Currently 6 active paid grants, fellowships and residencies taking place in Italy, across AI, arts, film, journalism, research, tech and cross-disciplinary practice. Many are open to applicants of any nationality; check each entry for residency and citizenship requirements. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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The Fondazione Prada Film Fund is an annual initiative supporting independent cinema, with an annual endowment of EUR 1.5 million backing up to 14 feature film projects across development, production, and post-production. The Fund imposes NO restrictions on geography, theme, genre, or language and does not participate as a co-producer, guaranteeing complete artistic freedom to filmmakers. It supports both established authors and new talents, as well as research projects. WHICH TRACKS ARE STILL OPEN: the 2026 call opened 30 June 2026 and runs on two separate deadlines. The projects-in-production track has already CLOSED (6 August 2026). Development and post-production remain open to 10 September 2026, which is the deadline this card now tracks. Post-production applicants can keep working after submitting: a rough cut may be supplied up to 20 November 2026. SELECTION is based exclusively on quality, originality, vision, and the strength and reliability of the applicant structure; projects are evaluated by independent readers and external consultants, with final selection and grant amounts determined by a committee appointed by Fondazione Prada and composed of prominent figures from cinema and culture. No fixed per-stage grant bands are published, so the committee sets each award. ELIGIBILITY: applications may be submitted only by a production company involved in the project, and that company remains solely responsible for meeting all requirements and conditions; obligations of selected beneficiaries are governed by a contract with Fondazione Prada. Open worldwide, with no geographic restriction at all. PHISHING WARNING FROM THE FUNDER: all official communications about the Film Fund come only from addresses in the fondazioneprada.org domain. Treat anything from another domain as a probable fraud or phishing attempt and verify before responding. The second edition's selected projects are announced February 2027. Application documents are on the Fondazione Prada Film Fund page; questions to filmfund@fondazioneprada.org.
Cittadellarte is recruiting a Visiting Research Curator to shape the research arc of the UNIDEE Residency Modules for 2027-2028, the role most recently held by Nina Fiocco and Gaia Martino. Founded by Michelangelo Pistoletto in 1999, the residency has hosted thousands of artists and cultural professionals from 52 countries. WHAT THEY WANT: rather than a fixed theme set in advance, they want a curator who brings their own line of inquiry and develops it collectively through the modules. Suggested thematic areas are the evolving landscape of socially engaged art practices, research-driven and process-oriented practice, and the conditions of cultural work and cultural workers, aligned with UNIDEE's focus on artistic research in response to ecological, geopolitical and technological challenges. They also flag a specific interest in how contemporary art practices are archived, drawing on the UNIDEE archive, which documents over two decades of socially engaged art initiatives. THIS IS A JOB, NOT A GRANT: the duties list is long and operational. It covers proposing the overarching curatorial theme, designing and delivering a minimum of 8 weekly residential modules per year, writing the curatorial statement and resident open call, recruiting mentors and guests, selecting residents, hosting and facilitating every module in person, communications and website texts, a dissemination strategy, and conceiving and editing publications. There is also teaching-adjacent work with the Unidee Academy of Contemporary Arts, including public lectures and studio visits. Budget the time before applying. PROFILE: experience curating art in the public sphere and socially engaged art, specialised knowledge of international contemporary art, experience designing experimental and collaborative educational activities, and experience with artistic research and dissemination standards. Excellent English required; Italian welcome but not essential. APPLYING: online form with a project proposal of maximum 5000 characters stating your vision for the modules programme and a development strategy including possible mentors and guests, plus a CV, a portfolio of maximum three relevant projects, and TWO LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION, so line up your referees early. A jury of the UNIDEE Advisory Board, the Director of Cittadellarte and invited experts decides. They do not give feedback on unsuccessful proposals.
The European Cultural Foundation invites artists to research its historical archives, held at the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence, through a new Artistic Research Fellowship with a EUR 10,000 grant covering travel, accommodation, and living costs; the artistic output is delivered within two years. A strong fit for archive-driven, research-based, and critical data practices. Deadline 30 September 2026, 17:00 CET. ELIGIBILITY: professional creatives in visual arts, performing arts, film and audiovisual practices, podcasting and audio storytelling, documentary, journalism or literary practices, who can demonstrate a research-based practice and a clear dissemination strategy. Applications and all supporting documentation must be in English, submitted via the online form. Fellows work at the HAEU inside the scholarly community of the European University Institute, with the archives housed at Villa Salviati. A parallel Academic Research Fellowship of EUR 5,000, for PhD and postdoctoral researchers, early-career researchers within ten years of their master's or doctorate, and independent scholars, is listed separately on the desk and shares this deadline.
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.
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 European Media Art Platform (EMAP/EMARE) is a network of leading European media-art organisations offering fully funded two-month production residencies for artists working with digital media, including media art, bio art and robotic art. Each residency provides a EUR 4,000 grant to the applying artist (including subsistence), a EUR 4,000 project budget, host-provided accommodation, travel covered according to EU ceilings, and access to technical facilities and media labs; a collaborating artist receives an additional EUR 2,000 (EUR 6,000 total for a duo). Residencies take place at one of 15 host institutions across Austria, France, Slovakia, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, Germany and Poland. ELIGIBILITY: applicants must be EU residents or taxpayers in an EU member state, or residents/taxpayers of one of the eligible non-EU countries (Netherlands-based artists qualify). Undergraduate and Master's students are not eligible; PhD candidates and emerging artists of any age and academic background may apply. IMPORTANT: applicants must apply as a duo or collective, or propose a collaborative project, rather than as a purely solo applicant. The 2027 open call runs from 3 September 2026 to 6 November 2026 at 14:00 CET. Apply online at call.emare.eu. No application fee.