Artistic and research residencies. Fourth edition / 2026

As every year, we are announcing the call for applications for the WOK Residency! This is the fourth edition of the Warsaw Observatory of Culture’s artistic and research residencies. The residency programme supports the development of creative individuals and collectives as they deepen their artistic or research practices. The WOK Residencies enable the testing of new working models by relieving creative individuals of production pressures. Participation in the programme offers an opportunity to view one’s own practice from different perspectives.

This year’s theme is experimentation. It is precisely this space for quiet work and unhurried exploration of one’s own ideas – one that encourages us to follow our curiosity – that strikes us today as a particular luxury. Experimentation requires reflection; in some cases it involves sensory experiences, in others it does not. In any case, experimentation carries the risk of not being recognised, of being misunderstood or misinterpreted. Whilst experimenting at WOK, creative individuals will be able to prototype and test ideas and solutions in the safest possible space, and freely follow their own creative process. What remains after experimenting with the experiment is not a product; it is not subject to the logic of commodification, but a testimony to the trajectory of thought, a trace of the search for answers to the questions one has set oneself. It is a kind of knowledge derived from experience, which can be shared in new, equally experimental, ways. Etymologically, the word experiment means experience and trial, a conscious action aimed at testing a new phenomenon. In this understanding of the experiment, there is room for mistakes, dead ends, testing boundaries and new forms.

We are looking for people and concepts that take risks, shift the course of existing creative paths, or deepen artistic practice in new, unexpected ways. We invite you to take part in an environment that will allow your ideas to mature. We want to be a sketchbook, a rough draft, a rehearsal space. We are open to multi- and transdisciplinary experiments, but also to those clearly defined within a single artistic space.

For us, too, this edition will be an experiment – we’re testing whether the change in the programme’s format will deliver the desired results. It is with curiosity and excitement that we present the new format:

1.The fourth edition of the residency will take place in two rounds:

• spring (April, May, June)
• autumn (September, October, November)

2.We will invite 5–6 people to take part in each round. When applying, please consider which period suits you best. There will be a single recruitment round, and we will divide participants into groups during the recruitment process.

We invite artists from all artistic disciplines, researchers in the social sciences, culture or the arts, as well as duos and artistic, research or activist collectives. The programme is open to residents of Warsaw.

 The residency programme includes regular one-to-one meetings with WOK managers, designed to support each participant’s journey in line with their individual needs and capabilities, taking into account the specific nature of their artistic or research practice. Additionally, we have scheduled three group meetings in each round to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences, and to help participants in the fourth edition get to know one another.

Individuals, duos and groups invited to take part in the programme will receive:

• a salary of PLN10,000 gross per person payable in four instalments;
• a budget of PLN 3,000 gross per person/duo/collective to provide additional support for the residency programme. Details of how the budget is to be spent can be found in the Programme Regulations
• substantive support from WOK, tailored to the individual needs of each participant in the programme;
• the opportunity to use the workspace at WOK.Lab, subject to individual needs and availability;
• childcare for residents’ children, where required, to enable them to attend meetings at WOK.

Dates of obligatory group meetings in the spring round:
1 April – opening,
27 May
1 July – conclusion.

Dates of obligatory group meetings in the autumn round:
3 September – opening,
15 October
3 December – conclusion.

The dates for individual meetings will be arranged on a case-by-case basis and should take place at least once a month. All group and individual meetings take place on weekdays between 9.00 am and 4.00 pm.

We realise that preparing an application takes time and effort, which is why we want the application process to be as straightforward as possible. All you need to do is fill in a short application form and attach your portfolio or CV in PDF format (maximum 10 MB).

If for any reason you are unable to apply online, please contact us on weekdays between 9.00 am and 4.00 pm:

(in Polish) by phone +48 730 390 411 or via email at aleksandra.wiechowska@wok.art.pl

(in any East Slavic language) by phone +48 730 390 602 or via email at sviatlana.haidalionak@wok.art.pl – together we will find a solution.

You can also use the contact details above to ask any other questions you may have about the residency programme.

Please submit the completed application form, together with your portfolio/CV, via the www.wok.art.pl website by 11.59 a.m. on 16 February 2026.