Five-week residencies in Antwerp support four artist and artworker collectives with €5,000, workspace, accommodation, and access to the wpZimmer community.
Table of Contents
The wpZimmer Open Call 2027 invites artist and artworker collectives to apply for one of four five-week residencies in Antwerp, Belgium. Each selected collective receives a financial contribution of €5,000 excl. VAT, two workspaces, shared accommodation for up to six people, and access to wpZimmer’s community and knowledge. The call centers collective practice, experimentation, process-oriented methods, interdisciplinary work, and forms of gathering that move outside conventional black box and white cube settings. Collectives must include at least three artists or art workers, and at least one member must live or work in Belgium. Applications close September 20, 2026 at 23:59 CET.
OF THE FIELD.
wpZimmer Open Call 2027 Snapshot
What: Five-week residency for collectives developing collective artistic practices
Who: Existing, new, or temporary collectives of at least three artists or art workers. At least one member must live or work in Belgium.
Where: wpZimmer, Antwerp, Belgium
Award / Support: €5,000 excl. VAT per collective; two workspaces; shared accommodation for a maximum of six people; access to wpZimmer’s community and knowledge
Application Fee: FREE
Residency Duration: Five weeks
Application Opens: June 19, 2026
Deadline: September 20, 2026 at 23:59 CET
Official Link: https://wpzimmer.be/en/open-call/open-call-2027-2/
Strategy Coach Notes: https://www.patreon.com/pformart/posts/wpzimmer-open-168205543
Get The Application Strategy
This application is unusually concentrated. Applicants receive a maximum of 600 words to describe their practice through wpZimmer’s published criteria. The jury states that it will base its decision on what applicants share in this text and will not consult additional websites or inserts during the decision process. The application therefore needs to establish the collective, its current stage of development, its methods, its approach to gathering people, and the form of reciprocal relationship it could develop with wpZimmer inside a tightly coordinated response. Practitioner members can access the Strategy Coach Notes for a detailed analysis of the criteria, application questions, reviewer process, and ways to structure the 600-word response.
About wpZimmer Open Call 2027
wpZimmer’s 2027 open call supports collectives interested in developing collective practice. Applicants may be existing, new, or temporary collectives. The FAQ explicitly allows applicants to use the residency to build a collective. The practice should be process-oriented and extend beyond the production of a single artistic project. wpZimmer describes this approach as one that can include influences, ideas, materials, tools, and skills. Applicants should work across disciplines, media, contexts, or themes and should be interested in experimenting with collectivity itself.
Four collectives will receive residencies. Each residency runs for five weeks, and residents determine how they use their time during that period. Daily attendance is not required. wpZimmer hosts a communal lunch on Tuesdays with informal conversation between the team and resident collective. Residents have access to workspaces during the day, evenings, and weekends. wpZimmer describes the relationship with residents as reciprocal and asks applicants to consider what forms of exchange with the organization would be meaningful during their residency.
What Is Offered
- €5,000 excl. VAT financial contribution per selected collective
- Collective manages the residency budget
- Five-week residency period
- Technically equipped studio of approximately 18m x 17m
- Medium-sized atelier of approximately 4m x 13m
- Atelier adapted to physical practices with limited technical equipment
- Shared accommodation for a maximum of six people per residency slot
- Access to wpZimmer’s community and knowledge
International artists may participate in a collective or be invited during the residency. wpZimmer states that it will not be accountable for travel costs, insurance, and related expenses.
Who Should Apply
The call is for collectives of at least three artists or art workers. At least one member must live or work in Belgium. wpZimmer defines art workers broadly as people working in a creative field. The collective may already exist, may be newly formed, or may be temporary. Applicants should want to experiment with collective practice, use a process-oriented approach, work across disciplines or media, create encounters that bring people together in non-traditional or innovative ways, and develop a reciprocal relationship with wpZimmer.
Collectives can include more than six people. The accommodation limit applies to sleeping spaces rather than the maximum size of the collective.
wpZimmer Open Call 2027 Timeline
Applications Open: June 19, 2026
Application Deadline: September 20, 2026 at 23:59 CET
Notification: November 2026
Residency 1: March 15 to April 18, 2027
Residency 2: May 17 to June 20, 2027
Residency 3: October 11 to November 12, 2027
Residency 4: November 22 to December 24, 2027
wpZimmer will accept a maximum of 100 applications and states that it will share an update when registrations reach the 50% threshold.
Why wpZimmer Open Call 2027 Matters
The structure gives collectives substantial control over five weeks of development. The €5,000 excl. VAT contribution is managed directly by the selected collective, while wpZimmer provides workspace and accommodation separately. The residency can support an emerging collective practice, the development of a methodology, experimentation with ways of working together, or the formation of a new collective. Its criteria place particular attention on process, interdisciplinarity, gathering, and reciprocity. The application is also concise. The primary written response is limited to 600 words, and wpZimmer explicitly connects jury assessment to how applicants address the published criteria.
Apply to wpZimmer Open Call 2027
OF THE FIELD.
Applications can be submitted in English or Dutch. The form cannot be saved before submission, so wpZimmer advises applicants to prepare materials in advance. Applications sent by email will not be considered.
Applicants provide collective and member information, a maximum 50-word explanation of the collective’s connection to Belgium, preferred residency dates, a maximum 600-word application, up to 10 images, and optional video and website links.
Deadline: September 20, 2026 at 23:59 CET
Official Link: https://wpzimmer.be/en/open-call/open-call-2027-2/
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