Onassis AiR Open Call 2023/24

Onassis AiR opened its doors in 2019 grounding its mission in supporting the artistic process by fostering cross-disciplinary thinking and exchange of an ever-growing community of artists and other practitioners that participated in its various programs. After completing a three-year programming cycle, Onassis AiR embarked on a new chapter that brings together each and every creative practitioner within the Onassis Foundation arts ecosystem, either through individual research residencies via the yearly Open Calls of Onassis AiR, through research and development fellowships commissioned by Onassis Culture or awarded via our International Networks in partnership with other institutions.

As our programs expand, so does our urge to stay relevant to the needs of our artistic community, as they arise, while being part of larger discussions that are happening worldwide regarding issues that concern our societies today -democracy, human rights, and mental health. Our aim is to cultivate a common ground where our mixed perspectives that come from our different practices and the geographies we live in can coexist. For us, this ground begins in Athens—from our engagement in exploring the urban and street culture of the city we live in with its many communities, its present and past histories,—and radiates outward, to our peripheries, the rural areas, rituals, crafts, food culture, and vernacular knowledge produced outside of the metropolitan centers, while in dialogue with the wider Balkan and Mediterranean region where we are located.

The Tailor-made Residency is a program of individual residencies, each lasting for a maximum of three months. Each residency stems from the participants’ needs. This program is for anyone in need of support who is yearning for space, focused time, and stimulating conversations that can help to kick-off, further develop, or finalize a project and who is interested in engaging with the locale of Athens. All participants are invited to use the Οnassis AiR space and resources to develop their thinking and practices without the expectation of presenting a final work. Additionally, the program offers professional development activities including mentoring sessions, presentations and peer-to-peer feedback sessions, organized site-visits to local art spaces and other institutions, and opportunities to meet and connect with local artists and arts professionals.

Founded on the principles of learning and doing with others, Onassis AiR fosters the conditions for dialogue and exchange between peers through collective activities addressed to the Onassis AiR Community. These can take the form of a workshop, an in-progress presentation, a lecture or screening, or any other format the Fellows wish to propose.

The selection for the ONASSIS AiR OPEN CALL 2023/24 will be done in three phases. Phase I follows a peer-to-peer blind-selection method by the current and former participants of Onassis AiR. During Phase II the selected applications will be reviewed by the Onassis AiR team in collaboration with an external selection committee consisting of Sepake Angiama and VASKOS. In Phase III all shortlisted applicants will do an interview with the Onassis AiR team.

The working language of the program is English.

All accepted participants will receive a research fee, housing, travel to/from Athens, a research budget, and other resources.

The deadline for submission of all applications is Monday, March 20, 2023. All applications must be submitted no later than 12:00 pm Eastern European Time (UTC +2). All applicants will be informed by email about the result of their application, by June 12, 2023.

If you have general questions during the time that the Open Call online platform is open (between February 20 – March 20, 2023), about the application or the program, please email air@onassis.org.

Onassis AiR is run by Nefeli Myrodia, Head of Onassis AiR, together with Myrto Katsimicha and Sotiria Smyrnaiou.