Organizer Information
The Goethe-Institut is Germany's cultural institute, working internationally to promote cultural exchange, education, and dialogue. Through its global network, it supports artistic initiatives and collaborations that connect cultural practitioners across national and continental borders.
The Visual Arts Project Fund supports joint artistic and curatorial projects that develop international partnerships, explore contemporary issues, and create opportunities for exchange between different cultural contexts. The fund particularly encourages collaborative approaches that challenge dominant Western European and North American perspectives and make space for alternative viewpoints.
Title & Description
Goethe-Institut Visual Arts Project Fund 2027
The Goethe-Institut's Visual Arts Project Fund 2027 invites professional cultural practitioners to apply for funding for new, collaborative projects involving partners in Germany and at least one other country. The program supports ambitious artistic and curatorial initiatives that combine cross-border cooperation, critical research, and public engagement.
Projects may explore contemporary social, cultural, political, or environmental questions through experimental and interdisciplinary approaches. Applicants are encouraged to develop complex collaborations involving multiple partners, communities, regions, or institutions rather than limiting their projects to a simple partnership between two individuals.
Possible formats include exhibitions, public-space interventions, workshops, discussions, artist talks, and digital presentations. Projects may also incorporate publications as part of a broader artistic program, but standalone publication projects are not eligible.
The fund prioritizes equal participation, dialogue, artistic quality, contemporary relevance, inclusion, and sustainable collaboration. Funded projects must be publicly presented in a professional setting outside Germany.
Categories
- Visual Art
- Contemporary Art
- Curatorial Projects
- Interdisciplinary Art
- Artistic Research
- Participatory and Community-Based Art
- Digital and Experimental Art Formats
Eligibility
Professional artists, curators, art mediators, cultural practitioners, and art and cultural theorists may apply as part of a collaborative project.
- A minimum of two equal project partners is required.
- At least one partner must have their professional and personal life centered in Germany.
- The other partner or partners must live and work in at least one additional country.
- Collaboration with at least one institution, such as a museum, art association, or independent art space, is expected.
- Individuals, collectives, and institutions may submit applications, subject to the fund's partnership requirements.
- All applications must be submitted in English.
The fund is intended for new projects that have not yet begun implementation. Existing exhibitions, commissioned works that do not meet the collaborative criteria, individual artist residencies, and projects that lack equal partnership are excluded.
Program Benefits & Awards
Selected projects can receive funding of up to €25,000. The fund does not provide full project financing; applicants are expected to contribute at least 10% of the total budget through their own resources or third-party funding.
Eligible expenses may include:
- Artist and collaborator honoraria.
- Travel, accommodation, subsistence, and visa expenses for participants.
- Temporary venue rental.
- Production costs and expenses associated with the project's public presentation.
The program also offers an opportunity to build international professional networks, develop collaborative artistic methods, and present work to audiences outside Germany. Funded projects are featured on the Goethe-Institut website.
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 22 October 2026
Location
Additional Details
The fund emphasizes equitable collaboration, artistic excellence, public impact, contemporary relevance, diversity, inclusion, and sustainable use of resources. Projects involving several partners, communities, or regions are particularly encouraged.
The fund does not support projects that have already begun, existing exhibitions simply transferred to another venue, standalone residencies, individual artists' invited travel, commissioned works that do not satisfy its collaboration requirements, or projects consisting solely of a publication. Routine institutional operating costs are also ineligible.
Successful applicants must comply with the funding agreement, provide project documentation and a final report, and submit financial statements supported by invoices. Applicants should carefully plan expenditure because increases to the approved grant are not permitted after the award.