GENERAL

RaumArs offers residency places to artists who work independently or who create a community art project. RaumArs supports all artists by covering some of the living and operating costs of the residency apartment. After being selected, all artists will be charged a registration fee of €150/room (non-refundable) and a deposit of €120 (refundable after the residency). Artists must cover general living expenses, travel, and any transportation costs for artworks.

Independent work 1-5 months

Independent artists pay a small rent for their room. We aim to arrange an artist presentation or a presentation of the final result of their work for them.

Community residencies 3–5 months

The community artist will be given a room to use free of charge. RaumArs will help with the implementation of the project and contribute to the project's travel expenses (up to €300 when arriving from abroad, bus or train tickets in Finland), material costs (up to €100/month) against receipts, and will help with practical arrangements. The artist carrying out the community project also has the opportunity to apply for Sirkka's room to use free of charge. Please state your needs in the application.

You can also apply for the residency as a working couple, but in that case the artists will share the expense reimbursements and the residency room.

Tips

• during the residency (in the spring or autumn of the school year), we particularly encourage work with children and young people.
• For 2027, we have applied for a grant for the book-based community art project “Next Chapter”. Unfortunately, many books end up in the trash these days. Instead, residents of the area are asked to donate them to an artist who will create sculptural works or installations from them. The exhibition highlights the meaning of reading, memories and stories, and gives new life to old books. If you are interested in implementing the project, please feel free to contact the executive director of RaumArs. If the grant is successful, the artist will be paid compensation for his work. 
• In January, the Lumen light art event will be held in Rauma, where we hope to have resident artists participate. We are collaborating with the Finnish Light Art Society FLASH.
• RaumArs artists have created several murals and public works over the years. See examples here.If you are interested in painting a mural, please indicate this in your application and/or contact the executive director. If the work is carried out, compensation will be paid.
• The Art House includes a large backyard/garden of approximately 400 square meters, which the artist can use and where carry out projects.

General expectations towards the artist

Especially the community artists, who receive an accommodation free-of-charge, are expected to present a clear and detailed project plan for a collaborative/participatory art practice, public or social art project or an environmental project, which will be realized during the residence. The main selection criteria will be the artists’ motivation to work in collaboration with local people, a good proposal and the quality of applicants art.

Many of the projects are carried out with schoolchildren, teenagers or the elderly, but artists can carry out a project with any collaboration group. RaumArs artists have previously worked with, for example, the homeless, job seekers, mental health rehabilitation, female gymnasts or people from different professions – with anyone you wish. Exhibitions and events are often carried out in places that differ from traditional exhibition spaces. See examples of previous artists' projects here.

All artists-in-residence have access to materials from partners, for example for crafts. Our partners (Rauma Region Street Mission, Rauma Region Jobseeers and Renovation Centre Tammela) can also offer working space, especially if you carry out an art project with them. Work spaces are often free of charge, but the price and use must be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

The applicant doesn't have to have previous experience in teaching, but needs to prove to be able to carry out the project. RaumArs will give some assistance in producing the accepted proposal for an artist. English (or Finnish and in some cases Swedish) will be the working language and should be spoken reasonably well.

Working can also lead to longer-term projects. During the first short residency period the focus is on familiarization with local people and environment, the second and longer period carried out on the following months/ following year as a community project (please mention this in your application if you are planning this).

Application

Working can also lead to longer-term projects. During the first short residency period the focus is on familiarization with local people and environment, the second and longer period carried out on the following months/ following year as a community project (please mention this in your application if you are planning this).

Include in your application

• artistic backround
• short project plan/explanation of the project
• a longer project/work plan
• ryhmä, jonka kanssa toivot työskenteleväsi vai haluatko tehdä työsi itsenäisesti (hakulomakkeessa)
• portfolio including your CV or CV separately (max 2 Mb). In case of a couple, a work couple or a group, attach each CV.
• if you are applying for both a residency and an exhibition period, please write a free-form exhibition application and your preferred exhibition month. Please also indicate whether you will come to the residency even if you do not get an exhibition slot. To apply, please see the Gallery.
• please notice to name the portfolio and CV/CVs with the name of the artist/applicant – not as "RaumArs portfolio" or "RaumArs cv", because we get dozens of applications and we don't want yours to be lost.

The Board of Directors, with its partners, will be processing the applications in June. The selected artists will be contacted during the summer and their names will be announced in the autumn on this website and on RaumArs social media. However, the application form will remain open after the official application date to allow artists to apply for residencies for any remaining months after next year's artists have been selected.

Awaiting your applications 🙂