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Circus residency in Berlin, Germany – Chamäleon Theater

Are you a professional circus artist that wants to strengthen your artistic development and broaden your international contacts? Then you can apply for our residency program abroad.

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A residency offers the space and time for artistic immersion, international encounters and knowledge exchange.

Description of the residency

The Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s International Programme for Circus offers a two-week residency in Berlin in collaboration with Chamäleon Berlin and Riksteatern. This residency is open to circus artists who want to deepen their artistic practice and grow their global network.

The Chamäleon Theater Berlin was founded in 2004 and has since then been a showcase for contemporary circus. Over the years, Chamäleon has developed into an important production location, guest performance stage, creative network partner and place of residence.

The mission is to support circus artists in their artistic work, to promote a sustainable development of the art form and to present contemporary circus to a wide audience.

Up to three people can apply for the residency. During  the two week residency Chamäleon offers its rehearsal space the Cave as well as mentorship and advice in technology and production.

 

The artist/artists-in-residence will get access to The Cave at Chamäleon, in Berlin Mitte.

Two weeks, in agreement with Chamäleon.

The grant is aimed at professional artists in the field of circus who have their main activity in Sweden.

SEK 20 000 per person. This tax-free grant is intended to cover travel and living expenses.

Standard compensation for accommodation is reimbursed with the support of Riksteatern.

The grant does not include insurance. Travel and accommodation are arranged by the grant holder/holders.

Application and reporting requirements

  • You must be a professional artist in the field of circus, such as circus artist, director or choreographer.

    To be considered a professional artist, you must earn a living entirely or partly from your artistic activities and regularly present your art to an audience or in an artistic context.

    You must be a resident in Sweden or practice most of your art here.

    You can be a foreign citizen and apply for our stipends and grants, but you must be a resident in Sweden or primarily practice your art here. If you are a Swedish citizen but live abroad, you must be able to demonstrate that most of your artistic activity takes place in Sweden.

    You must not be a student for more than 50 per cent of your time when an award decision is made.

    This means being enrolled in any type of studies, from undergraduate studies to doctoral studies and post-graduate education. You can be studying when you submit your application, but when a decision is made you cannot be enrolled for more than 50 per cent for a course or programme.

    You must not owe any unpaid Swedish taxes or fees to the Swedish Enforcement Authority or be declared bankrupt.

    This means that you cannot owe a debt on your Swedish tax account that has been passed on to the enforcement authority. This does not apply to other types of debts or charges from public organisations or private companies.

    You must not have received de minimis aid exceeding a total of 300,000 euros during the last three-year period.

    Stipends and grants from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee are subject to the provisions of the European Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2031 on state funding, also known as de minimis aid.

  • The application for residency is open once a year. See the application deadlines. 

    You apply by logging in to “My pages”.

    In order to submit an application, you need to answer all the questions marked as mandatory in the form and attach work samples. The application must be written in english as the final assessment and selection will be made by Chamäleon.

    Applications must be submitted by 14.00 CET on the application deadline.

    Work samples are mandatory

    Work samples should give a clear picture of your artistry. Samples should not be older than three years. It is important that you can be identified in the sample if it is from a group performance. You can provide links to Vimeo, YouTube or a website as a supplement in the application form. Make sure the links are working and specify passwords when needed.

    Number of files: 1-2
    File format: mp4 or mov.
    Total size of files: 250 mb

    Can I submit my application on paper?

    We recommend using our e-service to submit your application. It makes it easier for you to ensure that your application was registered and it allows you to follow your case via “My pages”.

    Application on paper

  • When we receive your application, we verify that you meet all the formal requirements.

    Members of the desicion-making group for dance and circus will then read your application.

    The members are practising artists or experts in the field of dance and circus. At least three people read each application. The decision is made by the desicion-making group for dance and circus.

    If a member has a conflict of interest in relation to an applicant, that member is forbidden from participating in the review process or award decision for that application.

    How is your decision made?

    We select grant recipients based on the quality of artistic activities and the applicant’s financial need. This means that we assess the quality of the work samples and reference material that you submit. At the same time, we make an assessment of your financial need. This can mean, for example, that we do not prioritise an applicant who has a high income or has recently received other grants or stipends.

    In our selection, we aim to distribute the grants to artists in different parts of the country and across a variety of artistic expressions.

  • The grant does not need to be reported financially, but the grant holder reports about the visit after returning home.

  • Grants are exempt from tax.

  • If you are awarded a residency grant, you must state in all communications about your residency that it was carried out with the support of the Swedish Arts Grants Committee. Please use the wording “with support of the International Dance Program – the Swedish Arts Grants Committee”.

    Use the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s logo in the appropriate contexts.

    How to use our logo

Contact

Monica Christensen Luotsinen

Senior Adviser – Dance and Circus, Head of International Dance Programme and Circus Programme

+46 8-506 550 61 (Opens in a New Window)