Entries open for DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program

Each year, it awards residencies in Berlin to around twenty outstanding cultural producers. The residency enables the chosen fellows to focus on their creative thinking, actions, and research pursuits without being obliged to produce. Encounters with other artists and cultural producers stimulate transdisciplinary cooperation and initiate reciprocal learning processes.

Both during and after their period of residency in Berlin, the fellows receive support from the Artists-in-Berlin Program to develop and present exhibitions, concerts, performances, film projects, readings, and publications. Collaboration with guests and partners results in new creative endeavors that are presented at the daadgalerie, in other cultural institutions in Berlin, throughout Germany, and in locations all around the world.

The Artists-in-Berlin Program builds lasting relationships with its alumni. By facilitating and supporting projects by both current and former fellows, it sets an international example and underscores the importance of cultural coproduction and critical engagement with contemporary issues. Through its wide-ranging program of events and digital offerings, it creates a resonance space for the creative practice of its fellows and alumni, whose narratives, pictorial worlds, and soundscapes invite audiences to expand their horizons of aesthetic, social, and political experience.

Benefits

• A monthly stipend to cover living expenses and rent.
• Provision of a furnished apartment. Please note that not all apartments have the same level of accessibility (e.g. elevator / equipment).
• Travel and luggage expenses (scheduled flight, economy class), also for partners and children if they reside in Berlin for the entire duration of the fellowship.
• If necessary: health, accident, and liability insurance; premiums are deducted from the stipend payments.
• German language courses (optional).

Duration

• The duration of the fellowship is twelve months in the visual arts, literature, and music categories, and six months in the film category.

Eligibility Criteria

• The program is an award for outstanding international artists from the fields of visual arts, film, literature, and music & sound. It is intended for established artists who have already developed their own voice and standing.
• There is no (upper) age limit.
• An academic background is not required. However, the Artists-in-Berlin Program is primarily interested in positions that critically engage with historical issues as well as contemporary discourses. They therefore prefer artists who go beyond pure aesthetics and address the relevant issues of their time.
• Applications may only be submitted in the categories of film, literature, and music & sound. Application requirements for these specific artistic areas can be found. In the visual arts category, artists are nominated and selected by a specialist jury. Accordingly, applications cannot be submitted in this category.
• The DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program receives hundreds of applications every year. Given the limited number of fellowships on offer, many highly qualified applications might not be accepted. An application that is not accepted in no way implies a negative assessment of the applicant’s artistic work.
• Applicants can reapply at any time. By submitting an application, artists agree to the guiding principles of the program.

Ineligibility Criteria

• The Artists-in-Berlin Program fellowship is not designed to support emerging artists during their early development. Applicants who are still in school or have just completed their education will not be considered. Doctoral students, however, are eligible to receive support. Academic training is not a prerequisite for receiving a fellowship.
• In the visual arts category, artists are nominated and selected by a specialist jury. Accordingly, applications cannot be submitted in this category.
• German nationals are excluded from applying. German nationals (including dual nationals) who live abroad may only apply if they can verify that they reside primarily in the country from which they are applying—as a stipulation, applicants must have had residency there for a minimum of six years. Please indicate this clearly in your personal data form (under current postal address).
• Artists residing primarily in Germany are excluded from applying, regardless of their nationality – except in cases in which they initially registered in Germany no more than fifteen months.
• Alumni of the Artists-in-Berlin Program cannot reapply.

Application Requirements

• You can upload one PDF (5MB max.) of work samples & press clippings. If you want to submit work in other file formats or larger than 5mb:
  • Please include at least one link to online work samples in the field
  • “Please submit your work samples here,” while paying attention to the specific requirements for applications in the categories of film, literature, and music & sound indicated below. Submitting no works or links will result in the application being excluded from the selection process.
  • Please make sure all credits are clearly indicated, especially if work has been developed collaboratively.
  • Please ensure that all submitted material remains available online until August of the following year. Broken links will result in the application being excluded from the selection process.
  • If you submit private or password protected links, please include the password in the application form.
  • There are various free cloud services that make it possible to share private and/or password-protected links in a secure manner (end-to-end encrypted if possible) for an unlimited period of time. For example, but not limited to: dropbox, google drive, apple iCloud for documents/files, vimeo and youtube for audiovisual content and soundcloud for audio material.
  • If you apply for film:
    • Please submit links to one complete film and up to three extracts (5 min each) of your most recent works, with subtitles. Please include a synopsis of every film submitted. They only accept Vimeo or YouTube links. No trailers.
  • If you apply for literature:
    • They accept published books (no online-only publications). Please do not submit manuscripts and no more than four books. Original printed publications can only be sent from within the EU due to changes in customs regulations.
  • If you apply for music & sound:
    • Please only submit links to recordings, videos, or audio-visual material online.
    • Please submit no more than four work samples, including corresponding materials for each work sample—i.e. the score, a description of the work, photos, videos. Specific sections to be listened to should be indicated accordingly.

For more information, visit DAAD.