Open Call: Biennale Extra! 2027 — A New International Platform for Literary Arts
By Ōtepoti He Puna Auaha | Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature | Posted: Thursday Apr 23, 2026
Québec City City of Literature has announced an exciting new opportunity for literary practitioners across the globe: an open call for the inaugural edition of Biennale Extra!, a major new international event dedicated to the literary arts.
Set to launch in the Autumn of 2027, Biennale Extra! will unfold across Québec City, Montreal, and Gatineau, bringing together a dynamic constellation of artists, institutions, and audiences. Conceived as a traveling biennale, the event will move between cities and countries in future editions, fostering ongoing international exchange and collaboration.
The biennale is led by Productions Rhizome in partnership with the Centre Pompidou, with contributions from a wide range of local festivals and venues. Together, they aim to create a vibrant, city-wide celebration of literature in dialogue with other art forms.
A Call to UNESCO Cities of Literature
This open call is extended specifically to institutions within the UNESCO Cities of Literature network, inviting proposals for works and activities to be included in the 2027 programme. Submissions are open until the end of May.
Themes and Creative Directions
The inaugural edition, titled Convergence of Oralities, will explore three key thematic axes:
Territorialities
Plasticities & Oralities
Practices of Care and Social Well-being
There is a particular interest in works engaging with orality in all its forms and traditions, reflecting the biennale’s focus on voice, language, and storytelling as living, shared experiences.
What They’re Looking For
Artists and organisations are invited to propose innovative, interdisciplinary works at the intersection of literature and other art forms. These might include:
Literary performance
Sound or text-based installations
Poetry in action
Language-driven digital creations
Hybrid theatre
Participatory writing or reading experiences
The biennale seeks projects that push the boundaries of literary expression and invite audiences into new, immersive relationships with language.
Support for Selected Projects
As a guiding principle, international artists selected for the programme will have their fees, travel, and accommodation covered, with specific arrangements negotiated in collaboration with Québec-based hosting partners, in line with Canadian public funding standards.
Biennale Extra! promises to be a landmark moment for literary arts—one that celebrates experimentation, collaboration, and the evolving role of storytelling across cultures and mediums.
Complete the form here: Invitation to the institutions of the UNESCO Cities of Literature network
For more information, see the pdf document below.