The International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC) runs a residency programme at MGLC Švicarija, a residency and creative centre, which is located on the edge of the Tivoli, Rožnik and Šišenski hill Landscape Park and is the most central and nature-connected residency point in Ljubljana.
The residency programme is aimed at Slovenian and foreign artists and art collectives, professionals in the field of contemporary art (critics, curators, writers, etc.), who are offered production conditions for work, networking, education and training.
The residency programme was introduced as an additional activity of the museum in 2017, when we took over the management of the Švicarija. We enable the participation in the following programmes:
Artist work studios
For artists based in the Ljubljana Municipality.
Residency for young artists
For artists from Slovenia.
International residencies
For artists and other cultural workers from Slovenia and international area.
The work studios and the residency for young artists are only available to artists selected through open calls.
International residencies are possible on the basis of open calls and project-based cooperations.
It is also possible to rent the residency premises when vacant.
Artist work studios
MGLC Švicarija is a production centre with eleven artist work studios. The production work in the studios is aimed at visual artists (painting, drawing, printmaking, illustration, comics, sculpture, photography, video) and artists developing new production models and ways of presenting art (installation, performance, sound and light art, art in public space, participatory practices, transdisciplinary integration of visual arts with cultural heritage, ecology, town planning and science).
The strategy of free use of artist studios for a period of five years follows the principle of equal access to public cultural infrastructure and support for established artists of different generations who develop their work in synergy with the international programme of MGLC Švicarija.
Space
11 work studios (two of them sculpting).
Size
from 27 to 72 m²
Period of use
5 years (2022–2027).
Costs of use
The rental is free. The user is obliged to pay the operating costs, the costs of regular maintenance, the costs of the building land use allowance, the costs of insurance and other costs in accordance with the contract for the free use of immovable property.
Room furnishings
The work studios have basic technical equipment: a work table, a chair, storage cupboards and a sink with running water.
How to apply
The call for free rental of artist work studios is published every five years.
Application deadline
A new call for 2027-2032 will be launched in 2026.
Residency for young artists
The MGLC Švicarija supports young artists (up to 35 years of age) active in the field of contemporary visual arts. The residency supports the career path of young artists in residence and provides them with optimal conditions for creative work and living for two years.
Users
Artists up to 35 years of age who have demonstrated a high level of quality and originality in their work in the field of visual arts over the last three years; who present an original, relevant and feasible programme of work for the two-year stay; who have permanent or temporary residence in Slovenia; who are not renting an apartment or studio owned by the Municipality of Ljubljana, or do not own an apartment or studio in the Municipality of Ljubljana.
Space
Two residencies or apartments with a work studio and a living area (kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area).
Size
63,19 m² (residency M1.3) and 81,84 m² (residency M1.4).
Period of use
2 years.
Costs of use
The rental is free. The user is obliged to pay the operating costs, the costs of regular maintenance, the costs of the building land use allowance, the costs of insurance and other costs in accordance with the contract for the free use of immovable property.
Room furnishings
The work studio of the residency has basic technical equipment: a work table, a chair, storage cupboards and a sink with running water. The living area of the residency has a kitchen (fridge, stove, kitchen table, sink and cupboards), bathroom and sleeping area (bed).
How to apply
Call for the rental of a residency for young artists is published every year.
Application deadline
Call for the period 2024-2026, application deadline: 1 January 2024.
International residencies
Available for artists, cultural workers (critics, curators, theoreticians, writers, producers, etc.), humanists and social scientists from the international area and Slovenia are three residencies, where they are usually hosted for one to two months.
We launched the international residency programme when we were entrusted with the management of the Švicarija in 2017, aligning it with the mission and activities of the International Centre of Graphic Arts. We build on our programmatic orientation by participating in projects and international partnerships in order to respond to current developments in artistic mobility. Residents are selected through open calls, inter-residency exchanges and curatorial invitations.
Programme clusters of international residencies:
- Residency of the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts
- Master printers
- Residency for critics
- Residency At the end of the world
- Inter-residential exchanges and partnerships
Residency of the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts
The Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts, one of the oldest biennales in the world, was founded in 1955. With its activities, it positioned Ljubljana and Slovenian art into a global context, influenced the development of many similar events around the world and created an active network for the exchange of experience in the field of the graphic arts. After 2001, with the introduction of the curatorial approach, it went beyond the limitation to a single medium and began to develop into a museum and extra-museum mirror of contemporary art and curating.
The residency is intended for participating artists and curators of each Biennale edition; depending on the Biennale theme, the invitation is sent by the International Centre of Graphic Arts directly to the Biennale collaborators, thus enabling them to stay in Ljubljana for research and production purposes. After the Biennale, the residency is also awarded to the artist who receives the jury prize for a one-month research residency at the Biennale.
Users
The curators of the Biennale and the artists and artist collectives exhibiting at the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts. Recipient of a research residency selected by the Biennale jury.
Space
One living residency or apartment with a work studio and a living area (kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area).
Period of use
One month.
Costs of use
The selected resident has their accommodation, travel and subsistence expenses covered.
Room furnishings
The work studio has basic technical equipment: a work table and a chair. The living area of the residency has a kitchen (fridge, stove, kitchen table, sink and cupboards), bathroom and sleeping area (bed). Bed linen is provided and residents can use the laundry facilities. Residents can use our print studio and have the assistance of a printmaking technician.
How to apply
Invitation by the International Centre of Graphic Arts and award of the Biennale Research Residency Prize.
Application deadline
/
Master printers
The Master Printers Residency is linked to the tradition and basic orientation of the International Centre of Graphic Arts as a museum and production centre for graphic arts and print. It is aimed at artists working in classical and contemporary printmaking techniques and interested in innovation in print. They understand graphic art in its broadest sense and also explore creative processes based on reproducibility.
During the stay, the resident will have access to the Print Studio (link) of the MGLC at Tivoli Castle, where they will be able to realise their graphic project. They can be assisted or mentored by a printmaking technician and use the equipment in our Print Studio. The MGLC Print Studio offers the following techniques: woodcut, linocut, etching, drypoint, mezzotint, etching, aquatint, vernis mou, lithography and silkscreen. This residency programme is unique in Slovenia, as it combines a residency space (living apartment) with the museum's print studio and the museum's collection of graphic works.
The residency also aims to transfer technical knowledge and skills between experienced master printers and printmaking technicians, and to exchange theoretical and curatorial approaches to researching, presenting and preserving graphic art.
The residency is part of our international networking with related graphic arts institutions, with whom we establish production collaborations and inter-residency exchanges, as well as develop mentoring and educational programmes.
Users
Artists, master printers and technicians and other experts in graphic arts (curators, theoreticians, restorers, documentalists, etc.).
Space
One living residency or apartment with a work studio and a living area (kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area).
Period of use
7 days to one month.
Costs of use
The selected resident has their accommodation, travel and subsistence expenses covered.
Room furnishings
The work studio has basic technical equipment: a work table and a chair. The living area of the residency has a kitchen (fridge, stove, kitchen table, sink and cupboards), bathroom and sleeping area (bed). Bed linen is provided and residents can use the laundry facilities. Residents can use our Print Studio and have the assistance of a printmaking technician.
How to apply
The open call is published once a year for two residency stays. Residents are also selected in view of the invitation of the International Centre of Graphic Arts and production collaborations.
Application deadline
/
Residency for critics
The International Residency Programme, a collaboration between the MGLC and the Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory, focuses on researching and reflecting on contemporary visual arts; interdisciplinary approaches that combine art with humanism are also welcome. The Critics' Residency in the Švicarija therefore regularly hosts writers who want to get to know the local art scene.
The Critics' Residency is dedicated to writing and culminates in the publication of a professional or journalistic text in various genres (criticism, essay, analysis, research, reportage, etc.). The programme is open to writers who define the focus of their research, are interested in contemporary visual arts in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and have specified the subject of their research (artists, galleries, museums, etc.) as precisely as possible in their application.
Users
Established or emerging art critic or writer in the field of contemporary visual arts. Residents and citizens of the Republic of Slovenia are not eligible.
Space
One living residency or apartment with a work studio and a living area (kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area). Size: 59,83 m² (residency M1.1).
Period of use
1 month (October).
Costs of use
The selected resident has their living expenses and travel expenses covered (up to €500 for EU countries, up to €900 for non-EU countries); in addition, they receive a grant (€1,200).
Room furnishings
The work studio has basic technical equipment: a work table and a chair. The living area of the residency has a kitchen (fridge, stove, kitchen table, sink and cupboards), bathroom and sleeping area (bed). Bed linen is provided and residents can use the laundry facilities.
How to apply
The call for the Critic-in-residence programme is published in December each year for the following year.
Application deadline
15 January (for the current year).
Coproduction
Igor Zabel Association for Culture and Theory.
Residency At the end of the world
The programme orientation of the MGLC Švicarija – community, art and nature – and the location of the residency centre on the border between city and nature, on the edge of a city park and a forest, led us to utopian, dystopian and fantasy reflections on what the end of the world could look like. Will it be experienced as a general terrestrial and human catastrophe of planetary proportions, or it will be a gradual, almost invisible and silent obliteration of the individual, until there is nothing human left here and now? There are many possible end-of-the-world scenarios – including those that will predict post-Anthropocene coexistence on Earth and beyond. Art can be visionary and inspiring in this respect.
The residency is therefore intended as a two-month reflection on the end of the world, which may result in a new artistic production, curatorial research or theoretical reflection.
Users
Artists and art collectives, established or emerging art curators, theorists.
Space
One residency or apartment with a work studio and a living area (kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area).
Period of use
Up to 2 months.
Costs of use
The selected resident has their accommodation, travel and subsistence expenses covered.
Room furnishings
The work studio has basic technical equipment: a work table and a chair. The living area of the residency has a kitchen (fridge, stove, kitchen table, sink and cupboards), bathroom and sleeping area (bed). Bed linen is provided and residents can use the laundry facilities. Residents can use our Print Studio and have the assistance of a printmaking technician.
How to apply
The call is published in November each year for the following year.
Application deadline
/
Inter-residency exchanges
Long-term exchanges between similar residency centres abroad are developed bilaterally (e.g. with the MeetFactory residency centre in Prague) or in partnership (the Sustainability is in the AiR project, which links the MeetFactory residencies in Prague, the Matedero residency centre in Madrid, the MGLC Švicarija residency centre in Ljubljana and the Snehto residency centre in Athens).
We also offer residencies in cop-production with Slovenian producers, including Kino Šiška and DobraVaga Gallery, Ljubljana: City of Literature project, Goethe Institute Ljubljana and Slovensko mladinsko gledališče theatre.
Inter-residency exchange: MGLC Švicarija (Ljubljana) & MeetFactory (Prague)
Users
Artist from the Czech Republic (residency in Ljubljana). Artist from Slovenia (residency in Prague).
Space
MeetFactory: one working and living residency.
MGLC Švicarija: one living residency or apartment with a work studio and a living area (kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area). Use of our Print Studio.
Period of use
2 months (September–October).
Costs of use
The selected resident has their production, accommodation, travel and subsistence expenses covered.
Room furnishings
MeetFactory: The work studio is equipped with a worktable. The artist-in-residence can use the production workshops on-site (e.g. carpentry). The living area of the residence is located in the building and includes a sleeping area, a kitchen and a living area with basic equipment.
MGLC Švicarija: the work studio has basic technical equipment: a work table and a chair. The living area of the residency has a kitchen (fridge, stove, kitchen table, sink and cupboards), bathroom and sleeping area (bed). Bed linen is provided and residents can use the laundry facilities.
How to apply
The call is organised by MeetFactory (selection of a Czech artist) and the MGLC Švicarija (selection of a Slovenian artist).
Application deadline
Public call for a residency at the International Center for Contemporary Art MeetFactory. The call is intended for artists from Slovenia, who work in the field of contemporary visual arts. More ...
Application deadline: May 31, 2023.
