International Fellowship

Call for applications for 1 fellowship
aimed at artists and cultural practitioners

3-month fellowship at Scuola Piccola Zattere, Venice, Italy

Deadline: March 7th, 2025 at 10.00 am (Italy time)

Scuola Piccola Zattere welcomes applications from artists and cultural practitioners, including curators, researchers, architects, choreographers, performers and writers, for the selection of 1 participant to the thematic-based fellowship program, which will take place during the first season of activity, titled One Year Score. The purpose of the open call is to select 1 fellow who will be able to carry out their artistic and/or research activities, for 3 months, from the beginning of May to the end of July 2025, at Scuola Piccola Zattere in Venice, Italy.

ABOUT SCUOLA PICCOLA ZATTERE

Scuola Piccola Zattere is a non-profit space for continuous education and research in the expanded field of contemporary arts. Its activities encompass exhibitions, commissions, residencies and fellowships, workshops, seminars, discursive and performative events, following an integrated methodological approach that encourages mutual influences among formats of study, production, and fruition. 

ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The international fellowship is an opportunity to focus on one’s research and ongoing projects, while coming into contact with the artistic community of the Scuola, and experiencing the rich cultural offerings of the city of Venice, during the months of the 2025 Architecture Biennale. The program allows participants to both receive and offer mentorship and education, work with other practitioners from different cultural contexts and disciplines and contribute to the Scuola’s public programs. Fellows are invited to share their research through different formats, such as by way of example, workshops, presentations, seminars, screenings or performance events. This will help initiate a circular, iterative approach to the research process, opening new areas of exploration, to the benefit of subsequent phases of study, development, and production.  

The thematic areas analyzed within the program and thus constituting a common horizon for reflection and production for the first season of research, titled One Year Score, will be:

• the forms of aggregation, conflict, and negotiation inherent in the dynamics of sociality,
• the relationship between space and body, architecture and movement, instruction and performative action, 
• the score as a conceptual tool for investigating the dialectical tension between what is prefigured and what is enacted. 

These research themes will be at the center of a common reflection across the various disciplines and the different formats of residency, study, and programming, informing a collective research process extended over time. 

CALENDAR

The fellowship will run from the beginning of May to the end of July 2025.

WHAT IS OFFERED

• Individual study space located in a shared studio in the Scuola Piccola Zattere building for 3 months;
• A grant worth a total of €5,000, covering the total fellowship period;
• A research budget of €2,000;
• Accommodation in Venice;
• Round trip to Venice.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

• Continuity of presence at Scuola Piccola Zattere studios during the duration of the fellowship;
• Participation in the institution’s activities; 
• Proposals for the public program; 
• The granting of reproduction rights for images and texts resulting from the fellow’s authorship for communication and promotion activities and for the possible publication of a publication at the end of the project;
• Candidates are responsible for obtaining any visas, residence permits, or insurance possibly required for the period abroad. Scuola Piccola Zattere can provide a letter of invitation if needed, and cover reimbursement of visa fees.

ELEGIBILITY

• There are no age restrictions. There is no age limit, but the program is especially intended for those who are in the post-academic phase of their career;
• A good knowledge of the English language is required to facilitate the successful execution of the research activities and public programming;
• Applicants of any nationality are admitted, provided that, if they are non-EU citizens, they hold a valid passport for foreign travel.

Applications from collectives or duos are welcomed but the grant amount remains the same. Similarly, the accommodation remains the same. All participants or members of a collective/duo must meet the requirements listed above. In the case of a collective, the application must be submitted by a member of the collective holding a proxy signed by the other members.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications should be sent by 10.00 am (Italy time) on March 7th, 2025 to the email address fellowship@scuolapiccolazattere.com with the subject line “Application_International fellowship program”. 

The documentation should not exceed 20 MB in total and should contain in one single pdf – named Applicant’sName_Applicant’sSurname_FellowshipApplication (e.g. Giulia_Rossi_FellowshipApplication) – the following documents in this order:

1. A one-page motivation letter (including a header with the applicant’s name) that clearly outlines how the topics of the open call are reflected in the applicant’s own research and areas of interest, and demonstrates how they intend to contribute to the broader line of research; 
2. Updated CV; 
3. Portfolio with documentation of personal practice;
4. Application form, completed in its entirety and signed;
5. Personal data information notice, completed in its entirety and signed; 
6. Copy of a valid identity document for EU citizens or copy of a valid passport for non-EU citizens.

Please note that files that are not correctly named or do not contain all the required documents in a single pdf cannot be evaluated. Applications received by we-transfer or similar, and not by direct email, will not be accepted.

Incomplete applications or applications from applicants who do not meet the requirements will be considered invalid. Unsolicited material will not be examined. The evaluation will take into account the quality of the research and its coherence with the topics of this call. 

All documentation must be submitted, under penalty of exclusion, by the deadline of 10.00 am (Italy time) on March 7th 2025. Any clarification on how to apply can be requested by February 28th by emailing the email address fellowship@scuolapiccolazattere.com

Selections will take place during the month of March, with a possible invitation for an online interview. The results will be communicated by email by the end of March.

 

Photo by Giacomo Bianco