Organizer Information
This residency is funded by the Hamburg Ministry for Culture and Media (Behörde für Kultur und Medien), the city government body responsible for Hamburg's international cultural exchange programmes, and hosted at Westwerk, an artists' centre on Hamburg's Fleetinsel. Westwerk was founded by an artist-led initiative in the 1980s, when a group of painters, musicians, photographers and filmmakers occupied the historic warehouse and merchant buildings on Admiralitätstraße to prevent their demolition and sale, eventually securing long-term cultural use of the site. Today the self-managed artists' house sits within a larger cluster of studios, galleries, a small theatre and cafés on the Fleetinsel, and continues to operate as one of Hamburg's most established cross-disciplinary art spaces, hosting regular exhibitions, concerts and public events.
Title & Description
Announcement of Residencies for 2027 and 2028 — Three-Month Residency for International Artists at Westwerk, Hamburg
The Hamburg Ministry for Culture and Media is inviting applications for eight three-month residencies to take place in 2027 and 2028 at the Westwerk artists' centre. The residency is a residential and work grant: recipients are required to live and work at Westwerk for the full three-month period, combining focused work on an artistic project with opportunities to network within Hamburg's cultural scene. Westwerk will provide mentoring for each artist in residence, and its ongoing programme of art and music events is intended to create contact points with the local scene. At the end of the residency, artists are expected to produce a public presentation, in a format agreed with Westwerk, ranging from a small exhibition or media-based presentation to a lecture, work-in-progress showing, or artist talk.
Categories
- Residency
- Visual Arts
- Photography
- Video/Film
- Multimedia
Eligibility
- Open to professional international solo artists
- Applicants must be aged 23 or older
- Applicants must reside outside Germany
- Applicants must work in the fields of visual arts and photography
- Film, multimedia, and music are eligible only if connected to visual arts
- Not open to curators
- Applicants should already have some experience working abroad
- Interest in Hamburg's cultural scene and in building a cultural network there is expected
Program Benefits & Awards
- Rent-free provision of a 68 m² residency flat (one large room with a separate, simply furnished living/working area, kitchen, and shared bathroom, with WiFi)
- Rent for the flat paid directly by the Ministry for Culture and Media for the duration of the residency
- Expense allowance of €900 per month per artist in residence
- Travel expenses covered for one return journey
- Mentoring provided by Westwerk e.V.
- One-off subsidy of €500 per residency toward the costs of organising a final presentation
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 27 August 2026
- Jury decision announced: mid-October 2026
- Residency periods: eight three-month slots between 1 January 2027 and 31 December 2028
Location
Westwerk, Fleetinsel, central Hamburg, Germany
Additional Details
- Grant recipients must arrange and pay for their own health and personal liability insurance during the residency, and are responsible for any required residence permits or visas
- Grants are intended for one person; family members and pets are not permitted to live on the premises, and there is a no-smoking policy
- Recipients are personally responsible for the upkeep of the premises and for preparing their own meals; continuation of the arrangement depends on written confirmation that the accommodation will be treated with care
- A written report on the experience gained must be submitted to the Ministry for Culture and Media no later than one month after completion of the residency
- Preferred residency dates are not guaranteed, though the organisers will try to accommodate applicants' preferences
- Due to the volume of applications, unsuccessful applicants will not receive a rejection email