Together with its regional cooperation partners, Urbane Künste Ruhr is awarding six artist residencies in the Ruhr region, Germany, for the year 2025. During the three-month stay, the organisers invite artists to develop a context-specific project that is planned to be presented to the public in a curated exhibition in Dortmund.
The programme is aimed at artists and collectives interested in working in the Ruhr area as well as in taking a contemporary perspective on the polycentric region and its themes. Urbane Künste Ruhr invites artists and collectives to develop a draft for an artistic project during a three-month research stay and in close exchange with the curatorial team on site. The project – depending on the suitability – is intended to be part of a joint exhibition in 2026.
There are three strands with different partners:
- 1 August to 31 October 2025: Research stay on the site of the Hansa Coking Plant in Dortmund in cooperation with the Foundation for the Preservation of Industrial Monuments and Historical Culture (for an artistic practice that includes sculpture, sound, painting, film, or installation)
- 1 August to 31 October 2025: Stay for artists and collectives who are interested in performative artistic practices to connect the guest artists with suitable partners in the region
- 1 September to 30 November 2025: Research stay in collaborations with the History of the Ruhr Foundation (Stiftung Geschichte des Ruhrgebiets) in Bochum (for professional artists and collectives who have a special interest in working with and on archives and archiving structures)
Each residency covers the following:
- A guest artist’s fee of 5,000 EUR gross
- A studio or workspace
- Costs for arrival and departure will be covered once
- Accommodation in Dortmund
- Travel by public transport for research purposes can be reimbursed
