Currently 3 active design grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in Asia. 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.
Subscribe: RSS feed · Calendar (.ics)
Design Trust offers grants to individual designers, curators, collectives, and non-profit organisations for projects and activities relevant to various design disciplines, supporting work relevant to the context and content of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao and the nine Guangdong municipalities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Zhaoqing). It supports innovative, thought-provoking investigations across design disciplines from graphics, media, and wearables to architecture and the built environment, including exhibitions, research projects, and creative installations that advocate the positive role of design in the region. THREE GRANTS: (1) SEED GRANT (HKD 50,000) fosters experimentation, testing, and sharing, awarded to individuals kick-starting a meaningful project with social, educational, economical, or environmental impact; supports emerging designers, young scholars, and projects in the pipeline needing additional resources, including research and prototypes focused on Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area issues to be showcased at international venues, symposia, or biennales. (2) FEATURE GRANT (capped at HKD 300,000, awarded annually upon special consideration) fosters cross-disciplinary projects on the Greater Bay Area with wide-reaching audiences, often sited at an exhibition or biennale of international standing, supporting exchange between a Hong Kong/China-based collective and an internationally renowned cultural institution. (3) IMPACT GRANT supports public-facing, community-based projects led by former Design Trust grant recipients, fellows, and mentees with a proven track record; considered case-by-case (contact grantapplication@designtrust.hk). ELIGIBILITY: individuals, collectives, and certified non-profit organisations either based in the Greater Bay Area or seeking support for design projects related to the region. Individuals or collectives who have completed two Feature Grants or three Seed Grants should apply for the Impact Grant instead. APPLICATION: two cycles annually, deadlines 20 April and 20 October (late submissions roll to the next cycle); apply at least 3 to 6 months before the project's commencement. Design Trust may provide full or partial funding on a case-by-case basis.
The Creative Industries Fund NL (Stimuleringsfonds) is recruiting one Netherlands-based designer, architect or spatial practitioner for a two-month residency in 2027 at Jatiwangi art Factory (JaF), an internationally recognised artistic collective based in a former roof tile factory in West Java, Indonesia. Jatiwangi's history is closely bound up with the colonial history of Indonesia: the Dutch government built large roof tile factories in the region in the early twentieth century, turning it into the most important centre of roof tile production in Southeast Asia. Now that this industry has largely disappeared, JaF develops new visions for the changing rural area with clay and community empowerment at their heart. The residency is part of Tahun Tanah, a recurring programme on the relationship between the people of Jatiwangi and the region's history of clay and terracotta civilisation; the 2027 theme is Elmu Ning Tanah (Learning from the Earth). As resident you explore with the local community what tanah (earth) means in this area, not only as a material for the terracotta industry but also as a carrier of history, memory and culture, and you help shape a future for the terracotta industry rooted in local knowledge, traditions and the needs of the community. ELIGIBILITY: you are an individual designer, architect or spatial practitioner; 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; accepting this open call means you cannot apply to those schemes and open calls in 2027. FUNDING: EUR 4,500 subsidy for the two-month residency; accommodation at JaF is a small private container house with two single beds and a bathroom/toilet. Assessment takes the form of a tender: an external advisory committee ranks proposals on the artistic quality of the work, the quality of the proposed project and the motivation in relation to the goals of the residency, and the highest-scoring proposals are awarded. Decision within eight weeks of the closing date. Submit via the Creative Industries Fund NL by 21 October 2026, 16:00 CEST.
The A4 Residency Art Center in Chengdu, the residency platform of the A4 Art Museum in Luxelakes Eco-City, opens its full-year 2028 recruitment. The interdisciplinary, open and collaborative platform fosters creative exchange among artists, scientists, writers and other professionals, with residents initiating participatory local activities that connect them with the city and community; A4 also organises group activities, sharing sessions, media promotion and exhibition opportunities. CYCLES: Spring 2028 (April to June) and Autumn 2028 (July to October), each approximately eight weeks. WHAT YOU GET (International Residency Fellowship, fully funded): private studio and accommodation, round-trip economy airfare or second-class train within a set budget, a production grant of RMB 10,000 per person or team for materials and production (excluding living expenses), community engagement and cultural experiences, media promotion and networking. ELIGIBILITY: multidisciplinary creators worldwide, including visual and performing artists, musicians, filmmakers, architects, curators, designers and creatives with interdisciplinary backgrounds bridging art, business and culture. APPLICATION: free; submit a photo, portfolio, CV and project proposal in English and Chinese to a4residency@a4am.cn, with the subject line specifying the programme tier and preferred cycle. DEADLINE: 31 December 2026 for the 2028 full-year recruitment. A parallel self-funded light track exists; this listing covers the funded fellowship only.