€4,000 support for archive-based artistic research in one of 10 archives and an exhibition in Germany
The FILE NOT FOUND Artistic Research Residency invites artists from around the world to engage directly with archives through a research-driven residency between August 2026 and May 2027. Selected artists receive €2,000 as an artist fee, €2,000 in production support, and up to €2,000 for travel and accommodation while developing an artistic project in dialogue with a host archive. The resulting work will be presented in a group exhibition at BLMK Cottbus in 2027.
Artists working across visual art, performance, media, installation, artistic research, theatre, and interdisciplinary practices are eligible to apply. The residency is particularly interested in artists engaging questions of memory, archives, knowledge production, institutional critique, vulnerability, preservation, and alternative forms of archiving.
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Opportunity Snapshot
What: Artistic Research Residency
Who: Artists worldwide working in visual arts, performing arts, media arts, installation, theatre, artistic research, heritage research, and interdisciplinary practices
Where: Host archive locations, final exhibition in Germany
Award / Support:
– €2,000 artist fee
– €2,000 production budget
– Travel and accommodation up to €2,000
– Archive access
– Curatorial support
– Institutional support
Residency Duration: 2 weeks to 2 months
Application Opens: May 8, 2026
Deadline: June 7, 2026, 12:00 (GMT+1)
Official Link: https://www.goethe.de/prj/fnf/en/oca.html
Strategy Coach Notes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/strategy-coach-159962238
Get The Application Strategy
This residency is built around a highly specific relationship between artist and archive. The strongest applications will demonstrate a clear research question, a direct relationship to the selected archive, and a realistic plan for transforming archival inquiry into a public artwork. Reviewers are evaluating proposal clarity, feasibility, logistics, and archive relevance. Every section of the application must reinforce those priorities. The Strategy Coach Notes examine how to select the right archive, structure the 1,500-character project description, build a workable residency timeline, develop a focused €2,000 production budget, and create alignment across the proposal, CV, and portfolio.
About FILE NOT FOUND Artistic Research Residency
FILE NOT FOUND is an international artistic research initiative organized through the Goethe-Institut and project partners working with archives, memory, and contemporary artistic practice. Artists are invited to work directly with one archive selected from the available archive partners. The residency centers on artistic research and encourages approaches that investigate how archives shape knowledge, preserve memory, produce visibility, and regulate access.
The residency operates through a research and production model. Artists conduct on-site research within a host archive, develop an artistic response, and ultimately contribute a work to a collective exhibition at BLMK in Cottbus, Germany. Participants are also required to submit a residency report documenting their research questions, process, materials, reflections, and documentation. Final payment is tied to the successful completion of this report.
Choose One Archive
Applicants must select one archive only when applying. The archive selection is the foundation of the proposal and one of the primary evaluation criteria. The application requires artists to explain why they selected a particular archive, which archival materials they intend to work with, and how those materials connect to their research question and artistic outcome. Reviewers are explicitly assessing the relevance of the project to the chosen archive, making archive selection one of the most important decisions in the application process.
The FILE NOT FOUND project brings together ten archives from around the world that engage different histories, communities, artistic practices, and approaches to preservation. Each archive offers distinct collections, research opportunities, institutional contexts, and residency conditions. Applicants should carefully review the holdings, mission, and focus of each archive before developing a proposal. The strongest applications emerge from a direct relationship between the archive’s materials, the research methodology, and the envisioned artwork.
Acervo Bajubá (Brazil)
Acervo Bajubá is a community archive dedicated to documenting and preserving the histories, memories, art, and cultural production of Brazilian LGBT+ communities. The collection supports research into sexual diversity, gender expression, queer memory, historiography, and community-based archival practices. The archive also engages in exhibitions, education, mediation, and public programming designed to circulate narratives surrounding LGBT+ histories in Brazil.
The ArQuives (Canada)
The ArQuives is one of the world’s largest independent LGBTQ2+ archives. Its collection preserves materials in multiple formats created by and about 2SLGBTQIA+ communities in Canada. The archive combines preservation, public programming, scholarship, community engagement, and outreach initiatives focused on expanding representation and documenting queer histories.
China Modern Art Archive (China)
The China Modern Art Archive (ACAC) at Peking University collects and preserves contemporary literature, documents, and historical materials related to modern and contemporary art in China and internationally. The archive serves researchers, artists, scholars, and the public through open access and documentation initiatives focused on contemporary cultural production.
documenta archiv (Germany)
Founded in 1961, documenta archiv was established to preserve the history of the documenta exhibitions and support future artistic directors. The archive contains texts, images, publications, records, and objects related to modern and contemporary art. It also houses a significant research library focused on twentieth- and twenty-first-century artistic practices and exhibition histories.
Arsenal Filminstitut (Germany)
Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst maintains a film archive of approximately 10,000 titles and supports research into film culture, moving image practices, exhibition histories, and cinematic preservation. Through initiatives such as Living Archive, the institution treats archival work as an artistic and collaborative practice while examining colonial histories, migration, political movements, and film heritage.
Kurdistan Centre for Arts & Culture (Iraq)
Based in Erbil, the Kurdistan Centre for Arts & Culture works to preserve and promote Kurdish heritage, art, and cultural history. The archive engages with documents, materials, and histories that survived decades of persecution, displacement, destruction, and dispersal. The collection offers opportunities for research into cultural memory, identity, historical recovery, and preservation.
Imagine IC & The Need for Legacy (Netherlands)
This residency combines two complementary archival initiatives.
Imagine IC operates as a hybrid archive, museum, and gathering space that pioneers participatory collecting practices. Through community-centered heritage work, roundtables, and collaborative documentation, the institution investigates urban life, migration, memory, and cultural coexistence.
The Need for Legacy focuses on documenting and preserving the histories of BIPOC performing artists in the Netherlands. Through its House of Legacies platform, the organization seeks to make underrepresented performing arts histories accessible to artists, scholars, students, and broader publics. Together, these partners offer rich opportunities for artists interested in performance history, community archives, heritage democracy, migration, and cultural representation.
VEHA Archive (Poland)
The VEHA Archive is an independent digital archive focused on twentieth-century vernacular photography from Belarus. Drawing from family collections and personal archives, VEHA investigates everyday life, social history, and cultural practices often absent from official historical records. The archive combines visual research with artistic interpretation and contemporary cultural analysis.
National Museum of Contemporary Art (Portugal)
The National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC) holds a major collection of Portuguese art spanning 1850 to the present, including painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and new media. Alongside the collection, the museum maintains extensive documentation resources that support research and knowledge production. Under its current direction, the institution emphasizes feminist-informed curatorial approaches, community engagement, dialogue, and critical reflection.
South African History Archive (South Africa)
The South African History Archive (SAHA), located at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, was founded by anti-apartheid activists in the late 1980s. The archive documents historical and contemporary struggles for social justice while preserving hidden, marginalized, and neglected histories. Through exhibitions, publications, educational resources, and public engagement initiatives, SAHA actively works to bring archival materials into broader public circulation.
What Is Offered for FILE NOT FOUND Artistic Research Residency
- €2,000 artist fee
- €2,000 production budget
- Travel and accommodation support up to €2,000
- Access to archival materials
- Access to archive spaces
- Access to archive expertise
- Curatorial support
- Institutional support
- Opportunity to exhibit in Germany
- Inclusion in exhibition documentation and publications
Who Should Apply to FILE NOT FOUND Artistic Research Residency
This opportunity is well suited to artists whose practices involve research, archives, documentation, institutional critique, memory studies, media archaeology, performance, visual culture, and interdisciplinary inquiry. Applicants should be comfortable working independently while maintaining an active relationship with archive staff and project partners.
The residency particularly favors projects that emerge from archival engagement rather than projects seeking a location to simply present existing work. Artists should have a strong rationale for selecting a specific archive and a clear understanding of how archival research will drive the development of the final artwork.
Timeline
- May 8, 2026: Open call launches
- June 7, 2026: Application deadline
- June 17–18, 2026: Jury meetings
- June 19, 2026: First responses
- June 22–July 6, 2026: Interviews
- July 15, 2026: Final selections
- August 2026–May 2027: Residency period
- June 30, 2027: Residency report deadline
- October–December 2027: Exhibition presentation
Why FILE NOT FOUND Artistic Research Residency Matters
Many residency programs support artistic production. Fewer provide direct access to archives while positioning research itself as a central artistic method. FILE NOT FOUND creates a structured environment where artists can investigate questions of memory, preservation, deletion, secrecy, access, and institutional knowledge. The exhibition component extends the residency beyond private research and creates a public context for the work. For artists interested in archival practice, contemporary performance, media history, documentation, or institutional critique, this residency offers a substantial framework for developing new work through sustained engagement with primary source materials.
Apply
Official Application Information: FILE NOT FOUND Artistic Research Residency
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