Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Residency dates: 1–31 May 2027
Duration: One month
Number of residents: Five
Accommodation: Private bedroom in a shared apartment
Travel allowance: €400 for journeys under 5,000 km or €800 for journeys of 5,000 km or more, with potential additional support for sustainable travel
Daily allowance: €30 per day
Application deadline: 10 September 2026, 23:59 CET
Working languages: English and Armenian
Typography Collective, in collaboration with the curatorial duo League of Tenders, is accepting applications for The Shine of Our Eyes, a one-month residency in Yerevan, Armenia.
Dedicated to Armenian crafts and traditions including carpet weaving, dyeing, ornamentation and embroidery, the residency aims to develop decolonial and feminist understandings of these practices while facilitating exchange between local and international artists and craftspeople.
Although weaving, ornamentation and embroidery are recognised elements of Armenia’s cultural heritage, they are rarely developed within contemporary art. The residency will create a space in which visual artists—particularly women working with craft—can exchange knowledge with Armenian practitioners and learn from local traditions.
The organisers seek to support participants in developing translocal and transcultural understandings of their practices.
About the Programme
The residency approaches craft as a means of revaluing practices and knowledge rendered invisible or devalued through colonial systems.
Traditional crafts can act as vessels for collective memory, history and worldviews. These can be carried through ornamentation, the subjects and materials of artworks, and the processes of making themselves.
The programme will combine research and networking activities with public outcomes. Residents will be encouraged to share their skills and practices with local craftspeople and communities through public and non-public events.
Activities will be tailored to the interests of the selected residents and developed in collaboration with professionals based in Armenia. The programme will include guided tours, research trips and visits.
What Is Provided
Selected residents will receive:
- A private bedroom in a shared apartment in Yerevan;
- Access to a shared equipped kitchen, living room and Wi-Fi;
- A travel allowance of €400 for distances under 5,000 km;
- A travel allowance of €800 for distances of 5,000 km or more;
- Potential additional support for sustainable forms of travel;
- A daily allowance of €30; and
- A curated programme of guided tours, research trips and visits.
The accommodation is modest and is not of hotel standard. Accommodation cannot be provided for partners or family members.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Be aged 18 or over, with no upper age limit;
- Legally reside in a Creative Europe country other than Armenia, regardless of nationality;
- Be available to remain in Armenia for the entire residency period from 1–31 May 2027; and
- Be able to participate in a programme conducted in English and Armenian.
The open call welcomes:
- Artists;
- Curators;
- Researchers;
- Craftspeople; and
- Skilled practitioners.
Applicants should work with traditional crafts—particularly weaving, wool, ornamentation, embroidery or dyeing—and be interested in expanding their perspectives and learning about Armenian traditions.
No particular educational background is required.
Artists based in Armenia are not eligible to apply for the residency. However, Armenia-based practitioners interested in participating in the wider programme are invited to contact the organisers.
The Shine of Our Eyes is funded by Culture Moves Europe.
