Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral
Villenpromenade 11
56130 Bad Ems
Germany
Telephone: +49 (0) 2603 9419-0
info(at)balmoral.de

Aims and objectives
Artists’ residence Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral in Bad Ems was founded in 1995 and is a place of reflection, artistic production, discussion and meeting. It supports visual artists from all over the world by awarding artists-in-residence fellowships.

The Künstlerhaus is publicly presented through lectures, concerts and exhibitions. Works by the fellows are regularly shown in ‘Made in Balmoral’, the Künstlerhaus’s exhibition space in the Bad Ems city centre. Schloss Balmoral sees itself as an interface between artistic work and theoretical reflection and as a point of contact between former and present fellows. Balmoral intends to build a bridge between the artists' present and their future.

Since 2013, fellowships are offered in one artistic genre or one theme each year. This offering, which is unique in Germany, is intended to enable intensive mutual creative exchange among the resident artists. It will also lead to a more intensive specialist exchange of ideas with external artists, speakers, teachers, curators, etc.

If possible, a final exhibition for all fellows of a vintage, will be realised following the fellowships.

Eligibility
Eligible to apply for a Balmoral fellowship are visual artists of any age from Germany and around the world. 

The preconditions for applicants for the residential fellowships for visual artists are a completed course of study in art (M.F.A. or comparable) and three years of continuous artistic work after the conclusion of studies until the beginning of the fellowship. Applications are also possible for autodidacts distinguished by special artistic achievements, as documented by exhibitions and prizes.

Knowledge of German or English is expected.
 
Benefits and requirements
Balmoral fellowships are residential fellowships; continuous presence is obligatory.
  
The fellowships are endowed with 1,400 € a month plus subsidy to the travel costs for arrival and departure.
  
Two fellowships are awarded for the period of four months. Four fellowships are awarded for the period of eight months. All residential fellowships run from April each year.

All artists invited will have their registered residence in Bad Ems for the time of their stay (compulsory registration). Artists must be free of all professional commitments for the period of their fellowships.

The fellowship holders are provided free of charge with a furnished room in the artists’ residence for living and sleeping, with shower/WC and a studio. Due to the historic nature the building is not barrier-free and the apartments and studios in terms of their size and equipment are normally only suitable for one single person. The conditions of use are governed by the House Rules, which the fellowship holder must observe. The artists’ residence bears all ancillary costs including water, electricity and heating. The lounge, the dining room and the kitchen are for joint use. Pets are not admitted.

A library with around 6,000 books, mainly on modern and contemporary art as well as the most important art magazines, is available free of charge to the fellowship holders.

After the fellowship acceptance, the applicant will receive an agreement concluded with the Künstlerhaus and the house rules. Once the contract has been signed by the fellowship holder, the award of the fellowship is legally binding.  

Fellows are required to write a report about their stay in the Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral afterwards.

Selection procedure
The decision on the award of the fellowships is made by a jury of experts taking into special consideration the potential of the artistic work for development. The members of the jury make their choice according to the quality of the work samples applicants have to hand in together with their application (for more details see »application«). 

The selection committee normally consists of one chairperson and eight members of the jury who are expert representatives of the following professional groups:

• the manager of the Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral as chairman/chairwoman
• an art critic 
• a museum director or curator 
• the chairman/chairwomen of the Balmoral Committee of the Council of the Mainz Art School
• another member to be nominated by the Art School Council
• a member of the artists associations in the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate 
• a visual artist 
• a former fellow 
• the desk officer of the Ministry of Science, Further Education and Culture of Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz

The most common mistakes when applying

Less than three years artistic career after graduation (residency fellowships)
The beginning of the fellowship is significant 

Wrong genre/wrong theme (residency fellowships)

Bachelor degree
Master degree or comparable is necessary

Double application

Application procedure
All fellowships are announced publicly.

It is not possible to apply for a Balmoral residence fellowship and a fellowship of the Ministry of Science, Further Education and Culture of Rhineland-Palatinate in the same year. Applications for a Balmoral residence fellowship are only allowed for four or eight months.
 
The decision on the award of the fellowships will be made by a panel of experts in consideration of the applicants’ capability of further developing their artistic work. 
 
There is no legal claim to obtaining a fellowship.
 
The applicants will not receive any reasons in writing for the decision made on the awarding of the fellowships, but will be informed of the result; preferable by e-mail.
 
Applicants who were not accepted are not allowed to apply in the following year neither for the same nor another fellowship. They may apply again for a maximum of two further Balmoral residence fellowships.
 
The awarding of a fellowship from Balmoral or the Ministry of Science, Further Education and Culture Rhineland-Palatinate excludes further applications in the following five years after the end of the fellowship.
 
An application will not be accepted if the same fellowship has already been awarded to that candidate.
 

Application documents (no originals!)
1. Two-sided application form 
2. CV including your artistic career history and previous grants
3. Diploma
4. Explanations to the artistic work and aims during the stay (altogether max. 300 words) 
5. At most 10 photos or other images of the artistic work (no slides, no photo CDs, no Mac data CDs)

Optional:
- At most one exhibition catalogue; no collective catalogues 
- At most 1 video file in mp4 format, no longer than 15 minutes, via WeTransfer to info@balmoral.de; file name: name of applicant, title, fellowship

The application materials must not exceed A4 size and a total weight of 2 kg incl. packing. The Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral is not responsible for submitted application material. 

Applications by e-mail will not be accepted. 

Application form
An application form is available for download during the application period for each fellowship and must be completed and submitted with the application. Applications without a filled application form will not be accepted. 

Return of documents
Reshipment of the application documents will take place upon receipt of payment of EUR 15 on account mentioned in the application form. Reception of fee after the deadline will not be considered.

Please note: If the reshipment is not marked in the application form, the documents will be destroyed automatically after the completion of the selection procedure. Exclusion of liability The Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral assumes no liability for any application.

Send your application to:
Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral
Villenpromenade 11
56130 BAD EMS
GERMANY 

We will acknowledge receipt by e-mail as soon as all data is recorded. 
Please note that it could take up to 4 weeks.

CURATORIAL FELLOWSHIP

Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral
Villenpromenade 11
56130 Bad Ems
Telephone: +49 (0) 2603 9419-0
info(at)balmoral.de

Tasks and aims 
Founded in 1995, Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral in Bad Ems is a place for reflection, artistic production and discussion and as a meeting place. It supports and fosters fine artists from around the world by awarding residential fellowships. Schloss Balmoral functions as a medium between past and present fellows. It seeks to form a bridge between the artists’ present and their future.

The Künstlerhaus presents public events such as talks and lectures, concerts and exhibitions. Works by resident artists are regularly shown in the exhibition space of the Künstlerhaus in the centre of Bad Ems.

Schloss Balmoral sees itself as an interface between artistic work and theoretical reflection. This is why we are advertising a Residential Fellowship for a Curator. The fellowship will involve organising and putting on three group exhibitions in the exhibition space of the Künstlerhaus in the centre of Bad Ems, in collaboration with the artists in residence. Ideally, we would also like the fellowship holder to develop a programme of events to take place during each exhibition. After all, as Jean Christoph Amman once said in Bad Ems, “Contemporary art needs explaining”. Words, like keys, are able to unlock new (thought) spaces and make it possible to get to grips with artistic ideas.

If, following on from the fellowships, a final exhibition takes place featuring all fellowship holders, the fellowship holder accompanies it curatorially in cooperation with the management of the Künstlerhaus.

Requirements
The curatorial fellowship is being advertised for applicants (m/f/d) from Germany and internationally with university degree (at least M.A.) and first curatorial experience. A good command of German and English is required.

What is expected
The curatorial fellowship is conceived as a residential programme, which means that intensive location-specific work at Schloss Balmoral is required.

The residency will be awarded for a period of eight months and will include a scholarship of EUR 1,400 per month plus a supplement for travel expenses to Schloss Balmoral. The residency begins in April.

The fellow will take Bad Ems as their main fixed place of residence for the period of the residency (registration with the authorities is obligatory).

The fellow will be provided free of charge with a furnished apartment in the Künstlerhaus with living/bed space, shower, toilet and a studio. Due to this being an historic listed building, it is unfortunately not barrier-free, and the size and fittings of the apartments and studios means that they are generally only suitable for one person. The terms of use are set out in the house rules, compliance with which is obligatory.  All ancillary expenses such as water electricity and heating will be covered by the Künstlerhaus

A common room, dining room and kitchen invite residents to meet and exchange ideas and spend time in each others’ company. The fellow will also be able to use the library, which contains some 6,000 volumes, mainly on modern and contemporary art, and the major art journals.

 The successful applicant will be sent a fellowship contract and a copy of the house rules with their confirmation of acceptance. The residential fellowship is awarded with legally-binding effect once the contract has been signed by the fellow.

The fellow is asked to write a report on their residency in Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral after the residency has finished.

Selection process
The decision on the award of the residential fellowship will be made by an expert jury on the basis in particular of the potential for the theoretical and curatorial work for development within the framework of the programme. The jurors will make their selection according to criteria of quality on the basis of samples of work submitted by the applicants (see below for details).

Application
An application form for each fellowship is ready for download during the application period. This must be completed and sent with the application.

Application documents:

• 2 page application form with passport photo
• CV
• degree certificate
• reasons for choosing to appy for the residency (maximum 300 words)
• list of publications (if any)
• selection of published scholarly essays

You can find further information on how to apply here.