Return2Ithaca 2026 Residency Program

R2I is looking for 8 international or Greek photographers who will participate in R2I 2026 Residency Program from 27 August to 11 September 2026 in Ithaca, Greece.

Overview

Return2Ithaca is an artist residency program providing a platform for Greek and international photographers to come together on the island for a 15-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.

Ithaca serves as a venue for the presentation of photographic works by renowned artists worldwide, fostering discussions on social, environmental, racial, and everyday issues relevant to contemporary photography and the arts. The residency creates a vibrant space that combines collaborative team efforts, individual moments of relaxation, and the exploration of new expressive avenues.

What sets the Ithaca Artists' Residency apart is the invaluable opportunity for artists to spend time with distinguished curators invited to the island. This interaction allows for the exchange of experiences, opinions, and perspectives on artistic expression inspired by the world-famous epic of the Odyssey. Additionally, participating artists receive insights, reviews, and mentorship that contribute to their overall artistic development.

Practical Info

This year’s theme 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 we suggest the C. Cavafy’s Poem Ithaca.

Submissions must include up to 2 portfolios (8–12 photos each) on a specific theme forming a personal photographic view, file analysis (20 photos max, in a file of 10 Mb max or video), an artist statement (300 words max) for each of the submitted portfolios, and a short CV.

Selected photographers are required to attend all events and activities during the residency, stay on the island for the entire duration of the residency, offer an artist’s talk and present their retrospective work to the public during the event, participate in every event both in person and online meetings with the curators, 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, and participate in exhibitions, or projections, or printing editions that will follow the Residency Program.

The residency provides selected photographers with accommodation – shared twin rooms at the Center of Environmental Education –, breakfast, and learning opportunities such as 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. Plus, 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 Odyssey and ending with the building or developing of the project, one-on-one sessions with curators to refine personal projects, and exhibition or projection of the final works. 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), Angela Ferreira, and Hans-Joachim Gögl.

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.