Balmoral artists-in-Residence and project scholarship in 2010

Intention and purpose
Artists’ residence Künstlerhaus Schloß Balmoral in Bad Ems, Foundation for Culture of Rhineland-Palatinate, which was founded in 1995, is a place of reflection, artistic production, discussion and meeting. It supports visual artists from all over the world by awarding artists-in-Residence scholarships.

The Künstlerhaus is publicly presented through lectures, concerts and exhibitions. Works by the scholarship holders are regularly shown in a relaxed atmosphere.
The Künstlerhaus perceives itself as an intersection between the different kinds of art media and theoretical reflection but also as an intermediary between current and former scholarship holders. Balmoral intends to build a bridge between the artists' present and their future.

Requirements
Balmoral awards six artists-in-Residence scholarships to international fine artists who have completed their degree in art and a subsequent three-year period of artistic activity. Applicants still studying during the application period cannot be considered.

In addition, Balmoral awards one project scholarship offering the visual artist an opportunity to develop a project at a different place. The purpose of this scholarship is to support a project of particular content to be realised within a specific time period and to recognise the artist’s previous artistic work. The project will be presented in Balmoral afterwards.

Artists from the disciplines of painting, sculpture, installation, drawing, graphic arts, design, photography, video as well as from new media art and landscape art can apply for a Balmoral scholarship.

In order to promote dialogue between the social sciences and art, for the first time one theory scholarship for a junior academic in the humanities (preferably art theory) is offered. In accordance and in close cooperation with the Künstlerhaus and the attendant scholarship holders, s/he should actively participate in creating, developing and organising the activities in the artists’ residence. The theory scholarship will be awarded to applicants not older than 35 years or to those who graduated not longer than 5 years ago. For holders of a theory scholarship a full command of the German language as well as a sound knowledge of English or French is essential.

Duration of stay
Balmoral scholarships are awarded for the period of six months. For Artists-in-Residence scholarships at Künstlerhaus Schloß Balmoral, continuous residence is obligatory. The yearly term of residence begins in April.

Attendance
The Balmoral scholarship is an attendance scholarship. One of the conditions is that holders spend at least two thirds of the period stated at Balmoral. All artists invited will have their registered residence in Bad Ems for the time of their stay (compulsory registration).

Language knowledge
Knowledge of one of the three languages German, English or French is required.

Benefits
The scholarship includes the following benefits:
A grant of 1,200 Euros per month.

A furnished living/bedroom with shower/WC and a studio including electricity, water and heating. Each apartment is equipped with an individual telephone and internet access. If required, the room is also wired up for radio and television. The lounge, the dining room and the kitchen are for joint use.

Holders of scholarships can make use of the in-house facilities for free, especially the
• wood and metal workshop
• photo laboratory for b/w prints of 60 x 70 cm
• video laboratory Windows XP Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro (in German and English) + Avid Express (in English), DVD writer, video-edit recorder
• library and reading room with approx. 5,500 books, particularly on modern and contemporary art and the most important art magazines.

Due to the historical condition of the building, the apartments and studios in terms of their size and equipment are normally only suitable for one single person.

Award of scholarships
The scholarships are offered publicly. Double applications to the Künstlerhaus Schloß Balmoral and the Ministry for Education, Science, Youth and Culture of the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate are not acceptable.

The decision on the award of the scholarships will be made by a panel of experts in consideration of the applicants’ capability of further developing their artistic work (see selection procedure). The Minister of Science, Further Education, Research and Culture of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate will call the members of the selection committee and decide on the awarding of the scholarships on the basis of the committee’s proposals. There is no legal claim to obtaining a scholarship.
The applicants will not receive any reasons in writing for the decision made on the awarding of the scholarships, but will be informed of the result.

Applicants who were not accepted may apply again for a maximum of two further awards.

The awarding of a scholarship from Balmoral or the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate excludes further applications in the following five years. An application will not be accepted if the same scholarship has already been awarded to that candidate.

Scholarship holders are required to write a report about their stay afterwards which should contain suggestions and proposals and serve as a basis for adapting the scholarships to the artists’ requirements.

Scholarship holders will donate one of their works free of charge to the art collections of the federal state of Rheinland-Pfalz.

Selection procedure
The selection committee normally consists of one chairperson and seven members of the jury who are expert representatives of the following professional groups:

• an art critic
• a museum director or curator
• a representative of the studies of Fine Arts from a university or an art academy
• a member of the artists associations in the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate
• a visual artist
• the director of Künstlerhaus Schloß Balmoral
• the director of Kunsthalle Mainz
• the desk officer of the Ministry for Education, Science, Youth and Culture of the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz

New members of the jury are nominated on a rotational basis at 12- to 24-month intervals.

The members of the jury make their choice according to the quality of the work samples applicants have to hand in together with their application. (For more details see Application documents). Specific artistic requirements do not apply.

Together with the scholarship acceptance, the applicant will receive an agreement concluded with the Künstlerhaus and the house rules. After the signing of the contract by the scholarship holder, the scholarship is regarded as legally granted.

Application documents
For all scholarships offered the following documents have to be submitted in German, English or French:

- two passport photos
- a CV including your artistic career history and previous grants
- a statement of reasons why you have chosen this scholarship and an illustration of your objectives during your intended residence (maximum one A4 page).
- at least 10, but not more than 20 photos or other images of your artistic works (no slides, no photo CDs, no MAC data CDs), A4 size incl. passepartout
- explanations to the submitted works, one A4 page maximum (optional)
- at most three exhibition catalogues (collective catalogues only if your works cannot be presented in a different way)
- at most three video cassettes (VHS) or DVDs, each recording no longer than 15 min.
The application materials should not exceed a total weight of 2 kg incl. packing.

Please, only use the application form (pdf download).
Please do not hand in any originals. Point out in your application which of the scholarships posted you intend to apply for.

Send your application to:

Künstlerhaus Schloß Balmoral
Villenpromenade 11
D-56130 Bad Ems
Germany

Closing Date
The call for entries for 2010 starts on May 25th 2009.
The closing date is July 18th 2009 (date of the postmark).


application form for Balmoral Artists-in Residence scholarships (pdf-download) [77 KB]

application form for Balmoral project scholarship (pdf-download) [77 KB]