Helsinki Artist Residency

The Helsinki Artist Residency offers Bremen artists a platform for experimentation and network. In addition to financial support, the residency program promotes exchange and new approaches to the production of artistic works.Our international partner institution HIAP offers ideal conditions both for networking on site and between the organization's international guests. HIAP grants time and space for open research and experimentation, without the condition of having to complete a project. The on-site institution supports the artists in establishing contacts with local art professionals and organizations. In addition, they offer the artists the chance to present their project ideas and work at an Open Studios event at the end of the residency.

Previous sholarship holders:

2023 Sulme & Jae-Nder Fluid
2022 Anne Krönker
2021 Sarah Hillebrecht
2020 Effrosyni Kontogeorgou
2019 Nora Olearius

Once again this year, artists from Bremen are invited to apply for a three-month residency (mid-August to mid-November) in Helsinki as part of the Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP).

The Helsinki Artist Residency provides a platform for Bremen artists to freely explore and network.  In addition to financial support, the residency program encourages new approaches and exchange for the production of artistic works. Our international partner institution HIAP offers ideal conditions for networking locally as well as between the organization's international guests. HIAP grants time and space for open research and experimentation without the condition of having to complete a project. The local institution supports the artists in establishing contacts with local artists and organizations. In addition, HIAP offers artists the chance to present their project ideas and work at an Open Studios event at the end of their residency.

Who can apply?
Applications are open to professional artists with (their primary) residence in Bremen, who have completed their studies at an art academy or have a proven track record of working professionally as an artist, and who have a working knowledge of English.  There is no age limit. Artists may bring their children, but no childcare is provided.

What does the residency offer?
The residency includes travel expenses, accommodation in one of HIAP's residential studios in Helsinki during the specified period, a monthly cash stipend of €1,000, and a one-time production budget of €500. In addition, HIAP provides on-site support through inclusion in a network and curatorial support from the HIAP team.


How to apply?
The application documents include:
- fully completed application form  incl. letter of motivation (max. 1500 characters incl. spaces) and project proposal for the stay (max. 3000 characters incl. spaces) in English
- Portfolio (max. 15 pages and 10 MB) with German and English work details
- CV with exhibition activities in German and English (1 page each)

Please send your documents digitally as a PDF via email to:
assistenz@kuenstlerhausbremen.de

Application deadline: Sunday, April 14, 2024, midnight!
Incomplete applications or applications submitted later cannot, unfortunately, be considered. The jury will decide on the awarding of the residency by mid-May.

Please direct any queries to Janine Behrens, by email at: 
jbehrens@kuenstlerhausbremen.de or by phone at: 0421-5980 412.

You can find the call for applications as a PDF here. 

Sulme & Jae-Nder Fluid in Finland: working without pressure

The artist duo Sulme & Jae-Nder Fluid spent three months in Finland as part of the Helsinki Artist Residency 2023. The residency allowed them to concentrate fully on their artistic work - now the duo is back and gives an insight into their time in the north. 

"At HIAP, we had access to a studio, a living space and a workshop. This allowed us to concentrate fully on our work, free from financial restraints."

Accommodated in a residential studio on the island of Suomenlinna, Sulme & Jae-Nder Fluid were able to dive further into their artistic exploration of the theme of "Fluidity of gender and identity as foreigners". They also devoted themselves to new forms of technical realization, such as 3D animation for a joint video installation. Although the Helsinki Artist Residency is not oriented towards the presentation of a final result, the duo was able to present a new work at the two-day open studio event at the end of their residency.

Helsinki Artist Residency 2023 goes to: Sulme & Jae-Nder Fluid 

How can a place promote networking between diverse artists and what role do social constructs play in this? These are the questions that this year's Helsinki Artist Residency 2023 fellows Sulme & Jae-Nder Fluid want to explore. In a two-stage process with a short-list of three positions in Bremen, and a final decision in Helsinki the jury chose the duo: "We are impressed by their novel and bold approach to engaging with minority communities and transforming these contacts into immersive artworks."

From mid-August to mid-November 2023, Jaehwa Baek (a.k.a. Jae-Nder Fluid, b. 1993) and Yeosulme Kang (a.k.a. Sulme, b. 1995) will live and work in Helsinki as part of the Helsinki International Artist Program (HIAP) and are planning to develop an interactive web-based project. The two artists want to explore and experience Helsinki's spatial and sensory experiences by creating experimental videos and soundscapes while exploring the city. On top of this audiovisual mapping of Helsinki, they want to link the stories of foreign artists who are based in Helsinki. 

In their collaborative work, they engage with the perspectives of marginalized communities and questions about queer spaces and gender diversity, as well as the fundamental interconnectedness of humanity: "Our narratives have a focus on questioning the boundaries imposed and constructed by society and inviting a deeper exploration of the fluidity of social constructs."

So far, Sulme & Jae-Nder Fluid have exhibited as a collective in the group exhibition Worldwide Solutions? at qvartr Gallery in Hamburg in 2023 and given a reading with discussion as part of The Art of Emergency program by thealit – Frauen.Kultur.Labor Bremen in 2022. The artist duo from South Korea currently lives and works in Bremen. 

The residency, which can be realized for the fifth time this year, is funded by the Senator for Culture Bremen. HIAP grants time and space for open research and experimentation, without having to complete a project. The on-site institution supports the artists in establishing contacts with local art professionals and organizations. In addition, they offer the artists the chance to present their project ideas and work at an Open Studio event at the end of the residency.

 

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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS (September to December 2022)

Once again this year, artists from Bremen are invited to apply for a three-month residency (Sept. 7-Dec. 5, 2022) in Helsinki as part of the Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP).

Who can apply?
Applications are open to professional artists with (their primary) residence in Bremen, who have completed their studies at an art academy or have a proven track record of working professionally as an artist, and who have a working knowledge of English. There is no age limit. Artists may bring their children, but no childcare is provided.

What does the residency offer?
The residency includes travel expenses, accommodation in one of HIAP's residential studios in Helsinki during the specified period, a monthly cash stipend of €1,000, and a one-time production budget of €500. In addition, HIAP provides on-site support through inclusion in a network and curatorial support from the HIAP team.

How to apply?
The application documents include:
• fully completed application form incl. letter of motivation (max. 1500 characters incl. spaces) and project proposal for the stay (max. 3000 characters incl. spaces) in English
• Portfolio (max. 15 pages and 10 MB) with German and English work details
• CV with exhibition activities in German and English (1 page each)

Please send your documents digitally as a PDF via email to:
assistenz@kuenstlerhausbremen.de

Application deadline: Sunday, April 24, 2022, midnight!
Incomplete applications or applications submitted later cannot, unfortunately, be considered. The jury will decide on the awarding of the residency by mid-May.

Please direct any queries to Janine Behrens, by email at: jbehrens@kuenstlerhausbremen.de or by phone at: 0421-5980 412.

You can find the call for applications as a PDF here.

Current Notice – COVID-19 Pandemic 2022:
If, due to any restrictions or entry bans, it is not possible to carry out the residency at the specified time or the residency is cancelled, there is no legal claim to this funding program. The grantee agrees to comply with the current Finnish entry regulations.

Impressions of the artist Sarah Hillebrecht from her stay in Helsinki 2021

Sarah Hillebrecht was inspired by the many impressions she gathered during her three-month stay in Helsinki and summarizes her experiences as follows:

„I have searched for specific, sculptural impressions and influences, and found others, illustrative, by chance, quite in the happy sense of serendipity. Helsinki has given me a lot of interesting things to work with – I have received it gratefully, and I hope to give some of it back with my work. The sculpture "Suomi" is based on two sources of inspiration: first, a life-size bronze by the Finnish sculptor Walter Runeberg from 1885, and second, the work "Stereotypie" by the contemporary Helsinki illustrator Eero Lampinen. I took some of both works, changed them, and finally translated them into my own language. The result is a wooden sculpture that asks seriously and somewhat ironically at the same time about today's Finnish identity – without judgment, but full of phantasy."


Call for applications 2021

This year too, Bremen based artists are invited to apply for a three-month residency (2.9. – 30.11.2021) in Helsinki as part of the Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP).

Who can apply?
Applications are open to professionally working artists with (first) residence in Bremen, who have completed their studies at an art school or can prove that they are working professionally as an artist and have English language skills. There is no age limit. Artists may bring their children, but no childcare will be provided.

What does the residency offer?
The residency includes coverage of travel expenses, accommodation in one of HIAP's residential studios in Helsinki during the specified period, a monthly cash stipend of €1,000, and a one-time production budget of €500. In addition, HIAP provides on-site support with integration into a network and curatorial support from the HIAP team.

How to apply?
The application documents include:

· fully completed application form incl. letter of motivation (max. 1500 characters incl. spaces) and project proposal for the stay (max. 3000 characters incl. spaces) in English
· Portfolio (max. 15 pages and 10 MB) with German and English work details
· CV with exhibition activities in German and English (1 page each)

Please send your documents digitally as a PDF via email to:
nnowak@kuenstlerhausbremen.de

Application deadline: Monday, 05 April 2021, midnight!
Incomplete applications or applications submitted later can unfortunately not be considered.

For any queries please contact Nicole Nowak, by e-mail at:
nnowak@kuenstlerhausbremen.de or by phone: +49 421-5980 412.

 

Current note COVID-19 pandemic 2021:
In case the residency will not be implemented as planned or is cancelled, due to any restrictions or entry bans, there will be no legal claim to this funding program. The scholarship holder is obliged to follow the current Finnish entry regulations.


Impressions of the artist Effrosyni Kontogeorgou from her stay in Helsinki


Effrosyni Kontogeorgou lived and worked in Helsinki from early September to mid-November 2020. During her stay she gave us an interim report:

"During my three-month stay on Suomenlinna, I experience the unfolding of a new landscape on the island every month. My own sensory perception also changes. Without being cut off from Helsinki, the island remains an ideal retreat to concentrate on one's own thoughts and research. On site I am searching for corals. In this curious relic-fortress architecture, surrounded by the sea, which merges with the landscape. A speculative and perhaps impossible search? My work plans change constantly. With my experiments I have taken many directions. The process of collecting, experimenting, getting lost and failing without being forced to achieve perfect results is very valuable."

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Effrosyni Kontogeorgou receives the Helsinki Artist Residency 2020

We are pleased to announce that Effrosyni Kontogeorgou has been selected from the applicants* for the second Helsinki Artist Residency. In a two-step process with a pre-selection of three candidates* in Bremen and the final selection in Helsinki, the jury has chosen Kontogeorgou. From the beginning of September to the end of November 2020, she will live and work in Helsinki as part of the Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP).

The Helsinki Artist Residency will take place for the second time this year. The fellowship is financed and supported by the Senator for Culture Bremen.

The fellowship is intended to give Bremen artists* a platform for free experimentation and networking. In addition to financial support, the residency program promotes exchange and new approaches to the production of artistic works. The international partner institution HIAP provides time and space for open research and experimentation. It supports the artists on site in establishing contact with local artists and organizations.

The Bremen jury this year consisted of Regina Barunke (Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst), Dr. Mona Schieren (Hochschule für Künste), Dr. Alejandro Perdomo Daniels (freelance curator) and Nadja Quante (Künstlerhaus Bremen).

Effrosyni Kontogeorgou (*1980 in Athens) works mainly site-specific. After studying painting and multimedia (Dipl.-Kunst, 2005) at the Athens University of Fine Arts, she completed her Master in Digital Media (M.A., 2010) at the University of the Arts Bremen. In 2015 she completed her master's degree in the Studio for Contemporary Media with Prof. Jean-François Guiton. Since then she lives and works in Bremen. So far she has realized five solo exhibitions, including one at the Westfälischer Kunstverein in Münster, and has participated in various international group exhibitions and residencies in Germany, Greece, Lebanon, Belgium and Iceland. In a planning discussion with the Künstlerhaus Bremen she stated

"The Helsinki Artist Residency offers the ideal conditions for me to concentrate intensively on site-specific research and production for three months. I am willing to be challenged by other disciplines and to gain new perspectives for my work". (Kontogeorgou)

The exhibition is sponsored by


Impressions of Nora Olearius' presentation at the Open Studio Event of HIAP in Helsinki (August 2019)

Nora describes the time in Helsinki as "wonderful, inspiring, informative, excitingly carefree, encouraging, communicative" and as a good opportunity to focus on developing a new aspect of her work intensely and freely. Friendships and cooperations with the HIAP team as well as the residency colleagues that are going to last have evolved.

 

From detailed to the enlarged view, from minor to major. During the time (and time is always too short…) of the more intensive thematic investigation, new questions as well as insights have developed from my initially specific project plan of investigating and visualizing fractal patterns in the structures of Sámi yoik. 

What does appropriation mean? In the cultural sense as well as in the artistic sense? And what is also a connection to fractal structures here?

Thoughts about wax, thinking like wax. The influence of external factors on the appearance of wax, as well as its use for sound recording in former times, make wax the adequate material for my investigation.

The Helsinki Artist Residency is realised in cooperation with HIAP and supported by Karin and Uwe Hollweg Foundation.

 

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Nora Olearius receives the Helsinki Artist Residency 2019

In a two-stage procedure with a pre-selection of three candidates in Bremen and the final selection in Helsinki, Nora Olearius was selected from the applicants for the first Helsinki Artist Residency. From the beginning of June until the end of August 2019, Olearius will live and work in Helsinki as part of the Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP).

The Helsinki Artist Residency, which is being announced for the first time this year by the Künstlerhaus Bremen, offers Bremen artists a platform to freely try themselves out abroad and network. In addition to financial support, the Residency Programme promotes exchange and new approaches to the production of artistic works. The international partner institution HIAP provides time and space for open research and experimentation without necessarily having to complete a project. It supports local artists in establishing contact with local artists and organisations. They also offer artists the opportunity to present their project ideas and works at an Open Studios event at the end of their residency.
The Bremen jury consisted of Regina Barunke (Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst), Annett Reckert (Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst) and Nadja Quante (Künstlerhaus Bremen).

Nora Olearius (*1988 in Hamburg) studied Fine Arts at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen, followed by master-class studies with Prof. Jean-François Guiton (diploma 2016, master-class 2017). She received various prizes/grants, as for example the University Prize of the HfK Bremen in 2014, the 40th Bremer Förderpreis für Bildende Kunst (Bremen Promotion Prize for Visual Arts) in 2016 and the Bremen Studio Grant at Künstlerhaus Bremen in 2016.

For pictures, interview requests or further information, please contact the Künstlerhaus Bremen via e-mail: presse@kuenstlerhausbremen.de or telephone: 0049 21 508 598.


Call for tender 2019

Bremen artists are invited to apply for a three-month stay in Helsinki as part of the Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP)! The stay runs from 4 June to 29 August 2019.

Who can apply?
Applications are open to all professionally working artists from Bremen who have completed their studies at an art academy or can prove that they work professionally as artists and have a good command of English. There is no age limit. (HIAP accepts that family members of the artist travel with the artist, but does not offer childcare.)

What does the residency offer?
The residency includes the payment of travel expenses, accommodation in one of HIAP's studios in Helsinki (June to August 2019), a monthly cash grant of 1000€ and a one-off production budget of 500€. In addition, HIAP supports the local community with integration into a network and curatorial support by the HIAP team.

How to apply?
The application documents must include:

  • completed application form incl. letter of motivation (max. 1500 characters incl. spaces) and project proposal for the stay (max. 3000 characters incl. spaces) in English.
  • portfolio (max. 10 pages and 10 MB, with English work specifications)
  • curriculum vitae with exhibition activity (in English, 1 page)

Please send your documents digitally as pdf by e-mail to: assistenz@kuenstlerhausbremen.de

Deadline for applications: Wednesday, 3 April 2019, midnight!

Incomplete applications or applications submitted later will unfortunately not be considered.

If you have any questions, please contact Mara Ryser via e-mail: mryser@kuenstlerhausbremen.de or telephone: 0049 421 508 598.

 


 

The Helsinki Artist Residency is made possible by the kind support of