during the residency.
Groups or artist collectives may submit a project proposal. However a maximum of two members per group may be hosted in Montréal. Conditions remain the same as those offered to individual artists.
Selected Artist(s), Group, or Collective Will Receive:
Support and mentorship for the development of the project from PHI Studio throughout the residency. This may include guidance in conceptualization, creation, scenography, production, programming, and technical development, depending on the project’s needs (see “Toolkit”).
An artist fee of $15,000 CAD to support the research and development work carried out during the residency.
Access to PHI resources, including material, technical, and technological resources, subject to availability.
Production of a video profile by PHI to promote the artist(s) and their project across PHI’s networks and partner platforms.
Networking opportunities through access to PHI’s and Agog’s networks of collaborators and experts, fostering connections beyond the residency.
The PHI Immersive residency, for artists residing outside of Montréal, covers:
Accommodation: Temporary housing in Montréal for the duration of the residency.
Travel: Round-trip travel expenses.
Local Transportation: A monthly public transit pass for the Montréal metropolitan area for the duration of the residency.
Toolkit
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
One project will be selected for the residency, led by an artist, group, or collective. A maximum of two members per project will be hosted in Montréal for the duration of the residency.
An external committee, composed of invited professionals with diverse expertise and perspectives, conducts the selection process
Originality and narrative depth (50%): The project’s potential to drive social transformation and its innovative use of immersive media.
Feasibility (30%): The project’s viability across conceptualization, prototyping, and production stages, including technical and budgetary considerations.
Portfolio (20%): The applicant’s history of executed works.
Eligible candidates must be permanent residents of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, or Bermuda.
Candidates residing in North America are eligible for the program. The selected artist, group, or collective must stay in Montréal for the residency’s six-week duration. A maximum of two members per project will be hosted in Montreal for the duration of the residency.
Yes. PHI covers travel and accommodation expenses. A local public transportation pass is also provided for the residency’s duration. However, artists from outside Canada are responsible for obtaining visas and other necessary travel documents. All travel arrangements must be approved by PHI prior to booking.
International artists and collectives are responsible for researching and obtaining the necessary travel documents, vaccination records, and/or working permits for their time in Montréal, depending on their status. PHI can provide letters of confirmation to aid in this process.
Yes. Groups and collectives are eligible. However, a maximum of two members per group will be hosted in Montréal for the duration of the residency.
Yes, external collaborations are allowed if they align with the residency’s goals. We encourage you to outline their roles in your proposal. Please note that PHI does not cover additional costs associated with external collaborators, such as their travel or accommodations.
PHI may choose to produce the project if it aligns with PHI’s global vision and strategy.
No. Artists retain intellectual property rights. However, PHI may request first option for co-production, distribution, or exhibition.
Yes. We encourage artists new to immersive media to apply. We are looking for artists with strong concepts or ideas who are looking to evolve their practice into an immersive environment. PHI aims to support projects with compelling narratives, potential for social impact, and innovative storytelling.
Yes. PHI provides access to select facilities during the residency, coordinated by the PHI Immersive project manager, based on each artist’s needs.
No. Projects are not required to have PHI’s spaces as their sole or final presentation venue.
Yes. It will be possible to borrow PHI’s equipment and request rentals of additional equipment during the residency, subject to availability.
PHI spaces are partially accessible for those with reduced mobility. Additional assistance can be arranged upon request.
No. There is no application fee.
No. Projects must be new or expand upon past work by integrating new elements to be developed during the residency.
We highly recommend focusing on a single project application to present your strongest work.
Yes. Selected artists will be asked to sign a Letter of Agreement with PHI.
Yes. All applicants will be notified once the selection process is complete.
Any other questions?
Contact us!
Partners
Founded and directed by Phoebe Greenberg in Montreal, PHI is a multidisciplinary arts hub dedicated to presenting the most relevant ideas of our time through art and culture. Focused on the art and audiences of tomorrow, PHI explores innovative concepts by emphasizing collective experiences, engagement, and audience participation.
PHI offers an eclectic program combining exhibitions, events, immersive experiences, an educational program, and artist residencies, fostering unique encounters between artists and the public. Committed to creation, presentation, and support of contemporary artistic practices, PHI has established itself as a must-visit cultural destination in the heart of Old Montreal.
Agog: The Immersive Media Institute is a philanthropic organization founded by Chip Giller and Wendy Schmidt that helps people use extended reality (XR) to create human connection, cultivate empathy, and inspire action toward a more just and sustainable future. Agog brings together nonprofit leaders, thinkers, and creators to harness the power of emerging media like virtual and augmented reality to develop new ways to communicate, learn, inspire, and collaborate. Agog’s initial areas of focus include social justice and equity; high-impact storytelling and world-building; policy and ethics; education and outreach; and research.
