Residency period: 16 September – 16 December 2026
Location: PRAKSIS, Oslo, Norway
**Deadline: **17 June 2026, 23:59 CEST
For: Professional artists and cultural practitioners based in Nordic/Baltic countries outside Norway
Number of places: 2 residents

PRAKSIS seeks two artists or cultural practitioners whose research and practice embraces exchange, public dialogue and engagement with young people. In the course of the residency, they will have the opportunity to work both independently and in dialogue with one another. They will also be invited to participate in a wider conversation about the ways cultural institutions envisage and communicate with their publics, and the contributions young people can make towards the broadening of access to cultural experience and production.

To that end, they will be introduced to PRAKSIS’s Teen Advisory Board. The Board is currently researching and developing strategies that can enable institutions to enhance their accessibility for young people—for example through changes in language, use of communication platforms, curatorial practice and institutional planning. In October, both residents will have the opportunity to attend the X-day Nordic Youth Conference in Oslo, an event developed by PRAKSIS in collaboration with Index in Stockholm and PUBLICS in Helsinki.

The residency forms part of the reflexive examination of established strategies and exploration of future directions that make up PRAKSIS’s 10-year anniversary programme.

Theme
This residency period focuses on institutional critique and future perspectives. It asks how cultural spaces communicate, who they include or exclude, and what habits, codes and barriers shape access. The programme is especially interested in intergenerational exchange, alternative forms of learning and knowledge-sharing, and artistic methods that listen, translate, test and make visible new possibilities for cultural futures.

The residency connects with PRAKSIS Teen Advisory Board and the project Opening Doors, which develops youth-led methods for investigating and improving cultural access. The programme asks how young people experience cultural institutions, what barriers they encounter, and how their perspectives can inform real institutional change.

Applicants may work across visual art, film, writing, performance, sound, design, architecture, socially engaged practice, publishing, education, research or interdisciplinary forms. We are especially interested in practices that can engage generously with young people, dialogue, research, and public formats.

Context: PRAKSIS Teen Advisory Board and Nordic Youth Conference
During the residency, the selected artists will engage with the PRAKSIS Teen Advisory Board, a paid group of young people who meet regularly to investigate cultural institutions, access, communication and participation.

In 2026, this work will connect to a Nordic Youth Conference in Oslo in October, developed in collaboration with PRAKSIS, Index in Stockholm and PUBLICS in Helsinki. The conference will bring together young people, artists, cultural workers and institutions to share methods, questions and findings around youth cultural access.

Residents will be invited to contribute to this context in ways that are meaningful to their practice. This might include:

• leading a workshop or conversation with PTAB
• developing a public contribution for the Nordic Youth Conference
• creating a small artistic, discursive or research-based intervention
• contributing to and/or supporting youth-to-youth outputs such as audio, video, writing, zines or other formats
• contributing to public events
• sharing methods that help young people investigate cultural access, language or institutional structures

The residency is not intended as an instrumental education commission. Rather, it offers artists time, context and support to develop their own practice in dialogue with young people, institutions and transnational peers.

What the residency offers

• accommodation in Oslo for the residency period
• shared studio space at PRAKSIS
• residency fee: €1,600 per month for three months
• travel support: €350 contribution towards return travel
• production/materials allowance: €400

Total direct support to each artist: €5,550, plus accommodation and studio.

Residents will have access to PRAKSIS’s central Oslo workspace, including a shared studio, programme/event space, kitchen and basic technical equipment. PRAKSIS staff will provide curatorial, practical and production support, including introductions to relevant local artists, institutions, youth facilitators and collaborators.

Facilities and Suitability
PRAKSIS is located in central Oslo and offers residents shared access to a 18 sq m studio and a larger flexible space of 90 sq m. programme and event space, kitchen facilities and basic technical equipment. The space can support research, writing, meetings, workshops, small-scale filming, audio recording, public conversations, talks, screenings, open studios and modest installation or presentation formats.

PRAKSIS is located on the second floor of one of Oslo’s oldest buildings and it is not wheelchair accessible.

The residency is best suited to artists who would benefit from time for research, writing, dialogue, filming, testing ideas, developing methods or creating small-scale public outcomes. It is less suited to practices requiring extensive fabrication, heavy equipment, large-scale production or complex shipping.

Requirements
English is the common language at PRAKSIS and residents must be sufficiently fluent to participate in group discussion and activity.

Residents are expected to involve themselves fully in the work of the residency: joining discussions, participating in events and engaging with the resident community.

Accepting a residency involves a commitment to participation for the full residency term.

You will be asked to give a short public presentation to share your practice with your peers.

Expectations

• be based in Oslo for the residency period
• develop an artistic, research-based or discursive project connected to the residency theme
• engage with PRAKSIS Teen Advisory Board through at least one workshop, conversation, visit or shared working session
• want to engage in dialogue about their practice and the residency themes

Residents have the opportunity, should they wish, to:

• contribute to the Nordic Youth Conference in October
• take part in a public “Meet the Residents” event
• participate in selected meetings, meals, peer exchanges or public moments organised by PRAKSIS
• publicly present their work through an event developed in dialogue with PRAKSIS

Who can apply
This open call is for professional artists and cultural practitioners based in Nordic/Baltic countries outside Norway.

Applicants may be based in: Denmark; Finland; Faroe Islands; Greenland; Iceland; Sweden; Åland; Estonia; Latvia; or Lithuania.

Applicants do not need to work directly with young people already, but should have a genuine interest in exchange, access, learning, communication or public engagement.

We welcome applications from practitioners working across disciplines, including but not limited to visual art, moving image, writing, performance, sound, design, architecture, socially engaged practice, education, publishing, curating and artistic research.

Selection Criteria

• artistic quality and clarity of practice
• relevance to the residency theme
• interest in youth perspectives, access, language, inclusion or institutional change
• feasibility within the time, facilities and budget available
• openness to exchange, dialogue and collaborative contexts
• potential contribution to PTAB and the Nordic Youth Conference

Selection will also aim to support diversity of geography, background, practice and perspective.

How to apply
Please complete the application form here. You will be asked to:

• Short statement of interest
  Maximum [500 words], describing why this residency is relevant to your practice and how you might engage with the theme.

• Initial area of enquiry
  Maximum [500 words], outlining what you might like to research, test, develop or share during the residency.

• Short biography
  Maximum [200 words].

• Portfolio / documentation
  Up to 6 pages or 6 links to relevant work.

Deadline: 17 June 2026, 23:59 CEST
Applicants will be notified by the end of June

Access and care
PRAKSIS is committed to creating a safe, inclusive and non-discriminatory environment for residents, participants and audiences. We recognise that access needs may be physical, cognitive, social, linguistic, financial or related to care responsibilities. Applicants are not required to disclose access needs in the application, but selected residents will be invited to discuss how PRAKSIS can support their participation within the practical limits of the programme.

The studio space at PRAKSIS is not wheelchair accessible, but should this be a need, PRAKSIS will seek alternative studio options.

Because this residency involves engagement with young people, residents will be expected to work in ways that are respectful, consent-based and age-appropriate. PRAKSIS will provide guidance and support for all activities involving PTAB participants.

About PRAKSIS
PRAKSIS is a not-for-profit centre for art, research and learning based in Oslo. Its activity fosters creative practice and discourse through exchange. Since 2015, PRAKSIS has developed residencies, youth programmes, peer-learning formats, publications, exhibitions, workshops and public events that connect artists, researchers, institutions and wider publics.

About Opening Doors
Opening Doors: Youth Evidence for Cultural Access is a transnational youth project led by PRAKSIS with Index in Stockholm and PUBLICS in Helsinki. The project develops a Youth Cultural Access Observatory in which young people research how cultural institutions communicate, welcome and involve young audiences. Through site visits, interviews, workshops, youth-led outputs and public events, the project produces evidence and tools to support more inclusive cultural practice.

The residency is funded by The Nordic Culture Point. Opening Doors is co-funded by the European Union via the Erasmus+ Youth programme.