OPEN CALL: Artist-in-residence at Spreepark Art Space

You are part of an interdisciplinary group of four, or have always wanted to collaborate with a collective of that size, and are looking for space to live and work in Berlin in close proximity to nature? Apply to Spreepark Art Space’s new international artist residency program—an artistic workshop of reality within one of the city’s legendary natural public spaces.

The protected landscape of Plänterwald borders the northern bank of the river Spree. The newly renovated and re-opened restaurant Eierhäuschen dating back to the 19th century stands on its banks with a dock of its own. Just next door, the former “Kulturpark Plänterwald”, an amusement park founded in 1969, still dazzles with its rampant carousels and stalls under the name Spreepark. In Eierhäuschen, the Spreepark Art Space is dedicated to the artistic treatment and exploration of this urban space of public greenery in Berlin. Exhibitions, open-air installations, and educational programs investigate the close relationship between people and nature, art and forest—after all, this place has never been ours alone.

Facilities
Within this building, four apartments with adjoining studios have been created for artists, joined by a spacious common room and communal kitchen. They are located on the first floor, directly above the exhibition spaces, offices, and the adjacent beer garden. In spring 2024, the residency space awaits its first residents for approximately three months at a time. In addition to the complimentary accommodation, we provide a fixed financial contribution to the living costs of all residents and cover the travel costs.

Eligibility and qualifications
We would like to welcome collectives that explore the connection between art and nature with sustainability in mind and do not yet live in Berlin. We take a particular interest in groups that include various disciplines—such as architecture and science. Due to the absence of infrastructure in place to host children, we are happy to discuss case-by-case alternatives to accommodate them. For applicants from non-European countries, we will assist in arranging entry visas for the duration of your stay. We also welcome people with impairments or disabilities. In each case, we offer a safe space for individual consideration of special requirements.

The residency can but does not have to result in an exhibition. Our aim is to provide an inviting glimpse into artistic thought and practice for all those present in the Plänterwald and Spreepark. They lend themselves to new and unconventional experiences in the arts. While the Eierhäuschen is already a place for us to meet and exchange ideas, we are also still in the process of developing the Spreepark, so we find the linking of current art and urban planning especially interesting. We see this way of thinking, working and communicating creatively as “artistic research” and would like to discuss and develop upon the experience of this new residency program with you. Unconditional considerations of sustainability in all our operations are fundamental to us.

Application
Please send us a one-page motivational letter in German or English for your proposal (who, what, why, how), in which you also state your preferred time frame: April 8–June 21, 2024, July 1–September 20, 2024 or September 30–December 13, 2024.

Please also include a collective “curriculum vitae” or individual cvs of recently formed groups, with pictures and/or video links, not exceeding ten files and ten mb in size. Both parts (letter of motivation and cvs) should be sent in one pdf file by Monday, October 16, 2023, midnight to residencies@spreepark-artspace.berlin.

Unfortunately, submissions after this date cannot be accepted. The final decision will be announced by our selection committee before the end of 2023.

Information session: Starting August 21, we will be offering open video calls every second Monday for anyone interested. Talk to us!

About the Spreepark Art Space
Spreepark Art Space is a Berlin-based interdisciplinary platform for the production of art intertwined with planning, research, and mediation. The projects and programmes emerging here take as a reference point its iconic location site, the prominent GDR amusement park known as Spreepark, its unique history and conceivable future. With the aim of transforming the park into a redefined public space for the city of Berlin, former amusement attractions are gradually being revitalized through artistic interventions. Leading up to its completion in 2026, artists are engaging in collaborative processes to develop permanent and temporary interventions with architects, engineers and other actors.

Already in Spring 2024, in addition to the experience throughout the park, the Eierhäuschen is set to open its doors and become the heart of Spreepark Art Space. The upper floor will house artists in residence, who will work regularly in and with the Spreepark alongside long-term research residents. On its ground floor, the Eierhäuschen will showcase exhibitions embedded in the themes of urban landscapes, nature, architecture, and public space. The inaugural exhibition will survey the artistic research within the Spreepark by Marcus Maeder, Sabine Scho, Sissel Tolaas and Annett Zinsmeister from March 23 to May 20, 2024.