Currently 16 active cross-disciplinary and social impact 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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Open call from the Creative Industries Fund NL (Stimuleringsfonds) for projects within digital culture that provide insight into and reduce the ecological impact of digital technology. Data storage in the cloud, generative AI chatbots and other everyday digital habits carry major ecological consequences: the energy consumption of data centres, the raw materials used for hardware, and ever-growing e-waste. The Fund encourages projects that make the ecological (and therefore also social) impact of digital technologies and data consumption tangible, question it, and put alternative working methods into practice, around topics such as regenerative culture, degrowth, low-tech, the reuse of obsolete hardware, and responsibility for the technologies we use within digital culture. Applications may concern new projects or the reinterpretation or further development of existing initiatives that show scope for more depth or a changed approach. Collaborations in which designers, makers or researchers engage with sustainability from an intersectional perspective are explicitly encouraged. The grant may be used for artistic and substantive development, research, collaboration, knowledge sharing, presentation and documentation. ELIGIBILITY: individual makers, designers, researchers or collectives working on alternative ways of handling digital technology, registered with a Chamber of Commerce within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Grant awards a maximum of EUR 30,000; maximum project duration one year. This call is open from 17 August 2026, 15:00 CEST until 14 September 2026, 16:00 CEST. No application fee. Questions: digitalecultuur@stimuleringsfonds.nl.
Kone Foundation is Finland's major private funder for academic research in the humanities, social sciences and environmental sciences, for professional artistic work across all disciplines, and specifically for multidisciplinary projects combining scholarly and artistic approaches, which is where digital culture, media arts and artistic research proposals land. Individuals, working groups and legal entities with a Finnish business ID may apply, and artistic groups and organisations can receive up to EUR 250,000. The Finland connection is the binding constraint: a non-Finnish applicant needs a Finnish institutional affiliation, Finland residence, or the work must happen in Finland, though international collaborators can join a group freely once one member is a Finnish citizen or Finland-based. Psychology, theology, law, business studies without an interdisciplinary element, and medical research are not funded, nor are master's studies, continuing education, building renovation, standalone equipment purchases or hobby activity. The annual call runs 1 to 15 September each year, closing 15 September 2026 at 16:00 EEST, with decisions announced in November and December. TIMING: funding is never retroactive and projects must begin in January or later, so a September 2026 application funds work starting January 2027 at the earliest. FLAG: Kone frames its funding around artistic work and research projects rather than festival or event hosting as such, so an event-led application needs to be framed as an artistic or research project.
Canon Foundation in Europe Research Fellowships support bilateral research exchange between Europe and Japan, awarding up to 15 fellowships annually. AMOUNT: up to EUR 30,000 per year (pro-rated for shorter stays), flexible — covers living costs, travel, insurance, research expenses, and books; fellows determine their own allocation. ELIGIBILITY: European nationals (including UK, Israel, Switzerland, Turkey, Balkan and Baltic countries) conducting research in Japan; or Japanese nationals conducting research in Europe. Applicants must have completed at least a Master's or PhD degree within the last 10 years (older qualifications may apply with supporting documentation). No restrictions on research field. Priority given to first-time applicants to Europe/Japan. Fellows arrange their own host institution and advisor. Up to 15 fellowships awarded annually. Deadline: 15 September 2026, 23:59 CET (for fellowships starting January-December 2027). Apply at https://portal.canonfoundation.org/. Contact: canon.foundation@canon-europe.com.
Annual scheme funding festival organisations in the creative industries (design, architecture, digital culture, fashion, e-culture, etc.) presenting a 2027 edition. Application window opens 25 August 2026 at 15:00 CEST and closes 23 September 2026 at 16:00 CEST. Supports both content programming and the organisational/curatorial running of a festival; applicants must be organisations rather than individuals, but the scheme is the natural home for any artist-led collective or platform that runs a critical-AI / digital-culture / surveillance-focused festival event. Note the wider 2026 context: Stimuleringsfonds is restructuring its grant offering for 2027, and several individual schemes (Design, Digital Culture) have been reduced to two rounds in 2026. The Festivals scheme is a separate annual track and one of the cleaner ways to access SCI funding for an event-format project.
The American Academy in Berlin is an independent, nonprofit institute for advanced study in the arts, humanities, social sciences, law, journalism and public policy, whose primary mission is to strengthen the cultural and intellectual ties between the United States and Germany. Each year, after a rigorous selection process, the Academy awards roughly two dozen semester-long Berlin Prize fellowships to individuals who demonstrate excellence in their fields. DISCIPLINES: applications are welcome across the humanities, social sciences, law, journalism and various areas of public policy. The Academy generally encourages projects addressing pressing issues of the day, specifically naming democracy, security, technology and society (especially AI), energy including climate, and global order. Dedicated fellowships also support projects in Jewish studies, German studies, and public health and biotechnology. Project proposals need not focus on Germany, but candidates should explain how a residency in Berlin would enhance their work. NOT ACCEPTED: proposals in mathematics or the natural sciences. NOTE FOR ARTISTS: visual artists and composers are invited through separate, nomination-based competitions, so there is no open application route for them here. ELIGIBILITY: fellowships are restricted to citizens and permanent residents of the United States. Both emerging and established figures are eligible. PhD holders qualify as emerging scholars with a strong record of peer-reviewed work beyond the dissertation; candidates in non-academic fields such as journalism, filmmaking and policy need a significant record of publication or production; fiction and nonfiction writers must have published at least one book with a reputable press. WHAT FELLOWS DO: fellows present their work to audiences in and around Berlin through lectures, readings, public discussions, performances and film screenings, and should be willing to engage with relevant German institutions, organizations and the media; these activities are integral to the Academy's mission of fostering transatlantic dialogue. APPLICATION MATERIALS: a project proposal of 1,500 to 1,750 words plus a one-page bibliography; a curriculum vitae of up to 10 pages; two writing samples totalling no more than 60 pages; and three letters of recommendation, which are due 2 October 2026. DEADLINE: Friday 25 September 2026 at 12:00 noon Eastern Time (18:00 Central European Time). TIMELINE: all candidates are notified of the competition outcome by email in late March 2027; the 2027-28 Berlin Prize recipients are announced in May 2027.
Medialab Matadero in Madrid selects three projects for a research and creation residency bringing together contemporary art, design, science, technology and society, welcoming critical, experimental and collaborative work. Each project must connect clearly with one or more themes from Medialab's recent programs: LAB 1 Sentient Media, LAB 2 The Metabolic Sublime, LAB 3 Synthetic Minds, LAB 4 Weird Futures and LAB 5 The Mechanics of Truth. Open to individuals and collectives from any discipline (design, art, architecture, film, journalism, digital media, environmental science, philosophy, engineering, programming, activism and more). SUPPORT: EUR 10,000 per project (before taxes), individual workspace, access to the Fablab and technical materials, curatorial team guidance, and logistical and financial support for public activities; proposals must include public engagement plans and produce documentation. RESIDENCY: January to July 2027, in person in Madrid. DEADLINE: 27 September 2026. No application fee.
A fully funded art-science residency from Ars Electronica and Ceske Budejovice, European Capital of Culture 2028, exploring how art and science can collaborate on urgent environmental challenges: climate emergence, sustainable agriculture, geoengineering, permaculture, water resource management, and the broader ecological impacts on local communities. Selected residents work in direct collaboration with local scientists in Ceske Budejovice. WHO CAN APPLY: artists, designers, creatives and artist collectives with more than 5 years of professional creative practice and documented interdisciplinary work; experience in community engagement and science collaborations is essential; applicants must be 18+, of any nationality, and legally eligible to work and travel in the EU. WHAT YOU GET: a EUR 24,000 package (EUR 6,000 artist fee, up to EUR 15,000 production, up to EUR 3,000 travel and subsistence) plus one month of housing covered separately; two winners are selected. STRUCTURE: the residency runs January 2027 to April 2028, with a required on-site stay of up to one month in February/March 2027, an optional stay in August/September 2027, and a March 2028 stay for festival installation, exhibition and deinstallation. HOW TO APPLY: online form with project title, a written proposal of max 250 words, a scientific direction statement (max 100 words), artistic vision (max 100 words), community connection plan (max 100 words), a super short pitch (3 to 30 words), 3 to 7 images, an optional 1-minute video, a portfolio link and contact information. Two-round selection (online application then interview); winners notified by November 2026. Deadline 28 September 2026 at midnight CET.
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.
Waag Futurelab invites artists, theatre makers, choreographers, dancers, game designers and other creative practitioners to engage directly with seven experimental generative AI Enablers being co-created with technologists and dance, theatre and gaming professionals. The call is an invitation into the development process: selected artists get access to the technologies, datasets, interfaces and assumptions that shape these systems while they are still being built. Rather than testing whether the systems work, artists are asked to interrogate why they work the way they do, who they are designed for, what forms of creativity they enable or constrain, and what assumptions about culture, intelligence, authorship, labour, bodies, audiences and society are embedded in them. Waag is looking for individuals and collectives willing to move beyond adoption into investigation, and welcomes proposals that are speculative, critical, poetic, provocative, humorous, performative, constructive or disruptive, including work that challenges, misuses, reimagines, hacks, subverts or plays with the tools, exposes hidden biases, questions environmental costs, or imagines alternative technological futures. THE SEVEN AI ENABLERS, each requiring an on-site visit to its technology partner: the Generic Procedural Content Generation Enabler (text-to-3D assets and avatars, CERTH, Greece); the Data-Driven Cultural Content Adaptation Enabler (audience-aware creative content ideation with ranked candidate ideas, CERTH, Greece); the Cross-Domain Audience Engagement Analytics Enabler (turning heterogeneous cultural participation data into interpretable engagement signals, The Audience Agency, Warrington, UK); the Dance Style Analysis and Generation Enabler (dance video into virtual 3D choreography, dissected into body, effort, shape and space components, Centre of Excellence for Research & Innovation, Cyprus); the Immersive Design Integration Enabler for Dance & Theatre (NLP-driven XR environments with speech-to-3D scene editing, Cyprus); the Music-to-Movement Translation Enabler (audio into a time-aligned feature set spanning genre classification, emotional valence-arousal analysis, rhythm extraction and latent-space projection, feeding motion generation, spatial audio and visual choreography, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece); and the Adaptive Narrative Enabler for Games & Theatre (an evolutionary AI trained on creator-written story elements that generates infinite story variations, explicitly rejecting LLMs because of their dependence on copyrighted or public-domain corpora that encode 19th and early 20th century sexism, racism and imperialism, CAUSA Creation, Austria). ELIGIBILITY: artists, designers, creative technologists, theatre makers, dancers, choreographers and game designers, as individuals or collectives; applicants must hold a European VAT number. An info session with live demonstrations of the AI Enablers runs 31 July 2026, 10:00 to 11:30 CEST (meeting ID 995 7016 2341). Applications go through Homerun using the official Application Template, uploaded as a PDF; read the Guide for Applicants, which contains the full Enabler descriptions, before applying. Questions: zoenie at waag dot org. The AI Enablers and this call are part of the Horizon Europe project HAMLET, which aims to make generative AI accessible to cultural organisations of all sizes. Closes 30 September 2026, 23:59 CEST. Free to apply.
The academic track of the ECF Fellowship Programme, which fosters new research engaging with the history of the European Cultural Foundation and the broader role of culture in European integration. The ECF was established in 1954 by figures including Denis de Rougemont, Robert Schuman, Hendrik Brugmans and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, on the belief that Europe will not be built by treaties alone. Over seventy years it has produced programmes, institutes, campaigns and collaborations, including a contribution to shaping and implementing the ERASMUS student mobility scheme. That legacy is now preserved at the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence alongside the records of the EU's main institutions, a placement that itself recognises the Foundation's role in European integration. ELIGIBILITY for the Academic Research Fellowship: researchers in European studies, cultural studies, history and related fields across the humanities and social sciences, specifically PhD and postdoctoral researchers, early-career researchers within ten years of completing a master's or doctoral degree, and independent scholars with an active research profile. Fellows work at the HAEU embedded in the international scholarly community of the European University Institute, with the archives housed at Villa Salviati. Applications and all supporting documentation must be submitted in English through the online form. NOTE: this is the EUR 5,000 academic track. The EUR 10,000 Artistic Research Fellowship, open to professional creatives in visual arts, performing arts, film and audiovisual practices, podcasting and audio storytelling, documentary, journalism and literary practices, is listed separately on the desk and shares the same deadline.
The Interdisciplinary grant is a new joint scheme of the six Dutch national cultural funds (Mondriaan Fund, Performing Arts Fund NL, Fund for Cultural Participation, Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Industries Fund NL, and the Dutch Foundation for Literature), announced on 7 July 2026. It supports makers and organisations whose work genuinely crosses the boundaries of the individual funds' disciplines (visual art, design, film, literature, performing arts, and cultural participation) and cannot be contained within a single discipline. TWO TRACKS: an Individual track for professional makers with a demonstrable interdisciplinary practice (at least one year of experience; income cap EUR 55,000 including the grant; approximately EUR 24,900 for 12 months); and an Organisation track for organisations running multi-discipline projects. AMOUNT: EUR 12,500 to 50,000 per project. ELIGIBILITY: makers and organisations based in the Netherlands or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. APPLYING: handled through the Mondriaan Fund's online application portal (info@mondriaanfonds.nl); an account is required in advance. DEADLINE: 1 October 2026, 16:00 Dutch time (single application round).
An open call for at least 10 short performances of maximum 15 minutes for the 12th edition of Teatri Riflessi in Zafferana Etnea, Sicily. THE FORMAT: the competition champions the short performance in its own right, not as a reduction of a longer work nor as a sketch for a full-evening adaptation; its strength is the artistic immediacy and urgency it carries. The framing connects ancient Greek theatre, conceived as an outdoor competition for a large audience, to the more provocative tendencies of happenings and performance art that lean on the beholder's desire to participate. STRUCTURE: semi-finalists perform on the evenings of Thursday 15 and Friday 16 July 2027; the Programmers' Panel and the Scholars' & Critics' Panel determine the finalists, who perform again in the final on Sunday 18 July. The panels bring together around 30 Italian and international artistic directors, curators, festival and theatre programmers, journalists, critics and performing arts scholars, many from the Teatri Riflessi Network and Anticorpi XL Network; the full list is published in June 2027. Past partner organisations include Antistatic Festival (Sofia), ATER Fondazione, BIG Festival, Cantieri Danza, Circuito CLAPS, COORPI, Dance ICONS (Washington DC), Danza Urbana, Derida Dance Centre, EN-KNAP and Spanski Borci (Ljubljana), Fabbrica Europa, Festival Ammutinamenti, Cluny Danse (France), Danza Canarias dentro y fuera (Tenerife), FIND Festival, Fondazione Armunia and Festival Inequilibrio, Fondazione Claudia Lombardi per il teatro (Lugano), Fondazione Sipario Toscana, Fondazione Toscana Spettacolo, Galway Dance (Ireland), Interplay Festival (Turin), L'Arboreto Teatro Dimora, La Piccionaia, Movimento Danza, New Dance For Asia International Festival (Daegu), Puglia Culture, Toplocentrala (Sofia) and Umbria Danza Festival. MONEY: each selected performance receives a gross fee of EUR 500 to EUR 1,100 depending on cast size, plus a possible travel contribution of up to EUR 250. Awards are Best Performance EUR 1,200 (from the combined weighted scores of both panels, the Jury of the Final, the Youth Jury and the Citizens' Jury), Best Dramaturgy EUR 500 and the Scholars' and Critics' Award EUR 500 (both from the Scholars' & Critics' Panel), Best Direction EUR 500 and Best Performer EUR 500 (both from the Programmers' Panel), the 'Valentina Nicosia' Fund of EUR 500 (joint decision of both panels), the 'Sandra Bressan' research fund of EUR 1,800 (awarded by the Citizens' Jury to reinvite a company to Sicily to work with the community), and the Youth Jury Award of EUR 300 to a semi-finalist, alongside the Audience Special Mention, the Companies' Choice Award and the Technical Crew Award. Fees, reimbursements and prizes are paid after the festival, provided all regulations and deadlines are met. FEES TO APPLY: none. Only selected companies pay a EUR 50 deposit on selection, fully refunded after the festival. RULES: performances should aim for 15 minutes, with total stage occupancy including set-up and dismantling capped at 20 minutes. Multiple entries are allowed but need a separate form each. No major changes are permitted after selection; minor adjustments, especially cast substitutions, must be communicated in advance and authorised by IterCulture APS. Works in languages other than Italian are welcome and are presented with Italian and English surtitles prepared by IterCulture APS. APPLICATION: a digital form linked in Article 5 of the open call regulations, with Annex A for dramaturgy (the complete script where one exists, or for dance, physical theatre and non-text work a short document on the dramaturgical research and choreographic structure) and a full video recording of the complete work; excerpts and teasers are not accepted, and for rehearsed readings, directorial notes on costumes, lighting and set design are mandatory. COMMITMENT: rehearsal attendance is compulsory, with the day assigned by the Competition Manager after selection; companies must arrive in Zafferana Etnea by their rehearsal day (rehearsals run 13 and 14 July 2027) and stay until the festival closes at 23:30 on Sunday 18 July. Rehearsals and public events run mainly in afternoons and evenings; the only compulsory morning commitment is the panel feedback session on Sunday 18 July. Online information sessions are held on Google Meet on Tuesday 22 September 2026, with the English session at 19:30 CEST. Deadline 15 October 2026 at 5pm CET.
The Creative Industries Fund NL (Stimuleringsfonds) runs this residency with Videotage, a Hong Kong-based non-profit media arts institution specialising in the promotion, presentation, creation and preservation of moving image and media art in all forms and languages. The Fund is recruiting one Netherlands-based designer, maker or observer working in digital culture to spend two or three months at Videotage's studio space in Hong Kong in 2027, conducting research, broadening their network, developing new work inspired by Hong Kong, and presenting their findings or completed works. The residency encourages crossovers and experimentation, giving the participant space to explore new methodologies, widen their creative practice and produce work that pushes the boundaries of digital culture, with a focus on social and urban dynamics. The 2027 edition takes the technological 'black box' phenomenon as its starting point and invites the resident to respond to that theme within the context of Videotage. ELIGIBILITY: you are an individual designer, maker or observer within the field of digital culture; you are established in the Netherlands, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius or Sint Maarten (Kingdom of the Netherlands); you are registered in the business register of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK) or another business register within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; and you have had a professional practice in the creative industry for at least four years. NOT open to duos, collectives or cooperative ventures, nor to designers and makers who receive a grant during the work period under the Talent Development Grant Scheme, the Open Call Self-taught Designer or the Open Call Emerging Design Practices ABCSSS. Note that accepting this open call means you cannot apply to those schemes and open calls in 2027. FUNDING: EUR 5,000 for two months or EUR 6,500 for three months, covering travel, insurance, living expenses, compensation for time invested and material and transport costs; accommodation, studio use and Videotage's facilitation are covered separately by the Fund. Submit your proposal to the Creative Industries Fund NL by 21 October 2026, 16:00 CEST.
Travel voucher for Dutch-based professionals in design, architecture and/or digital culture who have been invited by a foreign party to give a presentation, lecture or workshop. To apply you must have submitted an application to the Fund in the past five years that was positively assessed (previous International Vouchers do not count). The inviting foreign party must cover a proportionate share of the costs. Covers hourly fees, travel and accommodation directly related to the activity. IMPORTANT TIMING RULE: applications are accepted from 5 months to a minimum of 7 weeks before the activity begins, and processing takes about 6 weeks. This lead time can rule out activities that fall shortly after a round opens. Round 2 (4 May to 22 June 2026) has closed. Round 3 runs 8 September 2026 15:00 CEST to 27 October 2026 16:00 CEST, with a budget of EUR 33,000; given the 7-week rule it effectively serves activities starting from late October 2026 onwards. IMPORTANT PREREQUISITE: you must already have had an application to the Fund positively assessed within the past five years, and a previous voucher does not satisfy this, so this is not a viable first approach to the Fund. The window runs 8 September 2026, 15:00 CEST to 27 October 2026, but closes early once 20 complete applications are received. Maximum one voucher per applicant per calendar year.
Stichting DOEN, funded by the Dutch charity lotteries, supports pioneering initiatives within themes including the transformative power of imagination (art and culture), regenerative economy and solidarity economy. Applications are accepted year-round via the Mijn DOEN portal from legal entities only (no individuals) and must be received at least four months before the project starts; the assessment procedure takes about four months. Amateur art practice and standalone productions of films, books, CDs or websites are not supported. No application fee.
AFK is the City of Amsterdam's arts fund and the main route to project money for artists and organisations working in the city, and it was the significant gap in this desk's Dutch coverage. The Projectsubsidies 2026-2028 scheme funds art and culture projects across disciplines, split into four categories by scale and applicant type; requests up to EUR 7,500 in categories 1 and 2 are assigned to an assessment round by monthly draw, with published loting and gesprek dates. ELIGIBILITY: you must live or work in the municipality of Amsterdam or in Zaanstad, Oostzaan, Landsmeer, Waterland, Haarlemmermeer, Amstelveen, Ouder-Amstel or Diemen. Both individual makers and organisations can apply depending on category. NOTE: AFK periodically closes individual categories when demand outruns budget (categories 3 and 4 for professional art were temporarily shut in May 2026 and reopened on 1 July 2026), so check which categories are open before you start. Applications are in Dutch through the AFK portal. Phone 020 520 0520, weekdays 09:30-12:30 and 13:30-16:00.