
Berlin
OCA offers a twelve-month residency programme for an artist at the International Studio Programme Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, from 1 December until 15 November. Annual application deadline 3 February. The residency begins in the same year as the application round.
About the residency
The artists-in-residence at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien are given the opportunity to develop and implement a project over a fixed period of time, and to reflect and consolidate their position in the Berlin art scene. The focus of the Künstlerhaus Bethanien’s efforts lies in providing individual support and establishing connections between the artists in the programme and the wider local context.
Künstlerhaus Bethanien offers a wide range of services, which include providing curatorial support in the implementation of the artists’ projects, supplying workshops and technical infrastructure (including qualified personnel), presenting the projects produced at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien, advertising all events organised by the resident artists, holding at least two annual “Open Studio” events, inviting the artists to take part in larger projects (e.g. exhibitions at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien or other venues), editing and distributing the publications related to the projects presented at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien, establishing contacts with international curators, critics, publicists, theorists, gallery owners and collectors (e.g. through individual studio visits), hosting seminars, talks and readings, liaising the artists with international institutions, projects and exhibitions.
In addition, the artist residency offers:
- A grant of NOK 230,000 for living expenses.
- A travel grant of NOK 17,500.
- A studio equipped with basic furniture including a bed, shelves, tables and chairs, as well as a small kitchen area.
- An exhibition at Künstlerhaus Bethanien.
- A presentation of the artist's portfolio in the BE Magazine.
Who can apply?
Applications are accepted from Norwegian artists and international artists residing in Norway. The residency is for one artist.
The residency is not eligible for:
- BA or MA students.
- Artist groups
How are the application assessed?
All applications that are complete and approved by OCA's administration are assessed by an international jury appointed by OCA. The OCA jury consists of four members appointed by the OCA board. The director of OCA serves as the chairperson of the jury.
All applicants are treated equally. Equality means that all persons are equal regardless of their gender, pregnancy, maternity or adoption leave, caring responsibilities, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or age.
The OCA jury nominates a shortlist of candidates for the residency, with the final selection being made by Künstlerhaus Bethanien.
Applicants will receive a reply within three months after the application deadline.
Please note that the jury's decisions are final and cannot be appealed. OCA does not provide reasons for individual grant decisions.
The OCA jury follows the rules on impartiality in the Public Administration Act (chapter 2).
Criteria for the application
Application deadline
3 February.
Language of the application
English – all information, text and attachments in the application must be submitted in English.
Requirements for the application
- Statement/Project description in English
- A portfolio
- CV in English.
After the application deadline, any missing materials must be sent within 48 hours of notification.
Additional visual material can also be sent to OCA by post. This is, however, limited to artists' publications and artists' books. All other material, including portfolios, should be uploaded within the application form. Please specify if you wish your material to be returned; if this is the case, please send a pre-posted envelope with the return address. All submitted material should be identified on the outside of the envelope with both the applicant’s name and the reference number provided in the online application. Please send additional visual material by post to:
Office for Contemporary Art Norway
Re: Residency, Künstlerhaus Bethanien
Ref.nr.: [your reference number]
Nedre gate 7
0551 Oslo, Norway
If support is granted
Following Norwegian rules for grants, scholarships etc., the Office of the Auditor General of Norway (Riksrevisjonen) is entitled to verify that the grants are used according to the stated conditions. To facilitate this, the grantee must complete the report form and declare how the grant was spent within one month after the completion of the residency.
Reports are submitted through the application platform. OCA will not accept new applications to the support scheme if a final report from a previous project is missing past its deadline.
Please note that OCA may publish the names and projects of successful applicants, along with images from applications and reports on various non-commercial platforms, including the OCA website, newsletter, and Annual Report.
The grantee agrees to use the residency and grant in an appropriate and responsible manner.
Registration of personal data, GDPR. Art. 5
To apply for support, it is obligatory for applicants and participants named in the project to register personal data for OCA to check that the application terms are met and the assessment of the application.
The applicant must register all data themself. The applicant may ask for corrections, deletions and limitations of parts of the data they have registered after the assessment of the application.
Archiving of personal data, GDPR. Art. 13
The personal data that applicants provide in the application will be archived in eApply to provide a historical account of the applicants to this support scheme without any time limit. Previously received applications and support from OCA are included in the information that the OCA administration might access within the application assessment process. OCA employees and IT personnel responsible for the technical platform have permanent access to all data stored in the application plaftorm.
Applicants can ask for access to and rectification or erasure of parts of this data after the assessment of the application.
Data on all applicants will be used for developing statistics for the evaluation of the support schemes and for other cultural-political purposes, without any links to the names of the applicants.
All have the right to complain to The Norwegian Data Protection Authority if the data controller of OCA - Office for Contemporary Art Norway, Nedre gate 7, 0551 Oslo. Telephone: 23233150, uses personal data stored in eApply in conflict with what has been being stated here.
Publishing of personal data, GDPR. Art. 6, no. 1, letter b
Those who are granted support must fill in a payment request to have the granted amount paid.
This obligatory payment request is an agreement between OCA - Office for Contemporary Art Norway and the participant(s) or institution(s) being given support. It is based on the assumption that OCA is granted the right to convey data on whom the support is granted to, the main person(s) in the project, the description of the project that the support was granted for, the timeline for the project and the amount granted – without any time limit.
OCA’s mission from the Norwegian Government is to promote and professionalise Norwegian participation in international collaboration within visual art.
The support is provided by public means, and it is important that the allocation of the support is transparent.
OCA executes a public function and must be able to document how the institution has attended to this assignment by audit.
Apply here

Recipients
See all previous recipients.
Applications are now open! Deadline 3 February.