SONDER is seeking 10 socially engaged artists to join a collaborative international residency in Greece. We welcome creators from visual arts, comics/illustration, photography, video/film, sound/music, painting, performance, creative writing, animation, and social design: artists who are eager to co-create with peers and local communities.
Our project uses art as a catalyst for empathy and inclusion. Through participatory processes and storytelling, the residency empowers artists to surface unheard voices, connect personal narratives with shared European experiences, and craft impactful, public-facing works.
Key dates
- Deadline to Apply: 1 December 2025
- Selected Artists Announced: 31 January 2026
- Online Info Event for Selected Participants: 1 March 2026
- SONDER Art Residency in Larissa, Greece: May 2026 (5 days)
How to Apply
All applications must be submitted in English by email to communitiesmed@gmail.com
with the subject line: SONDER Residency Application – [Your Name]
Your email should include the following:
- Motivation & Artistic Proposal (max. 500 words in total)
Write a combined statement describing your artistic background, motivation for joining the SONDER residency, and how your work connects with the project’s themes of identity, visibility, and inclusion. Outline the concept or idea you wish to explore during the residency, your preferred medium or approach, and how you imagine collaborating with other artists or local communities. - Portfolio / Work Samples
Include up to 5 images, video links, or online portfolio references that best represent your artistic practice. - Short Bio (max. 200 words)
Provide a concise artist biography written in the third person, summarising your background, interests, and key achievements. - Contact Details
Add your full name, country of residence, email address, and phone number.
Deadline to apply: 1 December 2025
All submissions will be reviewed by an international jury of project partners. Only complete applications received before the deadline will be considered.
Who can Apply
SONDER welcomes applications from emerging and mid-career artists working in any creative field — including visual arts, painting, comics, photography, video, sound, performance, music, writing, and design — who are eager to collaborate across disciplines and engage with social issues through art.
Applicants must:
- Be 18 years or older and legal residents of an EU Member State or a country eligible under the CERV programme;
- Be able to communicate and collaborate in English during the residency;
- Be available to participate fully in the 5-day residency in Greece (May 2026).
Thematic focus
We are particularly interested in artists whose work explores:
- Afrophobia and structural racism in Europe;
- Black women’s lived experiences and voices;
- Intersectionality (race, gender, migration, class);
- Colour consciousness — naming race, not erasing it;
- Memory, identity, belonging, and diaspora;
- Everyday resistance and dignity;
- Storytelling as activism.
We encourage applications from artists who self-identify with or work closely alongside marginalised communities, and from those who use creative practice as a tool for visibility, empowerment, and dialogue.
What we offer
- Fully funded participation in a 5-day international art residency in Greece (May 2026) — all travel, accommodation, and subsistence costs are covered by the project.
- A collaborative and inclusive creative environment where 10 artists from different disciplines co-create around the themes of identity, visibility, and belonging.
- Workshops and mentoring led by experienced artists, educators, and community facilitators on visual storytelling, participatory methods, and intercultural creation.
- Access to equipped creative spaces and materials for visual, performative, and digital experimentation.
- Professional visibility and promotion through the SONDER website, exhibition, and international dissemination activities.
- Networking opportunities with cultural professionals, community organisations, and EU partners active in art, equality, and civic participation.
One participant will be selected for a fully funded cultural trip to Kenya, as part of SONDER’s intercultural dialogue and exchange activities.
What we expect
- Full participation in all residency sessions, workshops, and collaborative creation activities.
- Contribution to the collective artwork or final showcase presented publicly at the end of the residency.
- Respectful engagement with peers and local communities, following SONDER’s principles of equality, empathy, and inclusion.
- Willingness to document your process (text, images, or short reflections) for the project’s publication and visibility.
Selection
Applications will be reviewed by representatives from all SONDER partner organisations. Each submission will be evaluated individually using a point-based system, and the results will be discussed collectively during a partner meeting to ensure a balanced and inclusive selection.
A total of 10 artists will be selected based on the following criteria:
- Strength and consistency of artistic portfolio
- Artistic quality and originality of the work
- Motivation and commitment to SONDER’s themes of identity, inclusion, and equality
- Relevance and feasibility of the proposed concept
- Potential for personal and professional growth through participation
- Capacity to collaborate and work across disciplines
- Awareness of social impact and sustainability in artistic practice
- Readiness to engage in community-based creative processes
- Demonstrated professionalism and reliability
- Contribution to diversity and representation within the group
The selection committee aims to ensure gender balance, cultural diversity, and interdisciplinary representation among participants.
About SONDER
SONDER – Each life is as vivid and complex as any other is a CERV initiative that brings together active citizens, artists and communities to reimagine how stories of identity and belonging are shared across Europe. At its heart lies a belief in visibility, equality, and the transformative power of art to bridge divides and inspire mutual understanding.
Through residencies, workshops, and public art events, SONDER challenges stereotypes and amplifies the voices of people who are often left unheard. It focuses particularly on Afro-European communities and Black women, whose experiences of racism and exclusion are rarely given space in mainstream cultural narratives. SONDER turns those lived realities into creative forces for change, using art as dialogue and empowerment.
Partners
- ΕΛΛΗΝΟ – ΚΕΝΥΑΤΙΚΟ ΕΠΙΜΕΛΗΤΗΡΙΟ (Greece, coordinator)
- ComMedi (Greece)
- CESIE ETS (Italy)
- A.B. INSTITUTE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT LTD (Cyprus)
- ENWAD (Spain)
For further information
Read more on the project fact sheet.
Contact Mohamed Bashir Omar, mohamed.bashiromar@cesie.org.
