Texas · Selection
Apply for HTX Applications now open · 2027 residency
Texas → Porto → Houston
MADHouseXRUBY
Make something that needs two cities.
Two artists or curators will spend September 2027 in residence at MAD House in Porto, then return to Houston to complete and publicly present the work at RUBY during Untitled Art Fair week. Open to artists and curators from Texas or with ties to Texas, wherever they live.
Application deadlineDecember 1, 202611:59 PM Central Time ↓01 · Program framework
The work moves
in four parts.
One project, developed across two cities. Porto is the site of immersion; Houston is where the work is completed and made public.
Porto · September 2027
Immerse
Research, experimentation and first-phase production in residence at MAD House.Houston · Return
Complete
The residents return to Houston to resolve and produce the work at home.RUBY · Untitled week 2027
Present
The completed work is presented at RUBY during Untitled Art Fair week 2027.Support per selected artist$1,000
Toward travel + accommodation
Additional supportNeed-based
Application deadlineDEC 01Request additional accommodation aid
Submit one PDF by email ↓
AccommodationSeptember 2027 · Porto
Your room.
Your time in Porto.
The residency is subsidized, but accommodation is not free. Room costs are offered on a needs-based sliding scale, and applicants may request additional financial aid.
The rates below are for the month-long September 2027 residency, before any additional need-based adjustment. All rates are in euros and subject to 6% tax.
Larger room
Private bathroom
+ balcony
€1,500 + 6% tax
€1,590 total before additional aid
Smaller room
Shared
bathroom
€950 + 6% tax
€1,007 total before additional aid
Accommodation at MAD House · Photographs courtesy MAD House
Collectives + shared accommodation
A double room can accommodate two people applying together as a collective. Indicate this in your application, include both residents’ names, and request the double-room option. Room arrangements and the applicable cost for two people will be confirmed with you individually.
Requesting support
Each selected resident receives $1,000 toward travel and accommodation. This subsidy does not mean that room costs are fully covered. To request a needs-based rate or additional accommodation aid, briefly state this in your application email and indicate the support you would need to participate. Financial support requests are handled separately from artistic review. Any adjusted rate or aid will be confirmed individually; submitting a request does not guarantee full funding.
Inside MAD House · Porto
A house made for
the unfinished.
MAD House gives residents dedicated time to work, weekly guidance, and connections to Porto's makers, studios and resources when a project calls for them. The house is both where residents stay and a place to think, test and share a practice with a small creative community.
Explore MAD House
MAD House, Porto · Images courtesy MAD House
02The residency
The work begins in Porto.
It becomes public in Houston.
MADHouseXRUBY is a RUBY residency at MAD House in Porto, developed in collaboration with MAD House. It is built for artists and curators whose work changes through place, contact, research and sustained experimentation.
The selected residents will use Porto as a site of immersion—not a backdrop. After the residency, they will return to Houston to resolve the work for a presentation at RUBY during Untitled Art Fair week 2027.
The collaboration grows from an existing relationship: MAD House founder Melanie Abrantes was RUBY's Winter 2026 resident. This next chapter extends RUBY's residency program across two working contexts.
Who this is for
Not a travel project.
A work that moves.
Open to artists and curators from Texas or with ties to Texas, wherever they live.
We welcome developed practices in computational and generative work, new media, performance, or craft, including experimental installation, sound and moving image.
We are looking for proposals with a real reason to move between Porto and Houston. The strongest applications will be formally ambitious, grounded in the artist's existing practice, specific about the role of each city, and realistic about what can be developed across the residency and return period.
ComputationalGenerativeNew mediaPerformanceCraftInstallation
03How to apply
One PDF.
One clear proposal.
Combine the materials below into a single PDF, in this order. A strong application does not need to predict every final detail, but it should make a convincing case for why the work must begin in Porto and be completed in Houston.
Suggested filename: LastName_FirstName_MADHouseXRUBY.pdf
- 01
Cover + contact
Name, pronouns, current city and state or country, email, phone, website and Instagram, followed by a short bio of no more than 150 words. Briefly describe your connection to Texas.
- 02
Practice statement
Up to 300 words locating your practice, questions and working methods. Tell us what holds the work together—not everything you have ever made.
- 03
Project proposal
Up to 750 words describing the project you want to begin in Porto. Include the central idea, the form it may take, and what you need to test, learn or encounter there.
- 04
Porto → Houston
Up to 400 words explaining why the project needs both cities: how immersion in Porto will shape the work, and how you will complete and present it at RUBY in Houston.
- 05
Production plan
A concise timeline, anticipated technical or spatial needs, and a simple project budget. Note what can travel, what must be produced in Houston, and any collaborators involved.
- 06
Work samples
8–12 images with captions. For performance, sound, moving-image, computational or interactive work, include up to four direct links with passwords and one-sentence viewing notes.
- 07
CV
A current artist CV of no more than two pages.
- 08
Room designation — required
Include a section in your PDF titled ‘Room designation.’ Specify the room you need: larger room with private bathroom and balcony (€1,500 + 6% tax; €1,590 total), smaller room with shared bathroom (€950 + 6% tax; €1,007 total), or ‘Either room works for me.’ Collectives requesting a double room for two people must state this explicitly and include both residents’ names. These are accommodation rates for the September 2027 residency before any additional need-based adjustment. If you wish to request financial aid, note that in your submission email; see the accommodation section above.
Send your application
By December 1, 2026
at 11:59 PM CT.
Email the single PDF to meganolivia@rubyprojects.xyzwith the subject line MADHouseXRUBY — Artist Name. Use links for time-based, interactive or large media; do not attach separate media files.
Porto is the beginning.