EXTER—International Art Residency Programme

Application deadline 19 February 2023, 11:59 PM, Kyiv time

EXTER is a long-term programme of the Ukrainian Institute aimed at building sustainable partnerships with art residencies around the world. The programme is designed for artists, curators, art critics, and scholars.

EXTER aims to build connections, facilitate exchange and collaborations between Ukrainian and international professionals, strengthening Ukraine’s presence in the global art community. 

About the EXTER

The EXTER programme is based on collaboration with leading contemporary art residencies in the countries of the Ukrainian Institute’s activity. Programme partners are organisations and institutions that are well integrated into the professional community, have the experience and infrastructure to meet the residentsneeds as well as an extensive network of local contacts. 

Striving for a balance of self-directed work and curated programming, each individual residency is jointly developed by Ukrainian Institute, partner organisation and the resident based on the latter’s professional needs, local context, and institutional framework. EXTER programme is designed to actively engage participants with the cultural scene of the cities of residency, provide opportunities for networking and public presentation of their practice to foreign audiences.

Art residencies create opportunities for international mobility of people, ideas, experience, and practices; for framing one’s artistic practice in different cultural contexts; and facilitate cooperation of professionals globally. EXTER residents are culture ambassadors that represent the current art landscape of Ukraine abroad.

 

EXTER—International Art Residency Programme

 

The programme is named after Oleksandra Exter (Alexandra Exter) (1882 – 1949), a Ukrainian avant-garde artist of international prominence who spent most of her life in Kyiv. Oleksandra Exter revolutionised stage design and reconceptualised Ukrainian folk culture by fusing abstract art with traditional embroidery patterns and crafting practices. A refined intellectual well-versed in several European languages, she travelled extensively around the world and was friends with Picasso, Braque, Apollinaire, and Marinetti, among others. Founder of her own school in Kyiv and Odesa, Exter was a bridge between the world of the Ukrainian avant-garde and new art of western Europe.

Available residencies

The Artist-In-Residence program AIR_Frankfurt aims to foster international interaction between Frankfurt and emerging art centers across the world. Due to the circumstances caused by the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the city of Frankfurt and basis e.V. is providing three scholarships for Ukrainian artists in April-June 2023. 

Where: Artist-In-Residence program AIR_Frankfurt (Germany) 

Partnerts:  basis e.V., Goethe-Institut Ukraine 

When:  April 01 – June 30, 2023 (three residencies available) 

The AIR_Frankfurt program was founded by the City of Frankfurt’s Department for Culture in 1990 with the goal to foster the exchange between culturally interested and active cities. Since then more than 100 visual artists from Frankfurt were able to profit from the exchange program, with an equal number of artists from abroad coming to Frankfurt as part of the residency program. 
Since 2016 AIR_Frankfurt has been supervised by the production and exhibition platform basis e.V., while continuing to be supported by the City of Frankfurt’s Department for Culture. 

– three-month stay at basis e.V. Frankfurt  

  • 1000 € of monthly financial support 
  • travel costs 
  • accomodation in a studio-apartment 
  • a studio space 
  • realization of a final project 
  • integration into an artist network 
  • curatorial support 

→ Minimum age 18; 
 
→ English language proficiency (B2 level or higher); 
 
→ Applicant must be ready to communicate and present their practice publicly during the residency; 
 
→ Relevant professional experience; 
 
→ Relevant higher education or other professional training certificates are a plus, but not obligatory.

To apply for the programme, please send a letter titled “EXTER 4: Application” to [email protected] no later than 19 February 2023, 11:59 PM, Kyiv time. Please note that applications received after this time will not be considered. 

Please attach to the letter: 

  1. Filled-in application form (please find it here) titled ‘LastName_FirstName_application_EXTER4.’ 
  2. Portfolio in English presenting the applicant’s relevant practice (max. 10 pages, pdf file of up to 10 Mb titled ‘LastName_FirstName_portfolio_EXTER4’).
  3. CV in English (max. 2 pages, pdf file titled ‘LastName_FirstName_CV_EXTER4’). 

Each eligible applicant will be personally notified about the results.  

Residents will be selected by representatives of partner institutions and independent experts. Selected artists will be given time and space for creative work as well as institutional support in establishing contacts with local art communities. An individual programme will be tailored for each participant based on their practice and expectations stated in the application.

Rupert residency

One 1-month and one 2-month residencies are available for Ukrainian artists, curators, critics or scholars in January and February 2023. On behalf of Rupert, and in solidarity with Ukraine, this is a special open call for emergency residency. 

Where: Rupert, Vilnus (Lithiania) 

When:  

  • January 5 – February 5 ,2023 (1-month residency, 550 EUR stipend for travel and basic needs available upon arrival ) 
  • January 5 – March 5, 2023 (2-months residency, 950 EUR stipend for travel and basic needs available upon arrival) 

Who can apply: artists, curators, critics, scholars 

Rupert’s Residency Programme is dedicated to local and international practitioners and thinkers (such as artists, writers, curators, researchers, cultural managers and academics), providing them with the opportunity to live and work in Vilnius while developing individual projects and immersing themselves in the region’s contemporary art field.

From its inception, Rupert’s Programmes have been and are driven by a central ethos of establishing collaborations and conversations between residents, local and international art organisations and artists, and between other initiatives and professional fields in Vilnius. Our Programmes provide a setting for knowledge sharing and develop these collaborations and encounters into artistic, social and/or community-based projects, exhibitions and other outcomes. 
 
Located in the picturesque area of Valakampiai in Vilnius and only a short distance from the city’s flourishing cultural centre, Rupert is set by the river Neris and a small river beach, surrounded by peaceful fields and a forest. Rupert supports the resident with a studio, utilities, curatorial support, provides administrative support and facilitates access to required contacts, tools, materials and information for research and production. 
 
The residencies are located in a recently constructed building called Pakrantė, designed by award-winning Lithuanian architect, Audrius Ambrasas. Pakrantė was founded as an arts incubator and houses a number of creative industries initiatives. Each resident is provided with a live-in studio space with a mezzanine (approximately 52 sq m.) to be used as a production and research space during the residency. The studio is fully furnished and equipped with WiFi. Bathroom and kitchen facilities are shared with the other residents in the building. The building also houses a reading room and a conference room , all of which are open for residents’ use upon agreement.

→  up to 550 Euros (1 month) / 950 Euros (2 months) stipend that includes travel expenses, per residency, paid upon arrival to Rupert 

→  free accommodation (50+ sq.m work/live mezzanine private studio, shared kitchen and bathroom facilities) 

→  accommodation with children is welcomed in case of need,  however the premises are less suitable for families with small children (the studios are accessible only by stairs, the shared kitchen is downstairs and shared with the whole building).  

→  Unfortunately Rupert cannot support the residents with any other additional material support or stipends. Due to high inflation in Vilnius and Lithuania,  please consider that you might need at least 200-300 Euros per person/per month just for basic expenses such as groceries. 

→ Ukrainian citizenship; 
 
→ Minimum age 18; 
 
→ English language proficiency (B2 level or higher); 
 
→ Applicant must be ready to communicate and present their practice publicly during the residency; 
 
→ Relevant professional experience; 
 
→ Relevant higher education or other professional training certificates are a plus, but not obligatory.

To apply for the programme, please send a letter titled “EXTER 4: Application” to [email protected] no later than 18 December 2022, 11:59 PM, Kyiv time. Please note that applications received after this time will not be considered. 

Please attach to the letter: 

  1. Filled-in application form (please find it here) titled ‘LastName_FirstName_application_EXTER4.’ Please note that in the form you must indicate the period of residency 
  2. Portfolio in English presenting the applicant’s relevant practice (max. 10 pages, pdf file of up to 10 Mb titled ‘LastName_FirstName_portfolio_EXTER4’).
  3. CV in English (max. 2 pages, pdf file titled ‘LastName_FirstName_CV_EXTER4’). 

Each eligible applicant will be personally notified about the results.  

Residents will be jointly selected by teams of the Ukrainian Institute and Rupert. Selected artists, curators, scholars, and critics will be given time and space for creative work as well as institutional support in establishing contacts with local art communities. An individual programme will be tailored for each participant based on their practice and expectations stated in the application. 

Production of new works or participation in exhibition projects or other public events during the residency (in case such an option is provided by the partner institution) are not obligatory. 

2020 Open Call

Please note that due to the global Covid-19 pandemic and revision of the Ukrainian Institute’s 2020 annual budget, some of the residencies planned as part of the third edition of EXTER have been rescheduled to take place in autumn 2020 while some others have been postponed until 2021. The updated list of 2020 residencies can be found below:

When: October 2020
Who can apply: artists, curators, critics, scholars


AIR Wro is a programme of Strefa Kultury Wrocław dedicated to representatives of creative and academic sector working in the field of contemporary culture and art. The idea of the programme is to support mobility of culture actors and to organise residencies, study visits and international cooperation. Its objective is to support and promote the activities of creators from various fields of culture and art – artists, curators, researchers, journalists, cultural animators and managers who are interested in collaboration with representatives of local communities and want to build international cultural relations.

The programme participants, often drawing upon the traditions of urban and grassroots movements, implement their artistic, cultural and social projects addressing current phenomena and problems faced by contemporary cities, such as public space, environmental protection and ecology. Referring to issues like civic education and cultural policy, they promote mediation and facilitate the search for innovative solutions and practices. In the field of culture and art they seek to redefine and portray the city of the 21st century.

Artist/curator/researcher in residency is invited to share their portfolio during the public artist talk gathering the local cultural scene as well as to add a creative comment to International Biennale of Urban Art “OUT IF STH” events. This year “OUT OF STH” will focus on the subject of space absorption, will look at urban enclaves, hotspots on the city map and trends in grassroots, civic shaping of public space.

Under the agreement between the Ukrainian Institute and Strefa Kultury Wrocław, a 1-month fully funded residency is available for one Ukrainian artist, curator, critic or scholar interested in visual arts / urbanistic/social conflicts in October 2020. Strefa Kultury will provide accommodation for the resident and organise a professional programme including studio visits and meetings with representatives of the culture sector in Wroclaw.

When: 1 – 30 September; 1 – 30 November 2020
Who can apply: artists, curators, critics, researchers


The Berlin Sessions Residency Programme is a platform conceived to offer curatorial expertise, network building and logistic support in the art sector to artists and cultural professionals who are interested in gaining an insight into Berlin’s vibrant art scene. Berlin Sessions is an initiative that draws from the experience of Berlinerpool, a non-for-profit platform for artists, curators, art managers and spaces of Berlin supported by a physical documentation archive of its members, that is taking shape of a research center on Berlin-based art.

Programme overview

During the residency, the chosen artist/curator/critic will be immersed in the network of cultural professionals, fitting his/her discipline and research area. Berlin Sessions will provide advice and guidance while introducing the resident to representatives of organizations and cultural operators. Visiting Berlin, the resident will get to know key places to his/her artistic practice. The schedule of meetings and conversations is essential in order to start cooperation and find future exhibition venues. To get a grasp on the multitude of events, Berlin Sessions offers art alerts, which are suggestions where to go and how to find interesting events, exhibitions, workshops, conferences and lectures.

Selected residents will work together with Berlin-based art writers, discussing previous and current projects. The effect of the conversation will be a professional text about artistic practice of the resident, which can be used in publications, catalogues and project applications.

To introduce a new artist, curator or researcher to the Berlin and international audiences, we will make a short, professional video interview with him/her and post it on our social media channels and website during the first week of the stay.

Artist talks and panel discussions are formats that Berlin Sessions strongly supports. The resident will have an opportunity to present his/her projects during an event in-house or in a partner venue.

Moreover, the resident will receive a full profile on the Berlin Sessions website, will be included in the regular newsletter sent to 10,000 email addresses, subscribed by international art organizations, and will be mentioned in social network postings.

Apartment and shared studio space

Berlin Sessions Residency apartment is located in the borough of Friedrichshain, in the north side of the river Spree and formerly known as East Berlin. The apartment is 160 square meters. Inside the apartment, the resident finds spacious and bright, shared studio space (35 square meters), bathroom (provided with both shower and bath), a separate toilet, and a living room with a kitchen. The bedroom is equipped with a bed, a desk, chairs, shelves, towels, linen and bedding. Facilities include a washing machine, a fridge with a freezer, a cooker with oven, heating, iron, telephone and high-speed Wi-Fi connection.

Under the agreement between the Ukrainian Institute and Berlin Sessions, two fully-funded residencies are available for Ukrainian artists, curators, critics, or scholars in September and November 2020. Chosen artist/curator/critic will receive accommodation in Berlin Sessions Residency, free use of shared studio space, individually designed programme, and a person supporting and scheduling meetings for the resident in Berlin.

When: September – October 2020
Who can apply: artists, curators, critics, scholars


Dos Mares is a group of interconnected projects that favours research and innovation in art. Dos Mares accompanies and encourages international artists and researchers in the development and critical analysis of their practice, the production of interdisciplinary knowledge, the implementation of translocal practices, commoning, intercultural collaborations, the development of professional networks, and the construction of alternative and hybrid economic models.

Art research residency

This programme is primarily intended for visual artists, researchers and curators who wish to address a research period related to their artistic pathways. The critical and curatorial accompaniment sessions are carried out with our research curatorial team several times per week. Through a constant work of reflection, activated with discussions, invited residents will be able to rethink the articulation of the concepts that feed their plastic and theoretical proposals.

It is not about producing a particular work or an exhibition but to confront its whole past work and to extract potentialities out of it. A part of the residency work will be also dedicated to the manufacturing of proposal attempts, experiments tending to extend research axes, to validate them, to correct them or to restate them.

The resident will be lodged in a fully equipped apartment in downtown Marseille 10 minutes walk from the shared studio/workshop, which is available to the residents 24/7. The resident will receive human and logistical assistance (daily life, English-French translation, amongst others).

Research project advances will be presented to the public at least one time, a video interview will be held and will be published on Dos Mares’ website. The resident will have an online research tool that may be feed daily in order to be used as documentation of the reflections, references, questions, new leads during the residency period.

Under the agreement between the Ukrainian Institute and Dos Mares, a 4-week fully funded residency is available for one Ukrainian artist, curator, scholar, or critic in September-October 2020.

When: November 2020
Who can apply: artists, curators


Kunsthalle Praha is a new space for art and culture being developed in a former industrial building located in Prague’s historical centre. As part of its pre-opening programme, Kunsthalle Praha develops and supports projects in partnership with institutions or festivals, and occasionally commission new art works. Once the reconstruction is completed, Kunsthalle Praha will offer visitors an extensive programme of exhibitions and educational projects, cultural events and social activities.

Kunsthalle Praha’s mission is to engage diverse audiences in a deeper understanding and appreciation of Czech and international art of the 20th and 21st centuries. The aim is to create a leading cultural institution grounded in expertise and open cooperation, a space which integrates the experience of art and culture into everyday life.

Under the agreement between the Ukrainian Institute and Kunsthalle Praha, a 1-month fully funded residency is available for one Ukrainian artist or curator in November 2020. Focusing on contemporary art, Kunsthalle Praha is open to a broad spectrum of media, including performance and sound art. Due to the reconstruction of the building, there will be no studio available for the artist apart from the accommodation. The research conducted during the residency may develop into larger projects presented in the future at Kunsthalle Praha, in a form to be determined (exhibition, workshop, performance, etc).

Over the course of one month, we provide the resident with an opportunity to develop ideas and assistance to build up a network, connecting her/him with the cultural practitioners not only from Prague but, if possible, from all over the country.

When: autumn 2020
Who can apply: artists, curators, critics, researchers in visual culture, design, architecture


The residency programme at Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts (NAC) grants selected artists the opportunity to live and work in Nida, Lithuania for a period between two and six months. NAC is located in a remote UNESCO World Heritage Site, surrounded by the unique landscape of the Curonian spit: forest, sand dunes, a freshwater lagoon, and the sea. NAC is a subdivision of Vilnius Academy of Arts and in addition to the international artist-in-residency programme, it organises educational projects and exhibitions.

The programme has the capacity to host up to five international residents at a time. NAC regularly works with visual artists and researchers who focus on history, ecology and politics, visual culture and interdisciplinarity. The programme is also open to designers, architects, and curators, as well as practitioners working with performing arts, sound, material research/craft, and film. In addition, proposals for a residency by professionals from other fields are always welcome. The programme is predominantly conducted in English.

The programme’s goal is to provide time and space for residents to focus, and through exchange, gain insight, broaden, and diversify their outlook. The programme engages residents in discussions with fellow practitioners, participants in the NAC artistic programme, and the Nida Doctoral School. NAC is collaborating with local cultural institutions and offers the possibility to organise presentations and engage with the educational programme of NAC by conducting artist talks or workshops at Vilnius Academy of Arts or local public schools.

Living and working conditions:

Each of the five duplex residency studios have 65m2 of total space, and are equipped with basic kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and workspace infrastructure. Additionally, full access is given to the common spaces such as the library and the professional workshop (with laser cutting, wood and metal working tools, plus photo, video and sound equipment). The atmosphere and life intensity in Nida depend on the season and programme of NAC. There are between 7 and 70 people staying at NAC at all times. During June and July, Nida becomes a busy (although not overcrowded) summer holiday resort.

Under the agreement between the Ukrainian Institute and Nida Art Colony, a 2-month residency is available for one Ukrainian artist, curator, critic or scholar in autumn 2020.

Please be aware that this opportunity is not open to students. Applicants must hold at least a BA degree (or equivalent) and have at least two years of professional experience.

When: October 2020
Who can apply: artists, curators, critics, scholars


Rupert’s Residency Programme is dedicated to local and international practitioners and thinkers (such as artists, writers, curators, researchers, cultural managers and academics), providing them with the opportunity to live and work in Vilnius while developing individual projects and immersing themselves in the region’s contemporary art field. The residents can also get involved in Rupert’s Alternative Education, as well as Public Programmes, where the residents can attend talks, lectures and workshops by prominent curators, artists and thinkers from all over the world.

From its inception, Rupert’s three Programmes have been and are driven by a central ethos of establishing collaborations and conversations between residents, local and international art organisations and artists, and between other initiatives and professional fields in Vilnius and further afield. Our Programmes provide a setting for knowledge sharing and develop these collaborations and encounters into artistic, social and/or community-based projects, exhibitions and other outcomes.

Located in the picturesque area of Valakampiai in Vilnius and only a short distance from the city’s flourishing cultural centre, Rupert is set by the river Neris and a small river beach, surrounded by peaceful fields and a forest. Rupert supports the resident with a studio, utilities, curatorial support (a minimum of 2 studio visits or feedback sessions per month), provides administrative support and facilitates access to required contacts, tools, materials and information for research and production.

The residencies are located in a recently constructed building called Pakrantė, designed by award-winning Lithuanian architect, Audrius Ambrasas. Pakrantė was founded as an arts incubator and houses a number of creative industries initiatives. Each resident is provided with a studio space and mezzanine (approximately 52 sq m.) to be used as a production and research space during the residency. The studio is fully furnished and equipped with WiFi. The building also houses a reading room, conference room and a kitchen, all of which are open for residents’ use.

Under the agreement between the Ukrainian Institute and Rupert, a 1-month fully funded residency is available for one Ukrainian artist, curator, critic or scholar in October 2020.

When: 21 – 30 September 2020
Who can apply: critics only

Visiting Critics Vienna
 is a residency programme for four international established art critics. It is the fourth edition of the programme, organised by Vienna-based association Verein K in cooperation with AICA – International Association of Art Critics Austria and Ukrainian Institute.

The programme will take place September 21.–30. in Vienna. A strong focus is on networking the Viennese and international art scene as well as on strengthening the position of the art criticism in Austria. In the course of a ten-day programme, the selected participants will be given comprehensive and profound insights into the contemporary Viennese art scene.

The residency programme will consist of artists’ studio visits, off spaces, art collections, galleries, guided tour through selected exhibitions, meetings with curators as well as visit to the art fair viennacontemporary, gallery festival curated by_ and the festival in Graz steierischerherbst’20.

Part of the programme is dedicated to cooperation with international and Austrian art magazines, where the invited art critics will publish their texts on an exhibition, event, artist related to the Viennese/Austrian contemporary art scene. In this way the critics are given the opportunity to start a future collaboration with respected international art publications giving them more visibility in the international art criticism realm.

In the framework of the residency a panel discussion will be held on the Role of Art Criticism. Through the networking and bringing together different experts of the arts and industry, Visiting Critics Vienna aims to make a lasting contribution to professional development of the programme participants by gaining international experience and contacts for their future activities.

Under the agreement between the Ukrainian Institute and Verein K, one fully funded position is secured for a Ukrainian critic at the Visiting Critics Vienna 2020 programme. Applicants’ portfolios must include weblinks to original texts published over the last five years (in case of printed media unavailable online electronic copies are required). Published texts in English are a plus, but not required.

Ukrainian Institute covers the following expenses for the programme participants:
→ travel costs from/to Ukraine (from/to Kyiv where specified);
→ accommodation during the residency;
→ per diems (rates vary depending on the city);
→ visa fee (if needed);
→ participation fee.

 

→ Ukrainian citizenship and permanent residence in Ukraine;

→ Minimum age 18;

→ English language proficiency (B2 level or higher);

→ Applicant must be ready to communicate and present their practice publicly during the residency;

→ Relevant professional experience;

→ Relevant higher education or other professional training certificates are a plus, but not obligatory.

Please note that the above list is general, but not exhaustive. Read carefully the residency descriptions below for more details.

 

To apply for the programme, please send a letter titled “EXTER 3: Application” to [email protected] no later than 7 June 2020, 11:59 PM, Kyiv time. Please note that applications received after this time will not be considered.

If you have already submitted your application earlier in 2020, please send a follow-up letter confirming that the provided information is up-to-date, or attach an updated application.

Please attach to the letter:

  1. Filled-in application form (please find it here) titled ‘LastName_FirstName_application_EXTER3.’ Please note that in the form you must indicate two residencies of interest.
  2. Portfolio in English presenting the applicant’s relevant practice (max. 10 pages, pdf file of up to 10 Mb titled ‘LastName_FirstName_portfolio_EXTER3’).
  3. CV in English (max. 2 pages, pdf file titled ‘LastName_FirstName_CV_EXTER3’).

Criteria for evaluating applications can be found below (in Ukrainian).
Each eligible applicant will be personally notified about the results.