CreArt Oulu and a non-profit organisation Oulu Urban Culture are opening an open residency call for artists in the CreArt network as part of the art programme production for the Frozen People festival.
Frozen People is a winter festival of electronic music and northern art in Oulu. The event is part of the Oulu2026 – European Capital of Culture program. Frozen People will be held outdoors on 28 February 2026, defying weather conditions by the frozen sea. The festival offers brutal and unique winter conditions for the world’s coldest dance party and art experiences.
The goal of the residency open call is to invite artists to innovate and develop impressive installations for subarctic conditions, and create an art piece for the official art programme of the Frozen People festival 2026.
The portfolio call is aimed at visual artists under 40 years old in the CreArt network. The artist applying for the residency must have been born or live in one of the cities in the CreArt 3.0 network: Kaunas (Lithuania), Liepaja (Latvia), Skopje (North Macedonia), Aveiro (Portugal), Valladolid (Spain), Lublin (Poland), Venice (Italy), Clermont-Ferrand and Rouen (France), Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic) and Regensburg (Germany).
The residency period is 28 January - 3 March 2026 (five weeks) and the work will be exhibited at the Frozen People festival on 28 February 2026. The location of the artwork is selected according to the work plan, coordinated by the CreArt Oulu, located outdoors in the festival area.
The residency’s work plan must detail an estimate of the materials related to the work’s implementation. Required materials are allocated max. €1,500. Recycled materials are preferred in the execution of the work.
The residency period in Oulu includes:
- A fee of €2,500/gross
- Daily allowance for working days in Oulu (€53/day)
- Travel expenses: direct trips between the artist’s hometown and Oulu
- Accommodation studio apartment in the center of Oulu (5 weeks)
- Workspace in artist community in Pikisaari island, located near the city center (5 weeks)
A co-operation agreement with CreArt Oulu will be drawn up for the implementation of the selected work.
