Based on the idea of artistic exchange, shared learning, understanding and creation, AIR-Artist in Residence Lower Austria supports artists from different disciplines and backgrounds. 

The program is aimed internationally at artists who wish to engage with the Kunstmeile Krems, the city of Krems, the Wachau World Heritage Site, the province of Lower Austria and Vienna. 

AIR offers temporary living and working opportunities in five-week sessions with a grant of € 1,950 per artist.  Every year, 8 sessions are advertised via an open call. The costs for travel, transfer, materials and meals must be borne by the scholarship holders themselves. Artists from the fields of architecture, visual arts, digital art, literature and music are invited to apply.

The studio apartments and scholarships are awarded under the premise of enabling foreign artists to work in Lower Austria and to get to know different cultural institutions. By bringing the invited artists into contact with the local art scene, AIR - ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Lower Austria aims to contribute to the internationalization of art in Lower Austria and promote interdisciplinary exchange in the field of art. The scholarship program makes it possible to present artistic works developed or planned in advance in Krems. Events in cooperation with various Lower Austrian and Viennese art institutions help to integrate scholarship holders into the local art scene.

The basic prerequisite for funding is a subject-specific completed artistic education (university degree). In the absence of an academic degree, a corresponding qualification must be demonstrated through the artistic career. In any case, regular artistic activity in the areas to be funded must be present. Applications from the disciplines of architecture, fine arts, digital arts, literature, music and thematic focus on regeneration will be accepted. Austrian artists and artists residing in Austria are excluded from the award.

Participation in AIR - ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Lower Austria is decided by a subject-specific advisory board. Applications can only be submitted during the call period, February 9 to May 10, 2026, and only via the online application form. Application deadline: May 10, 2026, 11:59 p.m. 

No applications will be accepted by e-mail. Submitted application material will not be returned. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Note: Artist collectives are welcome to apply for a residency. However, this does not change the scholarship amount of €1,950.

Notification of a scholarship place will be sent by e-mail by the end of June 2026.

AIR is an attendance scholarship with an 80% attendance requirement.

Partners, children, family members and friends cannot be accommodated in the accommodation during the scholarship stay.

Pets are not permitted. (Exception: assistance dogs)

Arrival and departure dates will be communicated in advance and must be adhered to.

Four scholarships will be awarded in this context for 2027.

AIR encourages artists to reflect on the future concept of regeneration in their submissions and to negotiate it artistically. Regeneration deliberately goes beyond conventional approaches to sustainability: While sustainability primarily aims to prevent additional ecological damage, regeneration understands humans as an integral part of nature and is based on holistic, systemic thinking and an awareness of the complex diversity of relationships between all species, including humans. With regard to the thematic focus on regeneration, AIR is in intensive exchange with “ReGenerativa.”

The five studio flats and the large work and community room were planned and furnished by the Lower Austrian architect Franz Sam. Equipped with a kitchen and bathroom, internet and telephone connection, Wi-Fi, dishwasher, washing machine and electric cooker, they serve as living and working spaces for the artists. The very bright studios vary in size from 45 m² to 120 m². The approx. 120 m² workroom is equipped with tools, television, DVD player, computer, internet connection, printer, photocopier, fax and scanner. Photo/video camera, projector, sound system, etc. are available for hire.

In collaboration with seven partner institutions—Galerie Stadtpark Krems, Kunsthalle Krems, Karikaturmuseum Krems, Landesgalerie Niederösterreich, NÖ Festival und Kino GmbH, ORTE Architekturnetzwerk NÖ, and the Unabhängiges Literaturhaus NÖ—around 40 scholarship recipients are selected each year, invited to Krems, and provided with curatorial support during their stay.

The studio apartments are located on the Kunstmeile Krems, in the urban center of the UNESCO World Heritage Region of Wachau.

AIR scholarship holders benefit from free admission to the exhibition venues on the Krems Art Mile as well as free tickets to selected festivals and cultural events, including Imago Dei, donaufestival, Glatt & Verkehrt, ELIT – European Literature Days, and the Kino im Kesselhaus arthouse cinema (original versions).

Numerous relevant institutions – such as the Susanne Wenger Foundation, the Krenek Institute, the Archive of Contemporary History, and Danube University Krems – are located in the immediate vicinity.

AIR Lower Austria offers a curator-led residency program that includes professional support and a variety of exchange formats, including:

• Mentoring discussions
• Open studio days
• Listening sessions
• Dinner conversations
• Tiny Desk concerts
• Organized visits to local art spaces and cultural institutions

The program specifically promotes encounters with local artists, curators, and cultural professionals. Workshops, lectures, presentations, screenings, projects in public spaces, and other formats enable intensive dialogue with the Kunstmeile community in Krems.