Open Call for artists: The Saari Residence 2021

Open call for artists: Saari Residence 2021 is open

The Saari Residence, maintained by Helsinki-based Kone Foundation, is an international residence located in Mynämäki, Southwest Finland. It offers an excellent opportunity for artists of all disciplines and nationalities to focus undisturbed on creative work in the scenic surroundings of a rural manor house, as well the chance to interact with other residents.

Application period

The annual application period for residencies taking place in 2021 is now open and ends on Tuesday, 31 March, 2020 at 4 p.m. Finnish time (Eastern European summer time, GMT +3).

Applying
Open call for residencies is always for the residency place for the following year.

The two-month individual residency periods are January to February 2021, March to April 2021, September to October 2021 and November to December 2021, while the group residencies for 1 to 4 weeks take place during the months of May, June, July and August 2021.

Submit your proposal through the online grant service. Applications cannot be sent via email or outside the online service. Please read our guidelines carefully before applying.

The Saari Residence offers:

A grant
An individual residency spanning two months includes accommodation, a workroom and a monthly grant, the sum of which is determined by the applicant’s experience (€2,400 / €2,800 / €3,500 per month). The purpose of the grant is to cover the cost of living, travel costs and other expenses. Groups can apply for grant and support for travel expenses for a work period of one to four weeks.

Support for slow travel
Slow travel refers to avoiding flying and other ecologically unsustainable means of transport. You can apply for support for slow travel if you are coming to Saari Residence from outside of Finland and travelling out of Finland when leaving. If the journey takes more than a week in total, it is possible to also apply for a work grant for the travels.

Accommodation
The Saari Residence apartments have a kitchen or kitchenette with basic amenities, and one of the buildings has a shared kitchen. Each resident has an apartment to themselves, including an en suite shower and toilet. Groups stay in more compact accommodations and often share apartments.

Working space
The barn at the Saari Residence has been renovated as a diverse workspace for various artistic practices. The building contains a dance studio, three studios for visual artists, a sewing machine and a woodworking shop. The rooms for literary work are located in the apartments. The residence does not have a darkroom, media room or equipment for printing, pottery, graphics or textile work. One may apply for a residency for also the planning stage of their work. Groups working at the residence during summer months may also work in the unheated outbuildings. Residents will not have to share workspace with others.

A peaceful working environment
The Saari Residence is located in a tranquil rural setting surrounded by nature, situated on the shore of Mynälahti, 30 km north of Turku. The diverse workspaces and peaceful countryside surroundings provide a productive setting for focusing on one’s work. The Saari Residence is not intended, for example, for networking within the field of art or for hosting exhibitions or performances. No exhibition or performance is required at the end of the residency period.

The opportunity to meet other artists
The Saari Residence is also a meeting place for artists and researchers. The two-month individual residency periods, with typically seven artists from different fields and a researcher working on Kone Foundation grant staying at the residence at a time, provide plenty of opportunities for interaction that crosses the boundaries between both different art forms and art and science. At the same time, the Saari Residence offers peaceful and unique place where residents can focus on their work. The Saari Residence’s Community Artist works at the residence throughout the year.

Who can apply?
The residency positions are intended for individual professional artists, fiction writers, poets, novelists, translators, curators and critics, and artistic collectives (work groups or established organizations with a business ID, the minimum group size is 3 people) of all disciplines and all nationalities for the purpose of carrying out a project proposal presented in advance. Work partners can apply for individual residency in a joint application.

The selections for Saari residents emphasise artists whose work is rejuvenating and topical, as well as new forms of art. For each residency period, our aim is to select both Finnish and international artists, with representation from several different disciplines of art and stages of career.