Name: Berlin Cultural Exchange Grants 2027/2028
Start: 2026/08/01
End: 2026/09/15
Location: Germany

Organizer Information

This programme is administered by the Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt (Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion), the state government body responsible for cultural and arts funding in the German capital. The department supports art and culture within the State of Berlin's remit, with a focus on funding outstanding projects by Berlin-based artists, and works to enable cultural participation and equal access regardless of nationality, ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual identity.

The cultural exchange grants at fixed residency locations — Istanbul, Paris, New York, and Tokyo — are delivered in cooperation with international partner institutions: DEPO/Anadolu Kültür in Istanbul, the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York, the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, and Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) in Tokyo. These grants are typically announced each year in late August for stays taking place in the following year(s).

Title & Description

Kulturaustauschstipendien des Landes Berlin 2027/2028 — Istanbul, Paris, New York und Tokio

The State of Berlin's Cultural Exchange Grants fund study residencies at fixed partner locations in Istanbul, New York, Paris, and Tokyo, for professionally working artists (and, for New York, also curators) registered as primarily resident in Berlin. The stay abroad is intended to let recipients build understanding of the residency location's culture, study developments in the local scene, make contacts, exchange ideas, gain inspiration, or realize an artistic project on site. Partner institutions abroad provide studios or studio apartments for the regular hosting of Berlin-based artists (and, for New York, curators).

Eligibility

Applicants must be professionally working artists in the relevant discipline (or, for New York, curators in the visual arts field) who can demonstrate their artistic work with work samples
Applicants must be registered with their primary residence in Berlin at the time of application, and must provide proof of this
Knowledge of the local language and/or good English skills should be in place by the start of the stay abroad
On-site presence is mandatory during the stay abroad
Parallel applications to more than one residency location are not permitted
Former Cultural Exchange grant recipients whose stay abroad ended more than two years ago (October 2024 or earlier) may reapply
All State of Berlin stipends (Arbeitsstipendien, Recherchestipendien, and Kulturaustauschstipendien) are combinable up to a total of €24,000 per calendar year; any stipends already awarded for 2026 must be declared in the application form
Applying while also applying for stipends from other funding bodies is permitted, but any resulting award must be reported so combinability can be checked
The Paris comic grant cannot be combined with a working stipend for comic artists from the Deutscher Literaturfonds for the same funding period
Excluded: applicants currently enrolled as students (including for the purpose of a doctorate) at the time of application and during the funding period
Excluded: applicants currently working as a professor at a university at the time of application and during the funding period
Excluded: jury members, staff of the Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt, and their relatives

Program Benefits & Awards

Istanbul: €2,500 per month flat-rate stipend (covering travel, materials, and living costs) for 3 months, plus rent-free use of a studio apartment
New York: €3,000 per month flat-rate stipend (covering travel, materials, and living costs) for 3 months, plus studio use at ISCP and a €1,000 per month accommodation allowance (since ISCP does not provide living space)
Paris: €2,500 per month flat-rate stipend (covering travel, materials, and living costs) for 6 months, plus rent-free use of a studio apartment at the Cité and participation in the Cité's programme offerings
Tokyo: €3,000 per month flat-rate stipend (covering travel, materials, and living costs) for 3 months, plus rent-free use of a studio apartment at TOKAS
Studio and programme fees are paid directly by the Berlin cultural administration to the partner institutes
Partner institutes support Berlin-based guests during their stay and can arrange contacts with the local scene on request
Events organized by the partner institutes (e.g. open studios, artist talks) offer opportunities to present work to an international audience

Application Fee

None

How to Apply?

Online Application

Key Dates

Application Deadline: 15 September 2026
Preliminary selection (Vorauswahl) results: expected January 2027
Final selection (Endauswahl) results: expected February 2027
Istanbul residency period 1: September – November 2027
Istanbul residency period 2: March – May 2028
New York residency period: September – November 2027
Paris (music/composition) residency period 1: April – September 2027
Paris (music/composition) residency period 2: October 2027 – March 2028
Paris (visual arts/literature/dance) residency period: May – October 2027
Paris (comic artists) residency period: November 2027 – April 2028
Tokyo residency period: September – November 2027

Location

Fixed residency locations in Istanbul, New York, Paris, and Tokyo, for artists (and, for New York, curators) registered as resident in Berlin, Germany.

Additional Details

Two-stage jury process: subject-specific juries convened by the Berlin cultural administration make a preliminary selection; the composition of the juries will be published on the relevant websites in due course, and applicants are asked to refrain from personally contacting jury members. Juries are organized as follows: Fachjury Arbeitsstipendien Bildende Kunst (for Istanbul, New York, Tokyo); Fachjury Comic (for the Paris comic grant); Fachjury Internationaler Kulturaustausch (for Paris music, and Paris visual arts/literature/dance)
The relevant partner institutes abroad make the final selection from the preliminary shortlist
The names of funded artists will be publicly announced
The online application form and its project short description (max. 1,900 characters including spaces and paragraphs) must be submitted in German; if the short description is not in German, the application will be formally rejected and not admitted to the jury process
The application form itself must be submitted in English; all other attachments may be submitted in German or English
Required attachments (PDF only, uploaded online, total max. 30MB): (1) Application form in English, max. 5MB; (2) Project description, max. 5 pages / 5MB, describing the proposed themes and goals; (3) Artistic (or, for New York curators, curatorial) CV/portfolio, max. 10 pages / 10MB, covering career history, stipends, awards, and recent projects; (4) Proof of identity and of Berlin registration address/residence permit, max. 5MB — specific documentation requirements vary by citizenship status (German citizens, EU citizens, non-EU citizens with or without a residence permit card)
The address given in the online application must match the proof of Berlin registration address
Applications exceeding the specified maximum page count or file size for any attachment will result in formal exclusion; incomplete or incorrectly uploaded identity/residency documents also result in formal exclusion
Photos, videos, or other files that cannot be uploaded electronically (e.g. MP4 files) may instead be made available to the jury online, optionally password-protected
Incomplete or faulty submissions will not be flagged by the administration for correction, and missing documents will not be requested afterward; applicants are advised to check their application carefully before submission
Supplementary submissions are permitted up to the application deadline only where unavoidable and strictly necessary (e.g. a residence permit renewal issued by authorities only after the application was submitted)
Applying on the last day of the deadline is not recommended, as upload times may be delayed; each applicant is responsible for ensuring timely submission
After submission, applicants can download a PDF version of their completed application form, and will receive an automatic confirmation of receipt by email; applicants are notified of the funding recommendation after the selection process concludes
The programme operates under EU state aid rules (General Block Exemption Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 and/or De-minimis Regulation (EU) 2023/2831); certain companies/sectors and "undertakings in difficulty" are excluded from funding under these rules, and individual grants above €100,000 are generally published in the EU's transparency database within six months of being awarded
Contact: Constantin Abbondanza, tel. 030 90228 441, constantin.abbondanza@kultur.berlin.de; for Paris comic grant questions: Antje Glawe, tel. 030 90228 676, antje.glawe@kultur.berlin.de

Berlin Cultural Exchange Grants 2027/2028