Artist in Residency – Kristiansand
Open Call for Kristiansand, Norway, and our Artist in Residency!
The Municipality of Kristiansand, together with Agder Kunstsenter, offers a residency for professional artists who wish to live and work in our beautiful city for a period of time. Our residency provides the perfect environment for an artist to devote dedicated time to evolve their practice with the added benefits of a studio space, new influences, contacts and in some cases, even funding (The Cultural Rucksack program). Since 2006 AiR-KRS has hosted over 140 artists from countries all over the world!
Duration: Up to 3 months | Rent-free apartment and studio | Application fee: $0
Application deadline: 15. May 2025
Application link to be found at https://agderkunst.no/air/application/
Kristiansand is the capital of Southern Norway – the “sunny coast”. Kristiansand is known for its beautiful seaside location. With its lovely beaches, mild climate, and relaxed atmosphere, the city offers a sense of summer bliss all year round. Music, food and cultural events are an important part of Kristiansand and here you will find a variety of concerts, festivals, art and dining experiences. In 2024, Kunstsilo opened to the public. A grain silo from 1935 located on the archipelago of Odderøya has been transformed to a powerhouse for arts and culture.The museum houses the Tangen collection, the world’s largest collection of Nordic modernism, and the permanent collections of Kunstsilo. In addition, there is digital contemporary art, temporary exhibitions, and an expanded offer with lectures, concerts, food experiences, workshops, function rooms and events.
“Every artist needs a change of scenery. Sometimes to recharge the creative battery, sometimes to be able to concentrate on a project with no distractions and sometimes just to break away from recurring themes”.
About the residency-program
We offer a rent-free apartment and studio in the city center. Visual artists are invited to apply for a stay of one to three months at our residency. The residency is self-catered (artists have to cover all expenses, such as living costs, travel, materials, insurance and transport must be covered by the artist themselves). We encourage all applicants to apply for funding in their home countries.
Our objectives:
- Provide studio & residential facilities for selected international and national professional visual artists.
- Strengthen, promote and facilitate collaborations between visual artist from south of Norway and visiting artists.
- Facilitate exchange of knowledge and enrich the local culture and environment.
- Facilitate a high-quality living and work-environment for artists.
- Foster inter-connectivity among the residents.
Apply for our Cultural Rucksack program (DKS)
A National Program for Arts and Culture in Norwegian Schools
Artists applying for the residency can also apply with a project in the Cultural Rucksack program (DKS). The Cultural Rucksack is a national program which main goal is to provide arts and culture to all Norwegian students attanding primary and secondary schools. The program has existed since 2001, and is regarded as extremely successful.
Guest artists can apply to carry out an art project or a workshop together with Norwegian students. The fee/grant for the project is NOK 25 000. The AiR – committee chooses one project each year, which will be carried out together with schoolchildren.
The Objectives of The Cultural Rucksack
-To contribute to letting pupils enjoy artistic and cultural productions performed by professionals
-To facilitate the pupils’ access to a wide range of cultural experiences, so that they can become acquainted with and will develop an understanding of culture in all its forms.
Important info:
The Cultural Rucksack program is open for applications from professional visual artists and groups, who are interested in carrying out an art project with Norwegian schoolchildren during their residency in Kristiansand.
A project description must be admitted together with the standard AiR- application form.
The project will be executed during a week of the residency in our 360 m2 project space. Normally in the first half of October each year.
The project must be adapted to the age group 13-14 years old (8th grade) or the age group 14-15 years old (9th grade). Guest artists will work with new student groups each day – 2 separate groups/classes, and up to 8 groups of students during four days. Each group/class consists of between 25-30 students. Teachers accompany the classes. The communication language is English. Guest artists must have a good command of the English language.
The guest artist is given a budget of NOK 25.000,-. This amount includes fee and material costs.
To apply, add your project proposal along with the Artist in Residency application!
