The application deadline for the Visual Arts Work Grant 2026 ended on Wednesday, 03 September 2025 at 11:00 am. The work grants will be awarded in 2026, subject to the availability of budget funds.
The members of the jury were: Sophie Jung, Arkadij Koscheew, Viktor Neumann, Silke Nowak, Sylvia Sadzinski und Setareh Shahbazi.
Do you encounter difficulties submitting applications for project funding to Berlin’s Senate as a disabled, chronically ill, neurodivergent or deaf artist or culture maker? Get ACCESS support here.
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No. It will not be possible to reapply until the 2027 fellowship year.
Designers (incl. stage/set designers), directors, screenwriters and cinematographers in the field of documentary film and feature film are not eligible to apply. Only the above-mentioned sub-sectors are eligible for funding. In the case of media artists and/or artistic film/video, there must be a clear connection to the visual arts (predominant presentation of the work in exhibition contexts). 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, urban art/art in public spaces, artistic photography, painting, digital/media arts, performance
Yes.
Yes. You could then possibly revise the description again and formulate the work project more specifically.
Yes. Project funding can be combined with grants.
Possibly. The grants 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 grant of €16,000, you could e.g. also have a travel grant of max. €8,000.
No. Applications are possible for single artists and established artist groups. In the case of established 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.
No. Students (including PhD-students) cannot apply. Violations may result in the cancellation of the grant.
If you hold a full professorship: No. If you only have a small teaching assignment or similar, you may apply.
No. Applicants who are enrolled at a university at the time of application and/or during the funding period cannot apply.
No.
No, the grants are only for artists who have their main residence and work center in Berlin.
No. The grant 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).
Please refer to the information sheet for all detailed questions!
This question is almost impossible to answer, as the decision on awarding a grant 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.
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/
In contrast to a project funding, a scholarship is a personal grant. At the end of the grand period, only a progress report must be submitted. Project funding, on the other hand, must be accounted for with original receipts.
The work grant can be freely combined with other grants from domestic and foreign sponsors not named here. In this case, please be sure to inform yourself whether the conditions of the other grant exclude simultaneous acceptance.
The application period for the Visual Arts Work Grant 2026 is expected to begin on Monday, 07 July 2025 and end on Wednesday, 03 September 2025 at 11:00 am.
No. CV/portfolios longer than 10 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.
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).
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.
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 3 September 2025 at 11.00 am cannot be considered. There is no possibility to send in the application by e-mail.
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.
The date is not relevant. It can also be older than 1 year.
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 grant.
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.
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.
In the portfolio (to be combined into one file with the CV on max. 10 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.
Yes.
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.
No. Please submit a copy of your identity card (front and back) or passport plus a copy of the registration confirmation from the Residents’ Registration Office.
Please send the current title plus appointment confirmation.
Contact
Visual Arts Work Grant
Please read the information sheet and the FAQ on the website carefully first.
If you have any further questions, a contact person will be available during the following office hours:
Tuesday & Thursday from
11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Miriam Szymanski