Passage Art-Residency-Programme 2026

Passage offers selected artists a four-week residency in Wittenberg, Germany, in October 2026, providing accommodation and a €5,000 grant (plus a €1,000 childcare supplement if applicable) to develop projects on specific regional themes.

Overview

The Polygona Kunstverein e.V. (Polygona Art Association) is inviting applications for two residency places as part of the KOBRA Cultural Network’s Passage Art-Residency-Programme. The KOBRA Cultural Network explores continuities and discontinuities in the cultural landscape between Fläming and Dübener Heide, opening up new perspectives on the district of Wittenberg (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany). The ten network partners of the KOBRA Cultural Network organise established art and cultural programmes. A central element of the network are four-week temporary working residencies (Artist-in-Residence), which will be carried out between 2025 and 2029 in cooperation with the KOBRA network partners.

The opportunity brings together artists working in photography and film to engage with two distinct research contexts. The first is Ferropolis, Zschornewitz power station. A former coal-fired power plant once among the most powerful in the world, now a preserved industrial monument in transition. The residency invites reflections on energy, industrial heritage, transformation, and future uses of post-industrial landscapes. On the other hand, there is Research Library for Reformation Studies Wittenberg. A unique collection of around 230,000 volumes, including rare manuscripts and early printed works. The residency explores the library as a space of knowledge production, visual culture, and historical ways of seeing the world.

Practical Info

National and international artists working in the fields of photography and film are invited to apply. The two residencies in 2026 will be carried out in collaboration with the KOBRA network partners Ferropolis Foundation for Industrial Heritage and the Research Library of Reformation Studies Wittenberg (RFB). The programme offers the opportunity to engage artistically with the history and current use of the former Zschornewitz coal-fired power station (Gräfenhainichen) as well as with the extensive collections of the RFB. The residencies will take place in October 2026.

Applications must be submitted in German or English via the online registration form on the residency's website. The following details are required for the application: surname, first name and a valid email address. In addition, a CV or short biography, a project proposal assigned to ‘Theme One (Ferropolis)’ or ‘Theme Two (RFB)’, portfolio with work samples, are requested. Students are not eligible to apply. Artists will be selected by a jury based on the quality of the submitted work.

The selected artists will spend four weeks in October 2026 in the Wittenberg region, Germany, as part of the Passage Art-Residency-Programme. During their stay, they will develop an artistic project on ‘Theme One (Ferropolis)’ or ‘Theme Two (RFB)’.

The funding comprises the following per residency place: accommodation during the four-week stay in October, a grant of €5,000 – artists participating in the residency with a child will receive an additional €1,000 to cover temporary childcare costs during the stay. Costs for travel to and from the residency, local transport, consumables and living expenses are to be paid by the artists themselves.

A central focus of the programme is the exchange between artists and young people from the region. Participation in the residency therefore involves running a one-day workshop for young people. The format, content and scope of the workshop can be freely defined. The Polygona Kunstverein e.V. will provide the necessary organisational and logistical resources for addition, the artists are asked to share insights into their creative work during a public artist talk whilst they are in residence.During the residency, the artists will also spend two days taking part in the filming of a documentary that follows their artistic processes and projects.

Additionally, an exhibition is planned for 2030 to present the results of the residencies from 2025 to 2029. The Polygona Kunstverein e.V. will endeavour to cover the production costs for this exhibition.

About Passage

‘Passage’, temporary artist residencies in the region of the Dübener Heide, initiated by Polygona Kunstverein e.V. (Polygona Art Association). Founded in 2022 and based in Bad Düben, Saxony, Polygona addresses global issues such as structural change, tradition and sustainability on a local level. To this end, Polygona creates spaces for artistic exchange and organises workshops, lectures, artist residencies and supports research initiatives and school projects. Polygona sees itself as a promoter of artistic interdisciplinarity.