International Studio Program

OPEN CALL

A stranger I arrived; a stranger I depart.

Strangeness can fascinate or frighten, arouse curiosity or provoke indifference. Sometimes it is not only an unknown other that is foreign to us, but also our own self. Friends can become strangers and vice versa. Surrounded by strangers in our everyday lives, we seek closeness and familiarity or withdraw. Forms of migration, from holiday trips to emigration, flight or expulsion, seem strange and unfamiliar to us, but they help us to perceive ourselves more clearly and thus understand ourselves better.
Memory can play a major role here: memories of the often difficult partings in our own biography, of being on the road, which both unsettles us and gives us confidence. Or failing to cross borders, or overcoming them, the arrival in a foreign country with the desire to make it familiar. Where words may be lacking to describe such memories and experiences, art finds a language using signs, images, symbols, colour and structure.
For the 31st International Studio Program, the City of Weimar and ACC Galerie invite artists to let stories of journeys, emigration and flight become visible and thus to make the search for refuge and future in foreign worlds aesthetically tangible. In this context, the International Studio Program would like to encourage artists to use not only the spaces of the ACC Galerie, but also the public space of Weimar. The city's archives, museums and libraries are at your disposal for your research in order to incorporate the genius loci into your artistic concept. Collaboration with Weimar citizens, students, young people, children and, last but not least, with those for whom Germany, Thuringia and Weimar are still foreign is also very welcome. We look forward to your project idea!
(The title of this Open Call quotes from the poem ‘Good Night’ (orig. ‘Gute Nacht’) by Wilhelm Müller, set to music by Franz Schubert in his famous song cycle ‘Winter Journey’ (orig. ‘Winterreise’), op. 89, D 911).

ABOUT ACC, IAP AND THE APPLICATION PROCESS

ACC GALERIE WEIMAR
The non-profit organization ACC (Autonomous Cultural Center) originated 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 and 2024 the ACC organized and curated more than 260 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, ongoing). The 91 participants of the program come from Argentina, Egypt, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Belgium, 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.

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.

WORK PERIODS
February 1—May 31, 2025
June 1—September 30, 2025
October 1, 2025—January 31, 2026

The artist chosen first by our jury will get his/her 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.
The monthly stipend is 1,100 euros. The ACC Galerie Weimar organizes the worldwide application procedure, convenes the independent jury, and supports the artists throughout the year. In order to receive the stipend the artists must live in Weimar during the work period. They must cover their own travel costs, although the program attempts to find additional funding in cooperation with the artists. Artists are expected to hold a lecture/talk at the ACC Galerie Weimar at the end of their stay. In addition we offer free entry to public municipal institutions, such as the City History Museum, and to the museums of the Weimar Classic Foundation, such as the Weimar Art Collection, 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
English is the official language of the International Studio Program. Participants should have a solid grasp of English. The language of the jury meeting is English. Your submission must be in English.

WHO CAN APPLY? HOW TO APPLY?
Artists 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. Your proposal should be one PDF (not larger than 14 MB) with font size 12 containing:

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

February 1—May 31, 2025
June 1—September 30, 2025
October 1, 2025—January 31, 2026

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

By sending us a project proposal you accept the terms of application. Send your proposal until November 30, 2024 (end of day, Central European Time, UTC+01:00) by E-mail to: studioprogram@acc-weimar.de

If your application file is too large, you may send us an E-mail with a link to your PDF on Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. You will not receive a confirmation from us. In case of questions about your application, we will contact you. After the jury meeting (likely in the first week of December 2024) we will inform all applicants by sending an acceptance letter or a rejection letter resp. by E-mail.

Please 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, 2025.