Open Call for Helsinki International Curatorial Programme 2026

Deadline: Monday 23 February 2026, 15:00 (Gmt+2)
For international curators to undertake a residency at HIAP Suomenlinna for 1 month.
Residency Period: 17 August – 13 September 2026
Residency Location: HIAP Suomenlinna (Helsinki, Finland)

About the Residency

Helsinki International Curatorial Programme (HICP) offers one-month residencies for contemporary art curators. The programme is co-organised by Frame Contemporary Art Finland and HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme.

The HICP curators-in-residence will live and work at HIAP’s international residency site on the island of Suomenlinna, a 15-minute ferry ride away from the centre of Helsinki. The selected curators are offered a combined workspace and accommodation, a working grant, and a travel allowance from and to the curator’s place of residence.

Both HIAP and Frame provide the curators with individual assistance and networking support tailored to their project or research. The HICP curators are part of the international residency community at HIAP, while Frame provides contacts with extensive networks of Finnish artists and other art professionals.

The aims of the programme are:

• to allow internationally active, professional curators the chance to connect with the Finnish contemporary art field and plan projects (exhibitions, public events, publications or others) in collaboration with artists and partner organisations operating in Finland.
• to support curatorial research in its diverse and emergent forms.

From this open call we will grant two residencies for one month each.

You can read reflections from two previous HICP Curators in Residence here:

Kevin Bellò Reflections during the Helsinki International Curatorial Programme

Malena Souto Arena The Sense of Utopias

Residency Conditions

• €1200 Working Grant
• Combined living and working space
• Travel allowance to and from the curator’s place of residence – we encourage slow travel (see here).
• Assistance and networking support coordinated by Frame and HIAP.
• Opportunity to deliver a talk or workshop, and write a text to be published following the residency.

Residency Location

Located on a UNESCO World Heritage island, Suomenlinna is a 15- minute ferry ride from Helsinki city centre.

The residency apartments (approx 30 sqm) are fully furnished living spaces with kitchenette and bathroom, accommodating up to 2 people. They do not include a separate work area and are more suited for research and writing.

All residents have 24/7 access to HIAP community facilities such as Community Room, Library, Equipment Room and Wood Workshop. Some equipment (eg projectors, sound systems) is available to borrow.

More information about the residency programme and facilities is available here.

Accessibility

Accessibility information for the residency site is available here.

If you would like any further information about accessibility, or would like to discuss your access requirements in advance of making an application, please contact office@hiap.fi. A separate access budget is not available for the project.

Within the form there is a dedicated section where you can include information about your access requirements. You can also choose to upload an Access Rider separately. This will not be included in the jury process and will be treated in strict confidence. You do not have to declare your access requirements in advance of making the application and there will be further opportunity to share this following selection.

Unfortunately, information about this Open Call is not currently available in other formats such as large print, International Sign Language, or audio formats – we hope this will change in the future. If this is a barrier for you, please contact us by email at office@hiap.fi and we will do our best to support you.

Inclusion and Diversity

HIAP is committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment.

• HIAP’s Safer Spaces Policy is available here.
• HIAP Staff and Residents agree to abide by a Code of Conduct, which is available here.

People from the global majority*, who are LGBTQIA+, disabled** and/or from working class or low socio-economic backgrounds are particularly encouraged to apply.

*Global majority is a collective term for people of Indigenous, African, Asian or Latin American descent.

**This includes but is not limited to those who define as disabled people, as people with long-term health conditions, as deaf, Deaf, neurodivergent, or in relation to their health-related access requirements.

Who Can Apply

The applicant should be based outside of Finland and have at least 2–3 years of professional experience in curating (formal education is not obligatory), either within an institutional context or independently.

There is one pet friendly apartment. Family members are welcome with no extra residency fees but must cover their own travel costs – please note, the apartments available are small and separate workspace is not available.

How to Apply

Applications are sent by using the online application form. Applications or supporting material sent by e-mail without using the online application form will not be taken into consideration.

Required materials:

• Brief outline of your professional background and biography (up to 250 words)
• Motivation statement including why you want to undertake this residency (up to 250 words)
• Work Plan (up to 250 words)
• Portfolio / examples of your previous work (max 10 images or 3 video / audiot files) provided as an external link (no upload optional available).

The application should be made in English.

A note on the use of AI in applications:

As a principle, the use of AI in development of applications is not an issue and we recognise how important AI is as an access and inclusion tool. Unfortunately, we have found in recent open calls that AI is being used to generate the content of applications (as opposed to supporting the writing and editing process), and this has often resulted in proposals with a lack of voice and authenticity.

We reference this not to demonise the use of AI in application processes, but to encourage applicants who are using AI to consider how they can maintain their own unique voice within their proposals and avoid weakening their individuality.

Deadline: Monday 23 February 2026, 15:00 (Gmt+2)

Decision Making and Timeline

A panel of representatives from each partner organisation and one independent curator or artist will make the selection. The selected residents will be notified by end of March 2026.

Selection Criteria

The jury will evaluate the applications based on the following criteria:

• Motivation: does the applicant make a strong argument as to why they want to undertake the residency?
• Relevance: would the residency have a potentially meaningful impact on the local art scene?
• Topicality: does the focus of the proposal resonate well with topical issues?
• Diversity: does the applicant consider diversity within their practice and / or how would they contribute to the diversity of the HICP programme in terms of practice and lived experience.

Quality of applications will be assessed across multiple areas including relevancy, originality and distinctiveness, rigour, presentation, vision and impactfulness.

The final selection will be made based on the highest scoring applicants against the above criteria, and balance across the HICP programme.

Please note that due to the volume of applications we receive, we are unable to provide tailored feedback. However we will endeavour to summarise the key jury discussion points and share with all who applied.