Based on the idea of artistic exchange, shared learning, understanding and creation, AIR-Artist in Residence Lower Austria supports artists from different disciplines and backgrounds.
The program is aimed internationally at artists who wish to engage with the Kunstmeile Krems, the city of Krems, the Wachau World Heritage Site, the province of Lower Austria and Vienna.
AIR offers temporary living and working opportunities in five-week sessions with a stipend of € 1,950 per artist. Eight sessions are advertised annually via an open call. The costs for travel, transfer, materials and meals must be borne by the scholarship holders themselves. Artists from the fields of architecture, visual arts, digital art, literature and music are invited.
The studio apartments and scholarships are awarded under the premise of enabling foreign artists to work in Lower Austria and to get to know different cultural institutions. By bringing the invited artists into contact with the local art scene, AIR – ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Lower Austria aims to contribute to the internationalization of art in Lower Austria and promote interdisciplinary exchange in the field of art. The scholarship program makes it possible to present artistic works developed or planned in advance in Krems. Events in cooperation with various Lower Austrian and Viennese art institutions help to integrate scholarship holders into the local art scene.
Application criteria
The basic prerequisite for funding is a subject-specific completed artistic education (university degree). In the absence of an academic degree, a corresponding qualification must be demonstrated by the artistic career. In any case, regular artistic activity in the areas to be funded must be present. Applications are accepted from the disciplines of architecture, visual arts, digital arts, literature, music and regeneration. Austrian artists and artists residing in Austria are excluded from the award.
Participation in AIR – ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Lower Austria is decided by a subject-specific advisory board. Applications are only possible during the call period, February 9 – May 10, 2026, and only via the online application form. Application deadline: May 10, 2026, 11:59 p.m.
No applications will be accepted by e-mail. Submitted application material will not be returned. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Note: Artist collectives are welcome to apply for a residency. However, the scholarship amount of €1,950 does not change as a result.
Notification of a scholarship place will be sent by e-mail by the end of June 2026.
Guidelines
AIR is an attendance scholarship with an 80% attendance requirement.
Partners, children, family members and friends cannot be accommodated in the accommodation during the scholarship stay.
Pets are not permitted. (Exception: assistance dogs)
Arrival and departure days are communicated in advance and must be adhered to.
Thematic focus: Regeneration
Four scholarships will be awarded in this context for 2027.
AIR encourages artists to reflect on and artistically negotiate the future concept of regeneration in their submissions. Regeneration deliberately goes beyond conventional approaches to sustainability: while sustainability primarily aims to avoid additional ecological damage, regeneration understands humans as an integral part of nature and is based on holistic, systemic thinking and the awareness of a multi-layered diversity of relationships between all species, including humans. AIR is in close contact with “ReGenerativa”with regard to the thematic focus on regeneration.
Application deadline: May 10, 2026