Exchange Residency: Copenhagen-Munich

Exchange Residency: Copenhagen-Munich is an annual three-month residency at Villa Waldberta in Munich for one professional visual artist, focusing on artistic development, knowledge sharing, and professional networking.

The Exchange Residency takes place in the historic building Villa Waldberta by Lake Starnberg in a panoramic area about 40 kilometers south of Munich City center.

With the aim of fostering fruitful exchange and building sustainable relationships between the art scenes of Munich and Copenhagen, the residency offers the selected artists the opportunity to expand their networks and to reflect on and develop their practices through new influences and facilities.

For the 2027 residency, one artist is selected to go to Munich for the period of: 7 July to 29 September 2027.

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THE PROGRAMME

Exchange Residency in Munich offers:

• Accommodation at Villa Waldberta in an individual apartment with a kitchenette and bathroom.
• A monthly stipend of 1,300 euros.
• Material expenses up to 600 euros.
• One round-trip ticket between Copenhagen and Munich (economy class).
• A shared studio space of 80 m² plus access to a glass annex of 25 m², that can be used depending on the weather.
• Ongoing professional sparring from the Munich team as well as professional advice and support by Sophie Eisenried, Dramaturg/Curator at the Münchner Kammerspiele and Curator at Kunstraum München.
• The opportunity to participate in the Open Studio event at Villa Waldberta.

The residency programme also invites the artist to become part of AHC’s alumni network and to have their practice presented on both AHC’s and Villa Waldberta’s communication platforms.

There is no requirement to produce new work during the residency.

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MORE ABOUT VILLA WALDBERTA

Villa Waldberta in Feldafing—perched high above Lake Starnberg with a view of the lake and the Alps—offers five spacious apartments for visiting artists from around the world. The apartments have a size range from appr. 30m² to 70 m², ranging from one room to three rooms.

The salons on the ground floor are ideal for activities with the other fellowship recipients and are regularly used for events. Villa Waldberta includes a large park, the so-called “Chauffeurshäusl” with an additional studio apartment for the summer months, and the 80 m² Palmenhaus, which is used as a studio and exhibition space, as well as for other types of events.

Villa Waldberta is not barrier-free. As the house and park are fully under architectural heritage protection, the Villa Waldberta is unfortunately not accessible by a wheelchair.

See images of Villa Waldberta here.

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APPLICATION CRITERIA

AHC works to create an inclusive and diverse professional environment for a wide range of visual artists across practices, generations, and geographies.

The Exchange Residency in Munich is for artists at different stages of their professional development, both well-established artists and those with relatively young careers.

The residency programme is open to professional visual artists who are based in Copenhagen, and who have an MFA or comparable professional experience.

At the start of the residency, the artist must have completed their education at least three years ago or have worked professionally for a minimum of three years.

It is not possible to apply as a duo or collective.

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SELECTION PROCESS

All artists are selected through an Open Call, assessed by a jury consisting of representatives from AHC, Goethe-Institute Dänemark, the Department of Arts and Culture in the City of Munich, and Kunstraum München.

Applications are assessed based on the quality of the artistic practice and the potential of the residency programme to accelerate the development of the individual artist. The applicant’s motivation and readiness to undertake the residency programme are also assessed, as is the motivation for exchanging with the Munich art scene.

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MORE ABOUT THE PARTNERS OF THE RESIDENCY

The Exchange Residency: Copenhagen-Munich is developed and administrated in a partnership between AHC, Goethe-Institute Dänemark, and the Department of Arts and Culture of the City of Munich. As part of the exchange, the programme also invites a Munich-based artist to take on a residency at AHC in Copenhagen.

Goethe-Institut Dänemark is Germany’s cultural institute in Denmark. The institute promotes knowledge of the German language and fosters international cultural cooperation. In recent years, the Goethe-Institut Dänemark has collaborated with both AHC and the City of Munich on a series of residency projects in Denmark.

For many years, the Department of Arts and Culture of the City of Munich has actively fostered exchange partnerships with cities worldwide and maintains an exceptional artist-in-residence programme that allows international artists and curators to immerse themselves in Munich’s vast and diverse art scene. At Villa Waldberta, located 45 minutes from the city center, artists and curators find the time and tranquility to focus deeply on their artistic practice.

The Kunstraum München serves as a platform for contemporary art, focusing on exhibiting works by both international and regional artists and on publishing accompanying catalogues and editions. Kunstraum München was founded in 1973 as a non-profit art association dedicated to the exhibition and documentation of contemporary art. It emerged from the “Freunde der bildenden Kunst” (Friends of the Visual Arts) association, which had been established back in 1926.

Applications are now open for the Exchange Residency: Copenhagen-Munich 2027.

Find the current Open Call here.

The deadline for applications is Sunday, 1 November 2026, at 11.59 PM.