Currently 5 active paid grants, fellowships and residencies taking place in Turkey, 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 European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists (EFFEA), an initiative of the European Festivals Association co-funded by the European Union, opens its fifth call: 50 residencies for 50 emerging artists (individuals, groups or collectives) hosted by partnerships of around 150 festivals, each led by one leading festival with a minimum of two partner festivals from different eligible countries. TWO CATEGORIES: EFFEA Discovery, 40 grants of EUR 8,000 for artists at the early stages of their careers with strong potential to break through internationally; and EFFEA Springboard, 10 grants of EUR 15,000 for artists already established in their own country and ready to develop their careers internationally. A Discovery residency includes a work-in-progress presentation at the leading festival, a workshop with programmers from each partner festival, a short film about the residency, and participation in the EFFEA Intake and Outtake Seminars; a Springboard residency includes at least three presentations of the production result (leading festival plus each partner festival) and a live masterclass by the artist in at least three countries. DISCIPLINES: architecture, ballet, contemporary dance, circus, design and applied arts, digital arts, film, folklore and folk arts, heritage, interdisciplinary, literature, music, opera, street art, theatre, photography and video, puppetry, sculpture, painting. WHO APPLIES: the leading festival submits the application online via the EFFEA website and proposes the artists; festivals must be registered on FestivalFinder.eu and have held at least one edition. Artists may be of any age and must have nationality or legal residence in an eligible country. Emerging is defined by novelty to programmers and audiences, not by age. FINANCES: minimum 80 percent of the grant goes to artist costs; own contributions of EUR 1,000 (Discovery) or EUR 2,000 (Springboard) are deducted from the grant; in-kind costs are capped at 10 percent. TIMELINE: evaluation in November 2026, results by email in December 2026, residencies between 1 January and 31 December 2027 (Intake Seminar 26 January 2027, Outtake Seminar 21 September 2027). Deadline 3 November 2026 at 23:59 CET.
SAHA Studio is SAHA Association's research and production residency in Istanbul. The 13th term selects five professionally practising visual artists (duos and collectives allowed; no medium or age requirement) for six months of studio work with a budget, curatorial feedback, mid-term gatherings and a closing 'SAHA Studio Open' presentation. Projects must not be preparation for a commercial gallery show. SELECTION: a preliminary jury of seven former residents, then a Selection and Advisory Board interviews a shortlist of ten; evaluation runs 15 November to 22 December 2026. APPLICATION: one merged PDF (max 7 MB) emailed to sahastudio@saha.org.tr with the subject 'SAHA Studio 13 - Application', containing the application form, a proposal (max 500 words), a draft budget, a CV (max 2 pages), a 10 to 20 page portfolio, and optional press and a reference letter. DEADLINE: 14 November 2026, 18:00 Istanbul time (GMT+3).
ISTKA's 2026 Creative Economy programme (ISTKA/2026/YEG) funds projects that strengthen Istanbul's cultural and creative economy. Priority 1 covers innovative, scalable infrastructure, platforms and business models for cultural and creative actors, with example topics including new media, digital art, AI and blockchain tools, 3D scanning and digital archives. Priority 2 covers the city's creative identity, for example artistic and design interventions in public space and residency models. ELIGIBILITY: Istanbul-based public bodies and municipalities, chambers and professional bodies, non-profit cooperatives, NGOs (associations, foundations, federations), universities, institutes and research infrastructures, technopark management companies and technology transfer offices; individuals and for-profit companies cannot lead. APPLICATION: via the KAYS system with application form, budget, logical framework, key-staff CVs and standard contract annexes; questions to yes@istka.org.tr no later than 20 days before the deadline. DEADLINE: 4 December 2026, 23:59 in KAYS; signed commitment letter due 11 December 2026, 17:00.
Akbank Sanat's long-running Istanbul short film festival is accepting films for its 23rd edition, across all themes and genres: fiction, documentary, experimental and animation. Films must run 1 to 30 minutes and be completed after 1 January 2026. The National Competition is limited to Republic of Turkiye citizens; the International Competition is open to filmmakers from all countries. Akbank employees cannot apply. SUBMISSION: complete the online form, then email a wet-signed scan of it to AkbankKisaFilmFestivali@akbank.com with the subject Name_Surname_FilmTitle, plus a password-protected screening link with English subtitles that stays live for at least 6 months. DEADLINE: 11 December 2026, 23:59.
The Ortaklasa programme, run by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) with Culture Action Europe under EU funding, supports cultural cooperation projects between Turkiye and Europe that rethink cultural policies from the local level up to international cooperation, support cultural and artistic production, and develop fair cooperation. STRUCTURE: applications come from a four-institution partnership consisting of a culture-oriented CSO based in Turkiye as lead applicant, a culture-oriented CSO based in an EU member state or candidate country (Albania, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo or Serbia) as partner, and one municipality from Turkiye plus one municipality from an EU member state or candidate country (the same list plus Bosnia and Herzegovina) as associates. FUNDING: total budget EUR 890,000; grants cover between 70 and 95 percent of total eligible costs. TIMELINE: call opened 17 September 2026; questions accepted until 6 December 2026 via ortaklasa.hibeler@iksv.org; deadline 18 December 2026, 17:00 UTC+3; results 16 March 2027; indicative project start 1 April 2027. APPLICATION: through the online portal; see the Guideline for Grant Applications for eligibility details and evaluation criteria.