Uppsala International Artist Residency 2026 — residency in Sweden with a grant, exhibition and research of a historic district

Two weeks in Uppsala, working within the historic cultural quarter and the chance to see the city through the eyes of an artist-researcher.
Uppsala Konstnärsklubb has launched an international open call for artists willing to engage with the memory of place, the urban environment, local history and contemporary artistic practices.

About the residency
The residency takes place in the Walmstedtska cultural quarter—a historic district in the centre of Uppsala, situated by the river and surrounded by 19th-century buildings. It is here that the Uppsala Konstnärsklubb’s studio and gallery are located, which will serve as the artist’s main workspace during the programme.
The main theme of the residency is an exploration of the location itself — its history, social memory and cultural layers. The organisers invite the artist to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of Walmstedtska gården — a historic residence linked to 19th-century university life in Sweden. In the past, professors, researchers and collectors lived here, and today part of the space has been converted into the Professorhemmet museum, which preserves the atmosphere of a bourgeois home of that era.
For many artists, this programme may present a rare opportunity to work not merely in a studio, but within an existing historical context, where contemporary art intersects with archives, urban memory and the everyday life of the city.

How the programme works
The residency runs from 12 to 26 October 2026 and concludes with an exhibition at Galleri 2. The format of the final project is entirely open: it could be an installation, a research process, a performance, documentation, a video, a sound piece, or any other artistic format.
The organisers emphasise that it is not only the final result that matters to them, but also the public artistic process. During the residency, the artist will take part in a public meeting, an open studio session and the exhibition opening. The programme emphasises dialogue with the local community and the exchange of experiences with artists from Uppsala Konstnärsklubb.
Joint dinners, professional discussions and informal meetings with local artists form an important part of the programme. This is precisely why the residency is particularly suited to artists for whom human connections and the opportunity to integrate into the local art scene are important. To participate, artists will need a good command of English, as the programme includes public events, discussions and interaction with the local community.

What the residency offers
The programme offers:
—an artist’s fee of 30,000 SEK (approx. €2,600);
— accommodation for 14 nights;
— a daily allowance of 300 SEK per day (approx. €27);
— coverage of travel expenses up to 10,000 SEK (approx. €870);
— a materials budget of 3,000 SEK (approx. €260).
Participants are also provided with a private studio at Uppsala Konstnärsklubb and the opportunity to exhibit their final project in the residency’s gallery. For a short two-week programme, this is a rather rare form of support, as the residency combines a research process, a public programme and a full-scale exhibition.

Who is eligible
The Open Call is open to professional artists living outside Sweden and working in any media or artistic formats. The organisers are particularly interested in artists who are prepared to bring an “outsider’s perspective” to the local environment in Uppsala and explore the interaction between the past and the present.
The residency is suitable for artists working with the urban environment, archives, site-specific practices, the memory of place, research, performance, installation and interdisciplinary projects.

How to apply
To apply, you must submit:
— a CV;
— a portfolio of up to 5 pages;
— a cover letter of up to 500 words;
— a single PDF file of up to 5 MB.
All materials must be submitted in English. In the cover letter, the organisers ask you to explain why you are interested in this particular project, how you plan to engage with the residency’s theme, and what you hope to achieve during your stay in Uppsala.

The deadline for applications is 7 June 2026.