NB! Would you like to apply for this residency? Go back to Residency (international) for the terms and conditions, assessment and checklist for your application.
The specific Arita porcelain and other porcelain from the Saga prefecture are known for their high quality and the focus on hand painting. The porcelain industry and the tradition of porcelain painting dates back to 1616, and is still alive today. Arita is a town in the province of Saga on Kyushu, the third largest of Japan’s main islands.
The Mondriaan Fund and the Creative Industries Fund (het Stimuleringsfonds) jointly offer two residency periods in the Japanese ceramics region of Saga. The work period in Japan offers promising artists and designers the opportunity to conduct artistic and technical research and to develop their own work, resulting in close interaction with the region’s porcelain products. A significant aspect of this residency is to learn special techniques within Japan’s oldest ceramics industry, and to apply these techniques in the artist’s own work.
The residency is designed to stimulate crossovers and experimentation, to initiate new collaborations between Dutch artists and designers, and to trigger new Japanese porcelain products. An assistant/interpreter is available for a few hours a week to help the residents with meetings at the potteries and to deal with other practical concerns. A Japanese guide is also available to assist the residents and help them find their way in the Saga prefecture of which the city of Arita is part. The experiences and results from the residency are shared in lectures and/or workshops in Arita, and subsequently in the Netherlands.
Per period, an artist and designer are selected to work in Arita. Each resident has their own room in a traditional Japanese house. The living room, bathroom and kitchen are shared.
At the start of the working period, the residents discuss their plans with the director and coordinators. They link the artist to one of the ceramics partners in the Saga prefecture such as Arita, Imari and Ureshino. These partners are close to each other. The area where they are located is also called Hizen.
Hizen ceramics have been known since 1616 and are characterised by their special quality. The potters from Hizen provide technical support, share their knowledge with the artists and help with the baking of the creations.
An assistant coordinator/translator will be on site several days a week to support residents with meetings with the potteries and other practical questions. This coordinator’s assistant also helps participants find their way in and around Arita/Saga.
In 2019, artist Antye Günther and the artist duo Heringa/Van Kalsbeek worked in Arita. The artists Tilmann Meyer-Faje, Isabel Ferrand, Henri Jacobs, Ruta Butkute de Roo, Susan Kooi and Helen Frik all previously stayed at the residence.
For whom
The residency is only open to visual artists, who should apply via the Mondriaan Fund. The artists are expected to have basic knowledge of working with ceramics.
Work period
2 work periods are available:
- 1 June to 31 August 2025
- 15 September to 15 December 2025
Applicants are asked to state their preference for a work period on the application form, and every effort will be made to honour this preference.
How much
Per period, the Mondriaan Fund makes a subsidy of € 11,887 available for an artist to help cover travel expenses, material costs and living costs. This sum is intended for 1 person. In addition, the selected resident is expected to pay a 10% personal contribution. The Mondriaan Fund automatically takes this into account in their ultimate subsidy, you do not need to do anything.
The contribution to residents based in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom can be increased to accommodate any higher travel costs. This is considered on a case-by-case basis.
Applications
The deadline for submitting an application for a work period in 2025 is 26 September 2024 before 04:00 PM (CEST) / 10:00 AM (AST).
Before submitting an application, please see the Residency page for the terms and conditions, application procedure and assessment procedure.
Please also read the terms and conditions applicable to Mondriaan Fund contributions.
Selection
The advisory committee selects the candidates based on the submitted documents. This committee comprises advisors from the Creative Industries Fund and the Mondriaan Fund. All applicants will be jointly assessed and selected.
Other subsidies for Dutch and international residencies
In light of the fact that only 1 or 2 resident(s) can be selected per round, many applicants will unfortunately be disappointed. We would therefore like to draw your attention to the possibility of applying for an Artist Project for another residency. The residency associated with your application for Artist Project, may not be linked to a Mondriaan Fund application round.