OPEN CALL

Apply now for residencies in 2026

Available residency periods in 2026

Slots from January 2026 to December 2026 can now be applied. Your residency period can be either one or two months long. The periods start and end according to calendar months (the exact available dates may slightly vary, depending on transport connections).  The residency is free of charge.

Deadline for applications is

Friday October 10th, 24:00 GMT

The selection will be made in the beginning of November.
All applicants will be informed by e-mail.

What we Expect and Offer

Our main focus is artists working in experimental fields of art (could be anything from media, video, sound, photography and bio art to poetry, dance and performance, or something else), art-science collaborations and interdisciplinary art projects. We also encourage researchers in humanistic and social sciences with an interdisciplinary approach and critical cultural, environmental and political themes to apply. Organizations in the fields of art, culture and research are also welcome to apply.

The residency period is always free of charge. Please note that we are not able to cover your travel costs, materials, food or other daily expenses. We can provide letters of invitation upon request to help you apply funding.

Our residency house has two apartments for the artists. One apartment can accommodate 1-4 adults or a small family comfortably. Taking along your peer, partner or family is allowed and even encouraged.

The apartments function as combined studio/living spaces and are equipped with basic necessities, furniture and tools for you to use. Please note that the apartments are not suitable for large-scale sculpturing/painting or other potentially messy work methods. It is possible to arrange separate, “rough” working spaces for such work on a case-by-case basis, but these are unheated spaces and therefore only suited for warmer periods.

You are free to do short visits to the mainland, though we expect you to spend the majority (3/4) of your residency period in Örö. Note that we do not expect you to realize a complete project during the residency. You may also use the residency as a catalyst for futher work or to concentrate in some vital phase in your ongoing projects.

Due to the remote location of the island and the quietness of the winter months, the residency programme is often a solitary retreat. We are an artist-run organization with limited resources and operate the residency remotely. Therefore a certain do-it-yourself attitude is required. You’ll mostly be there by yourself so the solitude of the winter season might take some getting used to. That said, there’s usually a service crew taking care of the island infrastructure, along with the occasional tourists. Food and other necessities can be ordered from a shop on the mainland by the ferry or a service boat. To get an idea of living conditions on Örö, please read through the island’s official pages and see our Visitor’s Guide.

We are happy to offer help and advice in practical matters and can arrange meetings, contacts and presentations. After your residency period you are required to write a short report of your experience. We may also occasionally wish to interview you. If it suits your work, you may also participate in our summer exhibition or other exhibition opportunities we might arrange.

The selected applicants need to sign a residency agreement and send us a deposit of 100 euros, which will be returned after the residency when you have filled our online report form.

How to Apply

Note: The application form requires you to sign in with Google in order to upload attachments. If you are not able to sign in, you may try an alternative form here – Please note that in this case you need to email all the attachments to applications@ores.fi separately.

About the Online Application

The form includes basic instructions. The most important thing we’d like to emphasize is for you to consider your time wishes throughly. We’d like to give everyone their preferred timeslot, but this is not always possible. Therefore it’s good if you also select some alternative months. We cannot reschedule after the selection process is over, so make sure you are available on those months you mark as acceptable. Be also sure to mark those months you are not able to come.

Please note that we have limited accommodation and various projects going on during the summer months, which make the summer periods much more difficult to get compared to the winter months. Örö is equally fascinating throughout the year so having more flexibility will increase your chances.

About Your Work Plan

Your Work Plan should be max. 2 sheets, plus any additional images. We do not expect you to realize a complete project during the residency period. You may also use the residency as a catalyst for futher work or to concentrate in some vital phase in your ongoing projects.

Workgroups can either submit a common plan or be more loose-tied with individual work plans.

The language of your Work Plan and other application materials should be either English, Finnish or Swedish.

Required Attachments

Individuals: CV and Work Plan
(+ Portfolio for visual artists, if not online)
Workgroups: CV(s) and Work Plan(s)
(+ Portfolio for visual artists, if not online)
Organizations: Work Plan / Project Proposal

Attachments should be in some the following formats: PDF, JPG, Word, ODF, RTF. The total size of the attachments should not exceed 10MB. Please do not send us video files (you can include video links in your application form and Work Plan).

Please note that any links you send should be available until November 2025. Do not send us material by WeTransfer or other links that expire soon.

The Results

All submitted applications will be peer reviewed by our jury. The jury consists of five artist members of our association and has new members selected each year.

The programme will be published in the beginning of November 2025 and all applicants will be emailed about the results.

Please note that unfortunately our jury is not able to give feedback on individual applications.

For any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.