Work stipends

Target group / Purpose of funding

The work stipend programme was established to support the artistic development of professional artists working in the visual arts. Stipends shall support an artist’s endeavour for a limited period of time, during which new work can be started and existing projects will either be continued or completed. Stipends are awarded on the basis of the artistic quality of work, continuity and potential for development.

Eligibility and conditions

• Artists wishing to participate in this programme should have a track record of producing outstanding work and be able to verify this with their portfolio.
• Artists applying to this programme must live and work in Berlin.
• Applicants may not be enrolled at a higher education institution.

Funding volume

The work stipends of €16,000 (8 month) or €24,000 (12 month) each are dispensed in monthly payments á 2.000 € in of the respective funding year. In addition to this, recipients will be invited to participate in a group exhibition, catalogue and side programme.

Call for applications

A call for applications to the work stipend programme is usually issued in Summer of each year for the following year.

The application period for the visual arts work stipend 2025 ended on September 05, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. after extension.

Application procedure

Individual artists can submit an application to this programme every second year.
Please refer to the current version of the programme flyer for detailed information on submitting an application.

• Information on applying for work stipends in the visual arts for 2025

  PDF-Document (177.8 kB)

• Formular zur GbR-Erklärung

  PDF-Document (407.6 kB)

FAQ visual arts work stipends 2025

1. Application requirements

• I have applied for the year 2024. Can I apply again now?

  No. It will not be possible to reapply until the 2026 fellowship year.

• I am a feature film producer. Can I apply?

  Not eligible to apply are designers, set designers, scenographers, as well as directors, screenwriters and cinematographers in the field of documentary film and feature film/cinematography. In the case of media art, a connection to the visual arts (predominant presentation of work in exhibition contexts) must be clear from the curriculum vitae. In the case of artists working across disciplines, the focus of their work must be in the field of visual arts.
  Only the sub-disciplines named in the information sheet are supported: works on paper/drawing, sculpture, artistic film/video, installation, interdisciplinary art, sound art, art in urban space, artistic photography, painting, media art, performance.

• I make experimental short film and/or 2-channel video installation. My work is mostly shown in exhibition contexts. Can I apply?

  Yes.

• Can I apply with the same work project as two years ago?

  Yes. You could then possibly revise the description again and formulate the work project more specifically.

• I am receiving project funding for a project in 2025, can I apply?

  Yes. Project funding can be combined with fellowships.

• I receive a travel grant from the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion for 2025. Can I still apply for the work grant as well?

  Possibly. The scholarships of the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion can be combined with each other up to a cumulative amount of €24,000/year. If you receive a work stipend of €16,000, you could e.g. also have a travel grant of max. €8,000.

• We would like to apply as a group. We are 3 persons. Two of them have moved away from Berlin. Can we apply?

  No. Applications are possible for single artists, fixed artist duos and fixed artist groups. In the case of fixed groups, the majority of the group members must live and work in Berlin. This must be proven for all group members by sending in a confirmation of registration or the front and back of the identity card.

  In the case of a group of 2 persons, both must be registered in Berlin.

• I am currently doing my doctorate. Can I apply?

  No. Applicants who are enrolled at a university at the time of the application (also with the aim of obtaining a doctorate) cannot apply.

• I am a professor at a university. Can I apply?

  If you hold a full professorship: No. If you only have a small teaching assignment or similar, you may apply.

• I am a student. Can I apply?

  No. Applicants who are enrolled at a university at the time of application cannot apply. If you have recently completed your studies, you must provide proof of completion without being asked (please attach a certificate to your CV).

• I am in Berlin on a student visa. Can I apply?

  No.

• Can I also apply for the scholarship as a non-Berliner?

  No, the fellowships are only for artists who have their main residence and work center in Berlin.

• I am an artist from abroad and would like to come to Berlin. Can I apply for this fellowship and use it for my stay in Berlin?

  No. The fellowship is aimed at people whose primary residence is in Berlin at the time of application. This must be proven with the application.

  The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) regularly invites foreign artists from various disciplines to Berlin. More information can be found under Berliner Künstlerprogramm (BKP).

• What are (among other things) common formal errors that lead to the exclusion of the application?
  • Short description of the project in English in the application form
  • No certificate of registration submitted (e.g. only front side of ID card or only passport, registration address not evident)
  • CV/portfolio or detailed description of work project too long

  Please refer to the information sheet for all detailed questions!

• What are the chances of my application?

  This question is almost impossible to answer, as the decision on awarding a scholarship depends on various factors, which can also change from year to year. Central factors here are the number of applications received, as well as their quality. The quality of an application is judged by an independent jury.

• I need a detailed individual consultation as this is my first application and I am not sure what it should look like. Is there anything like this in Berlin?

  Kreativ Kultur Berlin – Kulturförderberatung is a free service for Berlin’s cultural scene and includes a website with a large funding database and tips on how to apply, free personal orientation advice and application checks, and regular information events on current funding topics. The team of Kreativ Kultur Berlin – Kulturförderberatung advises creative artists, associations and institutions of all disciplines on questions of public and private funding and helps in the search for possible third-party funding.

  https://www.kreativkultur.berlin/en/consultation/cultural_funding_consultation/

• What is the difference between a stipend and project funding?

  In contrast to a project grant, a stipend is a personal grant; at the end of the stipend period, only a progress report must be submitted. A project grant, on the other hand, must be accounted for with original receipts.

• I receive another scholarship for the same year and/or period. Can I apply?
  In principle, you can apply. Whether you may accept the scholarship once it has been awarded to you by the jury depends on several factors:

  • Do you already receive a grant from the Kunstfonds Bonn for 2025 (€22,000). If so, you will not be eligible for funding through the working scholarship.
  • Do you receive another scholarship from the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion? A combination of the working grant with the research grant for visual arts from the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion is generally excluded. All other fellowships of the state of Berlin (work fellowships, research fellowships, and cultural exchange fellowships) can be combined up to an amount of €24,000 per year. Therefore, you should only accept a working scholarship of €16,000 if you have not yet received another scholarship of more than €8,000 from us.
  • Do you receive project funding? Project funding and the working scholarship for fine arts can be freely combined. Please make sure that the funding institution of your project funding allows combination from their side.

  The work stipend can be freely combined with other fellowships from domestic and foreign sponsors not named here. In this case, please be sure to inform yourself whether the conditions of the other scholarship exclude simultaneous acceptance.

2. Application formalities

• When can I submit my application?

  The application period for the visual arts work stipend 2025 ended on September 05, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. after extension.

• I have prepared a 30-page portfolio. In the info sheet it says that the file with CV and portfolio can be only 10 pages long. Can I still submit it with 30 pages?

  No. CV/portfolios longer than 10 DIN A4 pages (including all figures) will not be accepted. The corresponding application will be formally excluded in the interest of equal treatment of all applicants.

• Can I fill out the application in English?

  No. The application form must be completed in German (including a brief description of the proposed work). The attachments may be in English (CV with portfolio and detailed explanation of the work project).

• Is it sufficient if I only submit the front of my identity card?

  For German citizens it is mandatory to submit the front and the back side of the ID card, because the back side shows the current address of residence.

• My Internet connection is poor. I may not be able to meet the deadline if I have problems with the Internet on September 03, 2024. What do I do then?

  You have several weeks to submit the application and find an option with better internet for it. There is no goodwill. Applications that have not been submitted in full by September 3, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. cannot be considered. There is no possibility to send in the application by e-mail.

• What is the difference between a "registration confirmation" and an "Anmeldung"?

  No difference. It is the confirmation from the Bürgeramt/Einwohnermeldeamt that you receive when you move in, register or re-register. If you have a (valid) identity card or residence permit showing your registration address, it is sufficient to send this in. You will then not need a separate registration confirmation.

• Does the registration confirmation have to be "actual"? Can it not be older than 1 year?

  The date is not relevant. It can also be older than 1 year.

• How about the group/GbR? I would like to implement my project with a performer/graphic designer. Does that make us a group?

  As a rough guideline, when you commission someone, you are not forming a group. You are a group if you work together artistically as equals – e.g. as a duo of artists. A group/GbR can only consist of visual artists, since the grant is aimed at visual artists. It is also important that it must be a “firmly established” group that has been working together for some time. If you form a new group with several people for a new project, this does not count as a “ group” for the work fellowship.

• What all do I have to submit?

  The info sheet explains in detail what you need to submit and in what format or what maximum file size.
  We recommend preparing everything in advance according to the information in the info sheet before tackling the online application.

• I cannot upload a document. What should I do?
  • Please check file format and maximum file size.
  • Change the browser.

  On the last day of the application deadline, uploads may take longer due to increased data traffic. We HIGHLY recommend that you do not start the application submission on the last day of the application deadline.

  Additional technical FAQ can also be found here:
  https://www.berlin.de/sen/kultur/foerderung/antragscenter/artikel.85073.php

• What is a portfolio?

  In the portfolio (to be combined into one file with the CV on max. 10 DIN A4 pages) you can introduce yourself as an artist and e.g. representative projects. The portfolio should concentrate on the last 3 years. However, if you want to include older information, you can of course do so.

• I have read that the file "CV with portfolio" can only be 10 pages long. Can I include more than one picture on each page? That is, more than one image per page?

  Yes.

• I have a non-German identity card. On the back it does not say my Berlin registration address. What do I do then?

  Non-European citizens: Please submit a copy of your passport or passport replacement, a copy of the registration confirmation from the Residents’ Registration Office plus a copy of your residence permit or certificate of right of residence (if not included in your passport). Sometimes, your residency permit is equal to a passport replacement and also holds your adress. Both sides of this will be sufficient.

  European citizens: Please submit a copy of your passport plus a current copy of the registration confirmation from the Residents’ Registration Office.

• I am a European citizen. Do I have to submit a residence permit?

  No. Please submit a copy of your passport plus a copy of the registration confirmation from the Residents’ Registration Office.

• My residence permit is about to expire. I have not been given an appointment for renewal for a few weeks. What should I do?

  Please send the current title plus appointment confirmation.

• What is a GbR (Erklärung) declaration?

  If you work as an established group of artists, you may already have a GbR contract. In this case, please submit it. If you are only forming a GbR for the application, it must be proven in the portfolio and CV that this is a “firmly established” group that has been working together for at least 2 years. Then please download the form “GbR-Erklärung” on the scholarship website, have it signed by all participants and upload it in the online application.
  Please understand that the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion cannot answer any questions regarding tax or private law in this regard. If necessary, please consult your tax advisor or the responsible tax office.

• I have questions about (or problems with) the online application.

  Have you looked at the FAQ about the online form yet? You can find them here:
  https://www.berlin.de/sen/kultur/foerderung/antragscenter/artikel.85073.php

  If you still have questions about submitting your application online, please contact your funding program information sheet contact person.

3. After submitting the application

• Coming soon...

Missing a question? Please write to [e-mail] with “Add FAQ” in the subject line.

Please submit your application – together with all relevant documentation – online.
Submit an application online