Residencies in Slovenia
Artists-in-residence opportunities in Slovenia
Slovenia has a lot to offer to the art world and artists in search of inspiration! Being positioned in the south of central Europe, its art map is quite diverse, and its multitude of cultural influences make it a place worth experiencing. On the crossroads of the Mediterranean cultural space on the west, the Pannonian influence on the east, the Balkan on the south and the Alpine Germanic cultures on the north, it’s an ideal place to find a different insight into the topics relevant to an artist’s research or work in progress. Contributions by artists in residence in Slovenia also play a significant role in the local art scene which are often connected to the international level through partnerships and collaborations.
In the last decade, residencies have become an important part of the art world as well as an interesting experience for many artists who are looking for a place to create and present their work. The various residency platforms in Slovenia offer different arrangements. They cover various fields such as literary, visual art, dance, theatre, etc.
Some residency programmes offer a place for research, process, experimentation without expecting any tangible outcome, but most of them ask for a final artwork, an exhibition, a project, a workshop or a collaboration. Specific assignments are mainly required by residential programmes that are part of art festivals. In that case, the topic and conditions are mentioned in their open calls.
Open calls
Open calls are released mostly in the end of December and new calls are regularly published until June of the following year in which the residences will take place. There are three types of residency programme: short-term residencies, for example, for the time of an exhibition or festival, long-term residencies for a month or more, and two-part residencies, which allow artists to reflect on the work and process in between, such as AiR Celeia. Some programmes also offer separate ateliers but most of the AIR programmes offer a joint living/working space, for example, GuestRoomMaribor.
Grants are usually included in the residency programme as well as curatorial and production assistance or collaboration if residency stay is granted. As mentioned before, the season of open calls has already started, so don’t forget to follow the websites of the residency programmes that interest you and find yourself an opportunity to experience what the Slovenian cultural scene has to offer.
Simon Žlahtič
