For fully-funded ZK/U residencies in 2021

19 Mär - 20 Apr 2020

ZK/U BerlinSiemensstr. 27, 10551, Berlin, Germany

Due to the current situation regarding COVID-19, the deadline of April 20th 2020 has momentarily been liftet by Mondriaan Fonds. As soon as the residency can be offered again, the deadline will be communicated through this website and our social media channels.

Berlin remains undiminished as a city of great attraction. Berlin is regarded as one of the largest cultural, political and scientific centres in Europe. The city is known for its turbulent history, highly developed cultural life, liberal lifestyle, interesting museums, the Berlin Biennale, Berlin Art Week and contemporary art institutions. What better place to explore urban developments than in a city that has changed so radically in recent decades?

Starting in 2019, the Mondriaan Fund offers a six-month work period in ZK/U, Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik. This artist-in-residence location operates at the intersection of visual arts, art research, architecture and urban innovation. A laboratory focused on the phenomenon 'city'. It wants to facilitate international and local exchange on global issues and is interested in interventions in the public space in which artists, residents and local initiatives make the public space their own. The team behind ZK/U is KUNSTrePUBLIK, founded by the artists Matthias Einhoff, Philip Horst, Harry Sachs.

ZK/U was founded in 2012 and is located in an old railway depot, surrounded by a public  park in the north of the Berlin Moabit district. This rugged area is not far from the center and belongs to the development zones of Berlin. Berlin-Moabit, surrounded on all sides by water, was an enclave populated in the 19th century by Huguenots who had fled from France. With the rise of industrialisation at the beginning of the 20th century, the district became an important production area. Goods were transported to and from Berlin via this railway depot and Berlin's largest inland port, Westhafen. Analogous to the nineteenth-century transport of goods by rail, ZK/U is a lively hub for the transport of ideas and ideals in the postindustrial era.

ZK/U has 13 living and working studios and a communal spaces with the kitchen at its heart.The hall of 300 square meters is a space where artists, researchers, people from the neighbourhood meet and work. The residency program consists of mutual exchange of ideas, weekly dinners, where the residents have a platform to present their projects to selected guests and monthly studio visits by professionals from the ZK/U network. The residents also have the opportunity to share their work with a wider audience during the bi-monthly 'OPENHAUS'.

ZK/U works closely with artists, mediators, curators, writers and researchers who focus on challenging developments in cities. The residency team connects the interests of the residents with ZK/U's programme and informs them about events and discourses taking place elsewhere in Berlin. The residents can participate in ZK/U's public programme ranging from events, to exhibitions, workshops and conferences that are organised by ZK/U’s project team. ZK/U is located in the middle of a public park, and is therefore part of a very lively urban space. Popular amongst the locals, the park is highly used, especially in summer.

Artists are expected to have an advanced professional practice and mediators (curators, critics, theorists) should have a few years of professional experience. With collaborative practices and peer-to-peer learning at its core, the residency is about exchanging with and learning from other artists and practitioners. For more information see: www.zku-berlin.org

In 2019 Sema Bekirovic and Aiwen Yin stayed in the residency Remco Torenbosch and Milena Bonilla have been selected for a work period in 2020.

N.B. The form has to be completed in English by the ZK/U management in connection with the final selection.

For whom?

The residency at ZK/U can be applied for by visual artists and mediators (curators, critics, theorists). Applications from duos or collaborations must be submitted separately. A duo is understood to mean: two artists/intermediaries who structurally create work together. Partnerships can be regarded as occasional duos if they submit a joint plan for the work period that leads to a single result. In addition, a duo must be able to live and work together in one space of 50m2. The residents of ZK/U share a common living/kitchen space. Openness and engagement in the ZK/U communal live with people of various ages and cultures is expected.

Work plan

ZK/U is a collaborative, socially engaged and locally involved art platform. They are therefore particularly interested in plans that create space for encounters and exchanges between citizens from different backgrounds and that question the urban infrastructure and public space. ZK/U is open to plans that are conceptual, interventionist and contextual.

Work period and amount

The work periods offered in this round are:

- 1 January until 30 June 2021
- 1 July until 30 December 2021

Per period, Mondriaan Fonds offers 11.025 € for travel costs, material costs and living costs for one individual. The resident is expected to contribute 1.225€ and is expected to indicate how the applicant is planning to finance this contribution. That can be an own investment, but also a contribution from a third-party, a loan from Fonds Kwadraat or via crowdfunding.

In the case of a duo or collaborative group is selected for the residency, the contribution for the residency will be elevated with a specific amount for additional travel expenses and a proportional amount for living expenses. The rent of the studio and the support is not inculded in the overall amount and will be directly handled between Mondriaan Fonds and ZK/U Berlin.