Currently 6 active design 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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Kick-start grant for architecture practitioners to develop early-stage projects. The grant period opens 6 May 2026 15:00 CEST and closes 13 May 2026 16:00 CEST. A maximum of 35 applications are considered per period; once the window closes all applications are ranked in random order via a draw system before processing begins. Round budget €167,000; maximum grant request €10,000.
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 Creative Industries Fund NL (Stimuleringsfonds) is recruiting one Netherlands-based designer, architect, spatial practitioner or maker for a two-month residency in 2027 at Think Tanger, a multidisciplinary cultural platform dedicated to stimulating culture, creativity, innovation and exchange in Tangier, Morocco. Founded in 2016, Think Tanger unites artists, designers, researchers, entrepreneurs and local communities to explore the urban and cultural dynamics of a city in transformation and to promote understanding and dialogue, working through alternative education, creative entrepreneurship, art production and participatory research. The residency was set up with the Fund to stimulate crossovers and experiments, initiate exchanges and learn from other people's perspectives, knowledge and ideas. It offers the opportunity to carry out research, expand your network and develop new work with a focus on design, urbanism and socio-spatial dynamics, creatively researching existing presuppositions and social issues in Tangier's unique urban context. ELIGIBILITY: you are an individual designer, architect, spatial practitioner or maker; 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 two years (note: a lower bar than the four years required by the Fund's other 2027 residencies). 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 5,500 subsidy for the two-month residency. 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 proposal is awarded. Decision within eight weeks of the closing date. Submit via the Creative Industries Fund NL by 21 October 2026, 16:00 CEST.
ONX Seeds 2026 is a four-month incubation and seed funding program run by Onassis ONX, the Onassis Foundation's platform for art and advanced technologies, hosted in Athens in a hybrid format under the theme Soft Circuits for Hard Times. It invites emerging artists, creative technologists, designers, game makers, performers, sound and visual artists and makers (individuals, groups and collectives, Greek and international) to develop early-stage prototypes that make the digital tangible: interactive objects, wearable or embedded systems, screen-based worlds, participatory environments, games, rituals, sonic works, moving images and hybrid analogue-digital forms. Proposals should be realistic in scope and result in an exhibitable prototype. SUPPORT: EUR 1,000 to 5,000 seed funding per project, weekly technical mentoring plus curatorial and business mentoring and online masterclasses, studio and equipment access at Onassis Ready for Athens-based teams (remote participation for everyone else), presentation at ONX Exhibition Athens (17 to 21 March 2027) with travel, accommodation and artwork transport covered for non-Athens participants, and connections to the ONX network in Athens, New York and beyond. HOW TO APPLY: via the Onassis open calls portal, with project summary, concept, visitor experience, technical requirements, production plan and bio, plus a mood board or project deck, portfolio and development budget as single PDFs; technical documentation and links to demos or repositories optional. DEADLINE: 26 October 2026.
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.
make-a-thek, a Horizon Europe project (grant No. 101177660) coordinated by Fab Lab Barcelona at IAAC, connects creative spaces, public libraries and makers across Europe and beyond to share skills in circular fashion, traditional crafts and technology. Its open call runs two tracks. MOBILITY SCHEME (Track A): experienced practitioners (make-a-thek Experts) travel to an EU pilot location (Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Helsinki, Kranj, Milan, Opole, Reykjavik, Kyiv or Zaporizhzhia) to deliver a workshop, talk or hands-on training, with a EUR 1,000 stipend to support expenses. KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE PROGRAMME (Track B): learners, practitioners, makers, craftspeople and librarians travel to a 2-day in-person group meet-up (Cohort 1 in Barcelona between end of November and start of December 2026; Cohort 2 in Berlin in May 2027), then organise a local knowledge-sharing activity, with a EUR 850 stipend. Up to 12 participants per track annually. ELIGIBILITY: legal residents of EU member states, Horizon Europe associated countries, or the international pilot countries Ghana, South Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines and Chile; proposals must align with at least one focus area: Circular Fashion, Digitising Traditional Crafts, or Open Technologies. HOW TO APPLY: via the Typeform linked from the open call page. The early-bird round closed 15 September 2026; late applications are accepted until 1 December 2026, and the next call runs 1 February to 31 March 2027. DEADLINE: 1 December 2026.