Solitude Fellowship

The Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart awards between 50 and 60 residencies every two years to international artists, researchers, and cultural professionals from all disciplines. With the Solitude Fellowship, we create space for concentrated work, interdisciplinary exchange, and international networking—contributing to an open, diverse, and globally connected cultural landscape in Baden-Württemberg and Germany. The fellowship is open-ended in terms of results, while also offering the possibility of on-site events, including collaborations with other cultural institutions in Stuttgart and the region.

Who can apply?

The fellowship is aimed at artists, scholars, and cultural practitioners from around the world who have already developed an independent professional practice but are currently in an active phase of further growth – that is, they are no longer at the very beginning of their careers, but not yet firmly established. In general, this means at least two and no more than ten years of professional experience after completing an artistic or academic education, regardless of age. This timeframe serves as a guideline rather than a strict eligibility criterion. We are looking for applicants who are in a phase of consolidating their practice and who seek to engage in new contexts and interdisciplinary experiences. The application should clearly describe the current stage of the applicant’s professional or artistic development and explain why a residency at Akademie Schloss Solitude is particularly relevant at this point in their career. While the program primarily addresses practitioners with up to ten years of experience, applications from those with longer professional careers will also be considered if they clearly demonstrate the specific relevance of the fellowship to their current development.

In the spheres of practice Visual, Aural & Physical, Textual, Spatial, and Digital, the term »education« includes all forms of artistic qualification – such as studies at art academies or universities, vocational training, mentoring, master classes, or self-taught education. In the sphere of practice Scientific, a master’s degree or higher is required.

Applicants who are still in education or enrolled in a degree program (with the exception of doctoral candidates), as well as applicants who already hold a full professorship at a university, are excluded from the selection process.

Collectives of up to two people may apply for a fellowship, provided they have been working together artistically for at least two years.

Proficiency in German and/or English is required.

What does the Solitude Fellowship offer?

• A 6- or 9-month residency in Stuttgart, Germany
• A monthly fellowship of €1,300 to cover living expenses
• A furnished live/work studio at Akademie Schloss Solitude including electricity, heating, and water
• One-time reimbursement of travel costs for arrival and departure
• Project funding (depending on budget availability)
• Coverage of health insurance costs for non-EU residents
• Exchange with an international and multidisciplinary community of fellows
• Participation in Akademie events
• Support for local and regional networking
• Use of our workshops (wood, metal, video editing/VR) and libraries
  

 

What do we expect?

• Residence in Stuttgart for the entire duration of the fellowship (main residence in Stuttgart required)
• Willingness to actively participate in our community and Akademie events
• Openness to interdisciplinary exchange
• Tolerance and readiness for dialogue with people from diverse perspectives, identities, and life contexts
• Willingness to connect locally in Stuttgart and the region
• What does the application process look like?

The application process consists of three stages:

Stage 1: Open Short Application (online)

Through our application platform [link], applicants fill out an online form with personal information, sphere of practice, and motivation. After this first stage, in spheres of practice with very high numbers of applications, we conduct an anonymous random selection procedure for fair pre-selection. This procedure is conducted without the use of artificial intelligence and is supervised by a notary.

Stage 2: Full Application (online)

Applicants admitted to this stage may submit a full application on the platform within a given deadline.

Stage 3: Jury Selection

An independent international jury makes the selection based on qualitative, professional, and interdisciplinary criteria. When results are announced, we also publish the composition of the jury.

Which criteria matter in the selection process?

In the jury’s decision, the primary factors are the depth of content and the artistic or scholarly substance of the portfolio or proposed project, as well as the practice behind it. The social and contemporary relevance of the work also plays an important role, as does the openness to developing new artistic or scholarly forms of thought and expression. The jury further considers the stage of the applicant’s career and their readiness for interdisciplinary exchange and regional networking.

 

Image credit: Studio visit with Patrizia Bach, 2018. Photo: Judith Engel