Ecologies in the Making: Sculpting Futures Residency is open to Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts graduates.
Deadline for applications 30 September 2025 at 24:00 Finnish time (GMT+2)
Apply on the Uni Arts Helsinki website
We are excited to announce that the call for applications from recent graduates of Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of the Fine Arts to the Ecologies in the Making: Sculpting Futures programme is now live! This four-month residency is offered jointly by Cove Park and Scottish Sculpture Workshop is part of the International Incubators in Fine Arts project, established by Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts and the Saastamoinen Foundation. The project aims to build a dialogue between teaching in fine arts and the international field of art.
The residency program Ecologies in the Making: Sculpting Futures focuses on making practices in a time of climate breakdown. The program invites applications from those who are already exploring ecologies of making and from those who wish to (re)focus or build relationships with the more-than-human in our warming world. The aim is to support artists to research and develop ecological methods and contexts for their artistic practice.
MFA or DFA alumni of the Academy of Fine Arts who work with sculptural methods or material processes can apply for the programme. Applications are welcome from graduates at any stage in their career. The residency is divided into two separate yet interconnected periods to allow for two distinct areas of development; the first two-month residency will take place at Cove Park in Argyll and Bute, and the second two-month residency at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop in Aberdeenshire. The residency is realised June-July at Cove Park and in August-September in SSW in 2026. The open call ends on 30 September 2025.
The selected artist will first live and work at Cove Park. Cove Park is located in rural Argyll on the west coast of Scotland, one hour north of Glasgow. The residency provides private self-catering accommodation, private studios, and a range of communal facilities, including workspace and a library.
The second half of the residency will take place here, at Scottish Sculpture Workshop, in the rural village of Lumsden in north-east Scotland. SSW offers shared access to workshop facilities in metal (forge and fabrication), stone (hand carving) and ceramics supported by expert technicians. Self-catering accommodation and flexible workspace in SSW’s open plan shared studio is also included in the residency.
Both organisations host artists from all art forms with residency programmes running throughout the year. Cove Park and SSW will provide the selected artist with curatorial and logistical support, and connect them with their communities, locally and nationally. Cove Park has a close relationship with the Glasgow School of Art, so the artist will be able to benefit from further support and connection from the Department of Sculpture & Environmental Art.
Scholarship and support
To support residency activity, the selected artist will receive:
- A 4-month residency – 8 weeks residency based at Cove Park, including private accommodation and studio and 8 weeks residency at SSW, including private accommodation, shared studio and workshop access
- A 8 000 euro grant for four month’s residency
- A 1 300 euro travel budget (travel to and from Scotland, between residency centres and including local travel)
- Up to 2 000 euros to support access and care costs, possibly including but not limited to; family, collaborator or support network/ ally visits, a dedicated support worker, childcare costs, access adjustments to accommodation or residency communications among others
- 1 550 euro for work related materials and consumables
- A maximum of 800 euro for shipping, if required
- Support from expert teams in each residency centre, including critical, curatorial and technical expertise
- Peer connections and networks with other residents and users of Cove Park and SSW
Both host organisations will be in contact with the artist throughout the residency period, with network meet ups and check-ins scheduled to support the development of the artists’ practice. Although the dates and locations for residency are set, SSW and Cove Park will work with the artist to plan and structure the residency based on their needs and ambitions.
No artistic outcome from the residency is required. It is an opportunity to dedicate time to your practice and fulfil your needs, however the underlying interest and commitment to environmental sustainability at both Cove Park and Scottish Sculpture Workshop might inform the research and production of new work. The Artist grant requires a report published as an archival blog post or podcast at the end of each two-month residency period. If the artist would like to share process or work developed through the programme in other ways this can be discussed, however this is not a requirement of the residency opportunity.
Eligibility
To apply for the residency you must be:
- MFA or DFA graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki. Only artists who finished their studies may apply, BFA or MFA students are not considered.
- Willing and able to undertake the residency within the dates and support outlined.
Equal opportunities
SSW and Cove Park recognise the multiple and intersecting barriers experienced by artists in accessing funding and support for their practices. We actively encourage artists who experience racism, artists who are disabled and/or neurodivergent, artists who are trans, non-binary and/or queer and artists from working class / lower socio-economic backgrounds, among other underrepresented and oppressed identities to apply for this opportunity.
To support you to apply, we have built a more inclusive applications process, with no requirements for CVs and the choice to submit in various formats and we provide an additional access budget which can be used in ways you identify to support your engagement.
Further information & how to apply
For further information about how to apply and the selection process, visit the Uni Arts info page
