Return2Ithaca 2025 Residency Program

R2I is looking for 5 photographers to join the list of 10 who will participate in R2I 2025 Residency Program from 27 August to 12 September 2025 in Ithaca, Greece.

Overview

Return2Ithaca is a unique artist residency program that brings together selected Greek and International photographers for a 15-day immersive experience on the Greek island of Ithaca. Participants will engage with esteemed curators, who will provide valuable feedback and insights into their projects. This residency offers artists the opportunity for an exploration of the Odyssey’s profound themes, including its significance as a cornerstone of human modernity. Inspired by these themes, artists will either develop existing projects or create new works that resonate with the residency’s core concept.

Ithaca also serves as a platform for presenting the work of prominent photographers from around the globe. The residency encourages dialogue and exchange on pressing social, environmental, racial, and cultural issues that impact contemporary photography and art. It is a vibrant space where collaborative teamwork blends with moments of solitude, allowing for both creative exploration and personal reflection.

Return2Ithaca is more than an artist residency - it is a space for deep reflection, creative growth, and meaningful connections with fellow artists from across the globe. Participants will have the chance to present their work to a global audience while gaining inspiration from the island’s mythological and cultural essence.

Practical Info

This year’s theme, There And Back Again, invites participants to reflect on the essence of journeys - whether physical, emotional, or intellectual - and the transformative stories that unfold along the way. As a reference for the theme and the concept, they suggest C. Cavafy’s poem Ithaca.

Applicants must submit up to two portfolios with 8-12 photographs each of a specific theme, forming a personal photographic view, and an artist statement (300 words max) for each of the submitted portfolios and a short CV (300 words max).

Participants will work with internationally renowned curators, gaining valuable insights, reviews, and mentorship. Plus, they will engage in team interactions, workshops, and guided tours while enjoying time for personal creative development, and will discuss social, environmental, racial, and contemporary issues in photography and art that concern the world today. Residency that will take place in Ithaca, Greece, from 27th August to 12th September 2025.

Selected photographers are required to attend all events and activities, and stay on the island for the entire duration of the residency, offer an artist’s talk and present their retrospective work to the public, and participate in every event both in person and online meetings with the curators during the event. Plus, they are required to deliver a final body of work and accompanying materials connected to the main concept of the program (artist statement, high-resolution images) by agreed deadlines (there is no obligation to deliver the work during the residency).

The residency provides shared twin rooms at the Center of Environmental Education, facing the sea and located at the port of Vathy in Ithaca, with breakfast for 15 days, but also lectures on the Odyssey, Ithaca’s history, and its cultural significance. This challenge invites artists to draw inspiration from a piece of global cultural heritage. The aim is to reinterpret and reimagine this heritage through personal expression and contemporary techniques. Additionally, participants will join guided tours of Ithaca’s paths and interactions with locals to uncover historical narratives and family retrospectives, workshops and discussions with the curators evolving the initial idea of the depiction of the Odyssey and ending with the building or developing of the project, and one-on-one sessions with curators to refine personal projects. An exhibition or projection of the final works will be organized by the R2I team, and the cost of presentation material, printed or projected, will be covered by the organizers.

The jury is composed of Arianna Rinaldo (Independent Curator), Nina Kassianou (Artistic Director of R2I Residency Program), Moritz Neumüller (Curator, Educator, and Writer in the field of Photography and New Media), and Sandra Maunac (Independent Curator).

About Return2Ithaca 

Return2Ithaca is an artist residency program providing a platform for Greek and international photographers to come together on the island for a 22-day period, creating personal projects and engaging with acclaimed curators to review their work. The program involves a deep exploration of the island, its history, and the universal themes derived from the Odyssey, inspiring artists to produce unique and personal projects.