International Studio Program

OPEN CALL



All These Moments – The Future of Artistic Storytelling



I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off (the) shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.*


 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tears_in_rain_monologue


In Ridley Scott's film Blade Runner, Decker, being close to death, is not only saved in a humanitarian act by the Replicant Batty. Batty's final monologue is also an act of transmission: after all their pursuit and struggle, transience does not have the last word. Despite his reticence, Decker is a listener; what Batty is able to say at the end of his own short life creates a moment beyond hostility. Part of what Batty saw had to be passed on—and Decker becomes the bearer of this memory. 

Inspired by this, the 32nd International Studio Program of the ACC Galerie and the City of Weimar returns to the old concept of narrare humanum est: we ask what current forms of artistic storytelling exist and which are needed in the spaces of memory? How do we relate to all these moments that are constantly lost in time and with time? How do we choose from so many experiences to preserve that which is lasting and significant? How important to us are authenticity, realism, and truthfulness in storytelling in times of fake news, alternative facts, AI, violence, invasion, and war?

The International Studio Program is looking for compelling project proposals from visual artists from around the world that address these questions. We welcome experimental forms that embrace Weimar as a place of remembrance—in a good sense as in art and high culture as well as in the bad sense of experiences like the Nazi era. Under consideration are also the small stories of “everyday” life.

ABOUT ACC, IAP AND THE APPLICATION PROCESS

ACC GALERIE WEIMAR


The non-profit organization ACC (Autonomous Cultural Center) originates in 1987, before the fall of the Berlin wall, when students occupied a derelict Renaissance building in the center of the town where Goethe had his first residence in Weimar. Shortly before the re-unification, ACC protagonists were able to secure the house with the aid of private sponsors. The institution now consists of a gallery and a café and offers a cultural program that includes music, literature and lecture series. Between spring 1989 until today (2025), the ACC has organized and curated more than 300 exhibitions (roughly four per year) of international contemporary art, through which the gallery has become a center for international cooperation and exchange. Simultaneously, the ACC focuses on the achievement of local artists and inaugurated an international artist-in-residence program. The current space is comprised of two connected buildings with 400 square meters of space consisting of 20 rooms in five former apartments.

THE HISTORY OF THE IAP
The International Studio Program of the ACC Galerie and the City of Weimar was founded in 1994. Annual themes have been: "Allegories" (1995), "Fascis – Fascism and Fascination" (1996), "Kopf an Kopf – Head to Head – Tête à Tête" (1997), "Community – Society" (1998), "Close to the Skin" (1999), "Heart’s Blood – Hand-Written Script" (2000), "The Measure of Things" (2001), "über MENSCHEN – The Future of the Human" (2002), "Origin – No Man’s Land" (2003), "Irony is dead. Long live Irony!" (2004), "The Culture of Fear" (2005), "The Subversion of Standstill" (2006), "ON THE OUTSIDE" (2007), "On Indefiniteness" (2008), "Failed Art – The Art of Failure" (2009), "Beyond Desire" (2010), "On Dilettantism" (2011), "What Happened to God?" (2012), "With Criminal Energy" (2013), "The Politics and Pleasures of Food" (2014), "Does Humor Belong in Art?" (2015), "The Art of Simulation" (2016), "A Romance with Revolution" (2017), "Solidarity – Now More Than Ever" (2018), "100 Years of Bauhaus – on words and images and word-image art" (2019), "Homeland" (2020), "Retreat" (2021), "The Forest for the Trees" (2022), "Denunciation!" (2023), "H2O" (2024), "A stranger I arrived; a stranger I depart." (2025, ongoing). The 94 participants of the program come from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, The Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uruguay, the United States, and Zimbabwe.

ABOUT WEIMAR
Weimar has been home to renaissance art (Cranach), German classical literature and music (Goethe, Schiller, Bach, Liszt), Art Nouveau and Modernism (Henry van de Velde), the Weimar Bauhaus (Gropius, Kandinsky, Klee, Feininger, Moholy-Nagy, etc.) and other important intellectual figures including Herder and Nietzsche. Weimar was also a favored retreat of Hitler, and the former concentration camp of Buchenwald located nearby reminds residents and visitors alike of the darker side of human nature. In 1999 Weimar became the European Capital of Culture.

COOPERATION WITH THE CITY OF WEIMAR
The City of Weimar pursues the following aims in its role as an initiator and partner of the International Studio Program: to combine financial support for artists with the presentation of contemporary art in the urban realm, to serve as a forum for artists and as a catalyst for encounter between them and to gain international recognition for the resulting activities. By these means, international cultural exchange is to be promoted and prejudices eliminated. The support provided includes the provision of a combination artist's studio/apartment in the Municipal Studio Building. The Studio Building is one of the oldest buildings of its kind in Germany. It contains 11 studios rented to different artists for limited time periods. The International Studio Program is supported by the State Chancellery of Thuringia.

STUDIO
Located on the ground floor of the historical Municipal Studio Building, the studio is about a ten minute walk from the ACC Galerie Weimar in the town center. In addition to the visiting international artist, the well-lit studio building accommodates ten other artists. The studio (30 square meters/323 square feet) does not offer any other special equipment, such as photography, video, digital, etc.

ROOM AND BOARD
Rent-free, furnished apartment on the ground floor of the Municipal Studio Building with internet. Meals are available at ACC Café-Restaurant at a 30% discount.

EXHIBITION
A selection of works produced during the residency period may be presented in a group exhibition in the following year. The ACC Galerie Weimar makes the final decision about the participation of the artists in the exhibition. A possible concept for the exhibition will be developed together with the artists. Where appropriate, works of art will be displayed in public spaces in Weimar to be agreed upon with the artists. It is intended that the artists are present during the preparation and for the opening of the exhibition.

RESIDENCE PERIODS
February 1 – May 31, 2026
June 1 – September 30, 2026
October 1, 2026 – January 31, 2027

The artist chosen first by our jury will get the preferred work period for sure. Artists in second and third place usually need to negotiate, in case their preferred work period is already taken.

STIPEND, TRAVEL COSTS ETC.
Selected artists will receive a monthly stipend of 1.100€. In order to receive the stipend the artists must live in Weimar during the work period. They must cover their travel costs, although the program may attempt to find funding in cooperation with the artists. Artists are expected to hold a talk at the ACC at the end of their stay. We offer free entry to public municipal institutions, such as the City History Museum, the Goethe National Museum, the Bauhaus Museum, and the Duchess Anna Amalia Library. Participants are responsible for their own telephone bills and have to arrange for their own medical insurance, if needed f.i. through www.mawista.com

LANGUAGES
Participants should have a solid grasp of English or German. The language of the jury meeting is English. Your submission must be in English.

WHO CAN APPLY?
Artists of from all over the world. There is no age restriction. Students’ applications cannot be accepted.
Project proposals must react to the outlined theme of our Open Call. The jury will select three artists, each of whom will spend four months living and working in Weimar. Artist duos or collectives can apply, too, but the stipend will still be 1.100€ per month for all participants and the studio can host max. 2 people.

HOW TO APPLY?
Your proposal must be one PDF (landscape format, max. 14 MB) containing:

- a project title
- your name, address, nationality, phone number, date of birth
- an outline of your proposed project (max. 50 words)
- your preferred work period and one alternative work period, options are:

February 1 – May 31, 2026
June 1 – September 30, 2026
October 1, 2026 – January 31, 2027

- a description of your proposed project (max. 500 words)
- work samples: max. 10 images, mentioning work titles, size, technique/materials, and date
- work samples as video/audio-files: 5 files max., each 2 minutes max., up to 250 MB in total. Please use Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. and include links to such files in your PDF
- CV (max. two pages)

By sending us a project proposal you accept the terms of application. Send your proposal until November 30, 2025 (end of day, Central European Time, UTC+01:00) by E-mail to: studioprogram@acc-weimar.de



You will not receive a confirmation from us. In case of questions we will contact you. After the jury meeting (likely in the first week of December 2025) we will inform all applicants by sending an acceptance letter or a rejection letter respectively by E-mail.

We will not consider applications that do not follow the guidelines.
The decision of the jury is final; explanations will not be given. If chosen, you must make sure to get, if needed, a visa for Germany on time. That is most important for the 1st work period, which starts already February 1, 2026.