Currently 17 active audio, sound and music grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in the EU. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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The Digital Media and Arts Research Centre (DMARC) and CMC Ireland announce the second year of the Sonic Arts Residency Programme at the University of Limerick Electronic Music Studio for 2026/27. The residency offers Irish and international composers and sound artists an opportunity to develop their creative practice and experiment using UL's facilities. FACILITIES: the Electronic Music Studio (EMS) featuring both digital and analogue workflows, including a bespoke Buchla 200e; a 32-channel immersive sound lab (SpADE); a makerspace supporting electronics and fabrication; and a range of well-equipped recording studios with a wide selection of microphones and production hardware and software. DMARC is based in the Computer Science and Information Systems Department at UL and has a long history supporting digital arts, electronic music, and computer-aided composition (hosting the 2022 International Computer Music Conference and 2020 International Conference on Live Coding, the Diffusion Prize with RTE Lyric FM, and partnering with Light Moves Festival). PROGRAMME: each residency lasts 10 working days within one of two windows, September-December 2026 or January-March 2027. Support includes a EUR 1,000 honorarium from CMC, a travel bursary up to EUR 350, and an accommodation bursary up to EUR 1,400 (ten nights), with DMARC helping identify accommodation. There is an outreach/presentation element: a one-hour talk/performance for the DMARC community of students and researchers, and required documentation of the process (photo, video, recordings, and/or written reflections) that may be published by CMC on social media; artists may also be invited to contribute to CMC's amplify podcast series or online features at cmc.ie/features. The programme runs 2025-27 with support for six artists (4 Irish, 2 international). ASSESSMENT: candidates apply via an online form submitting a CV, work samples, an outline of the residency project (including technical requirements), how they propose to engage with the facilities, and how the residency would benefit their practice. Criteria: artistic quality of the proposal including development of work using either the SpADE system or Buchla 200e; how the opportunity supports the candidate's current career stage and artistic goals; demonstrated technical capacity to engage with the facilities; and balanced representation of genres, gender, and geographical regions. TO APPLY: complete the online application form linked from the opportunity page. Closing date: 11am (IST), 5 August 2026; late applications will not be accepted. Questions: jurgen.simpson@ul.ie or kfennell@cmc.ie. Applications are jointly assessed by DMARC and the Contemporary Music Centre.
Musikfonds Small Project Funding supports new, experimental and contemporary music projects with grants of up to EUR 3,000, prioritising projects in rural and structurally weaker regions of Germany. A minimum 10 percent co-financing is required and the artist fee must be at least EUR 350 per concert. Applicants and projects must be based in Germany. Application windows close 31 August 2026 and 30 November 2026. NOTE: research-sourced; confirm current figures and window dates on the Musikfonds site before applying.
The Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology (ICST) at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) invites applications for its 2027 Artists in Residence program, fostering artistic exchange in key areas of current research. Residencies are available in five themes: Spatial Audio; Klavierautomat (algorithmic composition); Moving Loudspeakers; Dance and Generative AI; and Object Performance. The program offers access to ICST's facilities and technical infrastructure, professional support from researchers, and per diems for meals and accommodation. Artists and musicians working with sound and sound media, whose practice reflects a strong interest in one of the listed research areas, are encouraged to apply. One selected project from the Spatial Audio Residency will be featured at the SONIC MATTER Festival 2028 as part of an ongoing partnership. PRACTICAL: residencies include use of facilities and technical infrastructure as specified in the thematic descriptions, plus technical support by ICST research staff. Participants receive a contribution toward travel to Zurich (up to CHF 300 for persons living in Europe, up to CHF 500 for persons living outside Europe) and a per diem to cover meals and accommodation in Zurich; participants organise their own travel and accommodation, with ICST assistance if required. Residency dates are defined individually. APPLICATION: submitted via the online form, uploading a concept sketch, composition idea or project draft (PDF, 2 pages, 10 MB max); a portfolio of three selected works relevant to the residency topic including links to external audio and video (PDF, 2 pages, 10 MB max); and a tabular CV covering education and career (PDF, 1 page, 10 MB max). The residencies are awarded by a jury of ICST researchers and project leaders. TIMELINE: deadline 1 September 2026 at 24:00 CET; candidates notified mid-October 2026. Selected candidates receive forms required for an invitation to Switzerland and must confirm participation and return completed forms within 10 days or the invitation may be withdrawn.
Pro Helvetia's creation and production grant for contemporary music supports the creation and production of new musical works, including commissioned compositions, music theatre, sound installations, and contemporary productions. Open to nationally established music professionals and ensembles from Switzerland working in contemporary music, music theatre, sound art, or contemporary folk music, with prior Pro Helvetia support. ELIGIBILITY: requires a connection to Switzerland (Swiss citizenship, or permanent residency with regular artistic activity in Switzerland); not open to practitioners without a Swiss connection. AMOUNT: maximum CHF 25,000, depending on overall project size. Deadlines twice a year: 1 March (23:59 CET) and 1 September (23:59 CEST). Apply via the Pro Helvetia portal.
Klang, Copenhagen's avantgarde music festival, is seeking one to three projects at the intersection of experimental music and movement, dance or choreography for its 2027 edition at Dansehallerne. Important constraint: the call is explicitly for ready-to-go projects, not commissions or works in progress, so the work must already be finished and production-ready. Submission is a one-page PDF covering artistic description, budget overview, bios, duration and media links, emailed to opencall@klang.dk with 'Open Call 2027' in the subject line. The submission window runs 1 July to 1 September 2026. The toaspern|moeller duo together with Klang Festival review feasible submissions in September 2026, with notification in October 2026.
Berlinale Talents is the Berlin International Film Festival's talent-development program: a week of workshops, the Talents Lab and the Talent Project Market during the February 2027 Berlinale, plus access to the festival's industry network. ELIGIBILITY: international working film professionals with at least 1 feature, 2 shorts, or a widely screened or streamed series, across 15+ disciplines including directing, sound design, editing, production, cinematography and screenwriting. Participation itself is free; there is a EUR 15 application service fee (EUR 10 early bird before 19 August 2026) and travel and accommodation are not covered. Deadline 2 September 2026, 12:00 CEST. Apply via the Berlinale Talents portal.
The Berlin Senate's work stipends for visual artists fund 8 or 12 months of artistic work during 2027 at EUR 2,000 per month. The program explicitly covers digital art and media art, sound art, artistic film and video (shown in a visual-arts exhibition context) and installation, alongside classical visual-arts disciplines. ELIGIBILITY: professional visual artists who live, work and are registered in Berlin; not open to applicants based elsewhere. The application window runs 6 July to 2 September 2026, 11:00 CEST, via the Senate's online portal.
The National Gallery of Iceland announces an artist residency open call under its CUSP program, a European cooperation project funded through Creative Europe's Culture grant. Artists working in complex media or emerging technologies (e.g. generative AI, custom sensors, sound, software-based, blockchain, physical and digital hybrid) are invited to apply. This is the first of four residency stays offered to different artists through the program, one in each of the participating countries (Iceland, Norway, Czechia, and Ukraine), followed by two micro residencies in the Netherlands and Iceland. The programme brings together artists working in time-based media with museum professionals, conservators, and technology specialists developing preservation and conservation methodologies to ensure the long-term endurance of artworks. The selected artist will meet with a preservation specialist or conservator specializing in time-based media art for an in-depth artist interview addressing the preservation needs of their medium, and will present their body of work and working methods publicly during an open-lab masterclass designed in collaboration with the museum. RESIDENCY: up to four weeks in early 2027 in Reykjavik, exact dates arranged with the selected artist. WHAT IS PROVIDED: accommodation and working space; a travel and subsistence stipend; an artist fee for the open lab/masterclass; and possibly hardware and software depending on the artist's request and museum means. ELIGIBILITY: international artists based outside Iceland; applicants must be residents of any of the 27 EU member states or of non-EU countries with association agreements (EFTA/EEA members, acceding countries, candidate countries, and European Neighbourhood Policy countries). APPLICATION: complete the application form with full name, country of residence, gender identity, contact information, an artistic statement (max 2500 characters), a motivation letter (max 2500 characters), a draft idea of the public workshop or masterclass (max 1000 characters), links to social media/professional websites, and a CV and portfolio upload (max 10MB each). DEADLINE: 3 September 2026 at 23:59 GMT. ABOUT CUSP: Creative Understanding, Saving and Preserving Time-Based Media Art is a transnational cooperation project co-funded by the EU's Creative Europe Culture grant, led by the National Gallery of Iceland with Nasjonalmuseet (Norway), LI-MA (Netherlands), Vasulka Kitchen (Czechia), and Mystetskyi Art Arsenal (Ukraine), focused on preserving and presenting time-based media art. Inquiries: cusp.residency.is [at] gmail.com.
In Listening is the renamed successor to the CTM Radio Lab, after more than a decade of collaboration between CTM Festival and Germany's public radio Deutschlandfunk Kultur, with support from Austria's ORF, zeroing in on sound-focused experiences. This open call is for works strongly grounded in experimental sound practices and audio art and driven by conceptual approaches or sonic narratives, exploring the blurred edges between sound, noise, music, storytelling, poetry, and documenting, where sound is the main medium. Works should respond to the CTM 2027 theme 'Process...ing', with active listening informing the proposals. Applications should describe how the work could be developed for two complementary outputs: a LIVE EVENT at CTM 2027 and a RADIO BROADCAST on Deutschlandfunk Kultur and Oe1/ORF. At CTM, works are presented in the silent green Kuppelhalle with an intimate setup, the audience seated around the performer(s) and surrounded by a 6.1-channel PA (creative use of fewer channels, stereo, or mono is welcome; minimal lighting and scenography or performances in the dark are suitable, but video and complex scenography are out of scope). For radio/podcast, proposals should consider the individual listening experience (a recording of the performance is not sufficient); the broadcast is a 40-55 minute piece aired in a late-night slot to a largely German-speaking, non-specialist audience. Works premiere at CTM 2027 (22-31 January 2027, Berlin), are broadcast in Deutschlandfunk Kultur's Klangkunst programme in Spring 2027, and presented via ORF (Oe1 Zeit-Ton or Blaue Stunde / Kunstradio) and/or ORF musikprotokoll im steirischen herbst in Graz (Autumn 2027), then available for streaming for at least one year. BUDGET: two selected works each receive EUR 6,000; winners give up to two performances at CTM. Group proposals are possible but should keep a modest travel budget. JURY: Jan Rohlf (CTM), Marcus Gammel (Deutschlandfunk Kultur), Anna Soucek (ORF Oe1), and one independent artist. TIMELINE: deadline 6 September 2026 at 23:59 Berlin time; winners announced mid-October 2026; remote production late October 2026 to January 2027. APPLY (in English, PDF, max 20MB) with a project description including rough budget (max 4 pages), technical requirements, and CV; questions to in_listening@ctm-festival.de. No application fee.
MoTA (Museum of Transitory Art) in Ljubljana runs an annual open call for production residencies for media, sound and visual artists, curators and researchers. Production residencies offer full support including accommodation, technical support, production costs and an artist fee; the exact artist-fee amount is not published on the official or aggregator pages, so applicants should confirm the figure directly by email. Residencies run up to one month. Open internationally: artists of all nationalities and at all professional levels are encouraged to apply, as individuals or collectives. No application fee. The annual deadline is 15 September (for residencies the following year). Apply by email to mota.artists@gmail.com with the subject line Application for production residency. Note: the official motamuseum.com SSL certificate is currently expired, which may briefly affect link reliability.
The residencies at Q-O2 offer time and space for artistic research, reflection and creation in the field of experimental music and sound art. In 2027, Q-O2 will host 20 residencies, 10 for international artists and 10 for local artists living in Belgium, working with, on or around sound. The programme is open to artists, art workers and theorists who wish to pursue a research-oriented project; note that Q-O2 does not organise production-directed residencies and is not a rehearsal space. Duos are possible, and exceptionally small groups too. SUPPORT: a work studio and materials, a creative and communicative environment, and the possibility to present work to a public and/or propose a workshop; for international residents, accommodation in a shared apartment and a contribution to travel expenses of up to EUR 200; and a small subsistence budget reserved for artists who do not come with other funding. There is no artist fee. A final public presentation can be arranged if the artist wishes but is not expected; what Q-O2 requires are some traces of the residency in word, image and/or audio form. APPLY by 15 September 2026: email a concise project proposal of no more than one page plus a permanent link to your website or other secondary information (no temporary links) to info@q-o2.be with the subject 'Residency27 - your name'. State where you would travel from, how long you would like to stay (4 to 6 weeks), and your interest in Q-O2 as a working environment, and make sure you receive an email confirmation of receipt.
Musikfonds Large Project Funding supports new, experimental and contemporary music projects with grants of up to EUR 50,000. A minimum 10 percent co-financing is required and the artist fee must be at least EUR 300 per concert. Applicants and projects must be based in Germany; pure audio or video productions, university projects and amateur-only projects are excluded. The application window runs 1 to 30 September 2026. NOTE: research-sourced; confirm current figures and window dates on the Musikfonds site before applying.
Columbia University's Institute for Ideas and Imagination brings a cohort of scholars and artists to Reid Hall in Paris for an academic year (September 2027 to May 2028), with a USD 75,000 stipend, housing, and research support. The creative-arts category explicitly includes visual and sound arts and film alongside writing and composition. ELIGIBILITY: any nationality, but artists must not be permanently residentent in the United States (Netherlands-based artists qualify). Deadline 30 September 2026.
One of the largest private funders of contemporary and new music in Europe, and it funds the organising side of the field rather than individual artists, which makes it directly usable by festivals. Eligible activity includes festivals, world premieres and revivals, composition commissions, events, academies and workshops, education projects, symposia and musicological publications. Experimental and contemporary sound programming is the core remit; this is not a classical-repertoire fund. There are two annual deadlines: 1 October at 14:00 CEST for projects starting the following year with decisions by year-end, and 1 March for projects starting in July or later with decisions by end of June. Grant sizes are not published, and the Foundation aims funding at artistic rather than overhead costs. Only the organising institution may apply and only legal entities qualify: cultural institutions, orchestra managers, festival organisers and ensembles. Self-applications and applications from individuals are explicitly refused. VOLUME LIMITS are strict and worth planning around: each institution may submit one application per deadline, may be supported for only one project per year, and may be supported for a maximum of three projects across three consecutive years.
The Research Networking Day (RND) is an exchange platform for graduate or postgraduate students and independent artists conducting self-guided research traversing audio, arts, media, design, and related theoretical disciplines. The RND 2027 open call seeks innovative and critical submissions from all areas of study addressing the CTM 2027 festival theme 'Process...ing'. Nine selected candidates give short ten-minute presentations within different modules, linked by discussion rounds at the end of each module, offering an international platform to exchange with colleagues and researchers working on related ideas; research is also shared via audio/video after the festival on CTM's YouTube and SoundCloud channels. This edition takes place in collaboration with the Design Academy Eindhoven, Universitat der Kunste Berlin (UdK), and Leuphana University Luneburg. CONDITIONS: presentations take place on-site within the festival's Discourse programme, in English; applications are for individual (solo) presentations only (no duos or groups). As in previous years, no funding is available for travel and accommodation; participants receive a CTM 2027 festival pass, a catered lunch on the day, and a group dinner. Entrance to the event is free. KEY DATES: application deadline 25 October 2026 at 23:59 CET; programme announced mid to late November 2026; RND 2027 event Sunday 24 January 2027; CTM 2027 runs 22 to 31 January 2027.
Outer Ear is Musikfonds' dedicated special programme for participatory projects in experimental music, and the strand that most cleanly matches an experimental and sound-art public-programme brief rather than concert-series funding. It emphasises the creative process and audience participation over finished works, explicitly targeting audiences for experimental music, which makes it suitable for workshop-plus-presentation formats, listening programmes and process-led sound art events. Application windows run twice yearly: 1 to 30 April 2026 (closed) and 1 to 30 October 2026, the next live deadline. THE FIRST OUTER EAR ROUND WAS HIGHLY COMPETITIVE, with 14 projects approved at an 8.6 percent success rate, so treat it as a long shot. As with all Musikfonds strands, the applicant must be based in Germany, projects abroad are ineligible, and double-funding with BKM or with projects run by permanently institutionally supported bodies is excluded. Note that Musikfonds' Small and Large Project Funding strands are listed separately in the Grant Desk; Outer Ear is a distinct programme with its own window.
The NORMA Fonds redistributes copyright remuneration collected by Stichting NORMA into cultural, social and professional projects involving performing artists, and is one of the few Dutch schemes with four intakes a year and a genuinely short cycle. Both arts-sector organisations and individual arts professionals may apply, though the applicant needs a bank account and legal footing and cannot be a BIS-funded institution. The project must centre on performing artists in the copyright sense, meaning people who perform a copyright-protected work: musicians, dancers, actors, voice actors. This fits live experimental music, sound performance and performative media-art work, but not object-based exhibitions or non-performative installation programmes. The maximum grant is EUR 10,000, the total project budget must stay under EUR 150,000, the applicant's annual budget under EUR 500,000, and at least a quarter of the project budget must be earned from audience income, so this is a top-up rather than a primary funding source. Budgets must honour NORMA's 2026 performer wage norms. Applications are submitted online during a one-month window each quarter; the next round runs 1 to 30 October 2026, closing at 23:59. TIMING RULE: decisions arrive no later than eight weeks after the deadline, and the premiere date must fall at least eight weeks after the application deadline. Organisations that already received a NORMA Fonds grant in 2024 or 2025 are excluded, and supporting staff may not exceed 2 FTE.