Québec Studio in Berlin
Twelve month residency at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien, located in the heart of the lively neighborhood connecting the Kreuzberg and Neukölln districts.
Partners
Introduction
Go to Mon dossier CALQ This link will open in a new window and complete your grant application online.
Before submitting an application, artists are advised to read the program over carefully. If you have any questions after reading the program or if there is anything else you would like to clarify, please email or phone the program manager. The manager can also provide information and advice on how to present your project and what to include in your application.
Foreword
Wishing to support the presence of Québec artists in major international cultural centres, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), in collaboration with the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications and the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie, has established a network of international studios offering conditions conducive to artistic research and professional development.
These residencies allow artists to dedicate sustained time to exploration, experimentation, and the advancement of their practice, while creating opportunities for meetings, networking, collaboration, and engagement with diverse cultural contexts.
The Studio du Québec in Berlin is located within the Künstlerhaus Bethanien This link will open in a new window, a Berlin-based centre known for its residency program supporting artists who are developing or consolidating their professional practice. Situated in the Kreuzberg district, an area characterized by cultural diversity and a broad range of artistic approaches, Bethanien provides an environment suitable for artistic research. Access to an individual studio, professional guidance, and a network of local resources enables Québec artists to develop their projects in dialogue with an active artistic environment.
Künstlerhaus Bethanien also offers a relevant setting for professional development. Through its public activities (exhibitions, meetings, talks) and its connections with curatorial and institutional networks across Europe, it facilitates contact with key actors in the Berlin and international art scenes. Artists can broaden their professional networks, engage in collaborative initiatives, and gain a better understanding of how cultural ecosystems operate in Germany and across Europe.
Objectives
CALQ's studio-apartment residency program has five objectives:
- To support and stimulate artists by making available to them a suitable environment and the means to produce and disseminate their works.
- To foster artistic renewal for artists and writers by giving them access to a new and stimulating cultural environment.
- To facilitate exchanges of artistic or literary viewpoints and contribute to the formation of durable ties between artists from Québec and abroad.
- To promote the work and career development of Québec artists internationally.
- To develop new networks for artistic creation, production and dissemination.
Residency characteristics
Disciplines concerned
Digital arts, visual arts, cinema and video
Target applicants
Artists with over 10 years of artistic practice.
Length of stay and amount of the grant
The twelve-month stay will be from January 4th to December 17th, 2027.
The amount of the grant is $30 000.
The CALQ will directly pay the Künstlerhaus Bethanien funds to cover the purchase of material needed to carry out the project, the cost of technical assistance, the preparation and holding of an exhibition, coverage of the work in the Künstlerhaus Bethanien biannual magazine and the publication of a catalog.
Location
The KB is currently housed in a former factory building, the Lichtfabrik, located in the heart of the lively neighborhood connecting the Kreuzberg and Neukölln districts. The public entrance and windowed galleries are facing Kottbusser Strasse.
The KB offers a wide range of services: curatorial support in the implementation of the artists’ projects, workshops, technical infrastructure and qualified personnel, exhibiting and advertising the resident artists’ projects, holding at least two annual “Open Studio” events and publishing documents related to the projects presented at the KB.
Furthermore, the KB invites the artists to take part in larger projects by liaising them with other institutions. It also establishes contacts with international curators, critics, theorists, gallery owners and collectors, hosts seminars, talks and readings.
The roughly 75-m2 studio is a spacious, bright loft equipped with a small kitchen unit, a sink and wireless Internet connection. All studios are equipped with a bed, shelves, tables and chairs. Bathrooms, showers, washing-machines and dryers are available as shared amenities.
Well-equipped workshops for wood, metal and plastic as well as video and sound editing resources are provided as well as a lounge, fitted with a computer, a printer and a scanner. Fax and copy facilities situated in the office can be used for a small fee during office hours.
Not accessible for people with disabilities.
Eligibility
General criteria
Concerned artistic fields
Digital arts, visual arts, cinema and video
Conditions
These rules govern all CALQ grant programs.
You can submit up to five separate applications and receive a maximum of five grants per CALQ fiscal year, from April 1st to March 31st. All applications submitted, including those deemed ineligible, are counted in the annual maximum.
Applications with a fixed date:
The fiscal year a grant application falls under is indicated under the application date for each program in the ''Presentation of the application'' section. You can only submit one application per registration.
Apply any time:
Travel, Circulation of Works Within Québec, Circulation of Works Outside Québec:
Applications submitted between March 1st and 31st inclusively are counted for the following fiscal year.
Others :
Applications received between February 24 and March 31st inclusively will be recorded in the following fiscal year.
You may not have more than three projects being considered, supported or under way at the same time.
If you have received financial support from one of the CALQ’s grant programs, you must produce a Grant Use Report within three months after the completion of the project. To be eligible to submit a new application, you must have submitted Grant Use Reports for all projects that have reached their end, and these reports must be approved by the CALQ. The official end date for the project is the date you set when applying.
Failure to meet deadlines for the submission of projects will render your application ineligible.
Ineligibility
- Projects carried out under the supervision of an educational program are ineligible.
- A project that has already been rejected by the CALQ is ineligible for this program.
- A group legally constituted as a not-for-profit or profit-making company or general partnership is ineligible for this program.
- Incomplete applications.
Artists' or writers' groups (previously referred to as collectives) are not eligible.
Amount of the grant
The amount of the grant is $30 000.
The CALQ will directly pay the Künstlerhaus Bethanien funds to cover the purchase of material needed to carry out the project, the cost of technical assistance, the preparation and holding of an exhibition, coverage of the work in the Künstlerhaus Bethanien biannual magazine and the publication of a catalog.
Expenses covered by the grant
Grants awarded by the CALQ under the Studios and studio-apartments section enable recipients to cover the cost of personal insurance, travel, living expenses, visa fees and costs related to carry out their projects.
The grant recipient is responsible for obtaining all of the documents necessary for his sojourn abroad, including a visa when the host country demands it.
Applicants do not have to submit an itemized budget to support their application.
Financial support is available for artists with disabilities with a view to ensuring access to CALQ's services. Please complete the relevant section of your official form if you would like to submit an application.
Evaluation of applications
Evaluation criteria
- Artistic quality of the work
- Interest and relevance of the project
- Feasibility of the project
Process
All applications are evaluated on their merits, based on the specific objectives and assessment criteria for each of the program components. The selection process takes into account the comparative value of the projects and the available credits.
The applications are evaluated by a jury whose members must appear in the official roster of resource persons (this roster is approved by CALQ's Board of Directors).
For reciprocity-based residency programs and specialized residencies, a jury commissioned by the artistic director of the foreign host organization reviews the applications. Recommendations are submitted to CALQ's Board of Directors for approval. Decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
Three months after their mandate has been completed, CALQ makes public the names of the Quebec-based jury members.
Ethics
Board members, employees and members of juries and committees of the CALQ are subject to Codes of ethics and professional conduct This link will open in a new window. All must act in good faith in performing their duties and refrain from taking part in any discussion concerning a grant application that risks creating a conflict of interest. Confidential or privileged information transmitted to them may not be used for personal reasons.
Decision
For reciprocity-based residency programs and specialized residencies, CALQ informs the candidates of its response to their applications within a maximum of eight months following the registration deadline.
An applicant registered for Mon dossier CALQ will receive an email inviting him to consult his online file to find out the result.
If the application is successful, along with the announcement letter the applicant will receive a document describing the terms and conditions governing the use of the grant.
If the application is unsuccessful and the applicant is not registered for Mon dossier CALQ, the CALQ will communicate its decision in writing.
The CALQ wishes to reiterate that its decisions are final and without appeal. No form of verbal abuse, harassment or intimidation towards its team after a decision is rendered, nor at any point in the application process, is tolerated.
Presentation of the application
Registration deadline
February 19, 2026
An application filed for this program will be treated in the 2026-2027 financial year.
An artist who wishes to apply for this grant program must fill out the appropriate application form and provide a complete file, making sure to include all the requisite items.
The date of submission online or the postmark is deemed to be the date of receipt of the application. Incomplete applications and those submitted after the application deadline are not accepted.
Choice of host facility
The applicant is invited to present a project for a specific location and must submit a brief justification supporting his choice.
Application form
Important
The CALQ will not be accepting applications by mail. Mon dossier CALQThis link will open in a new windowis the favoured channel for transmitting an application and for finding out the status of your file. Please note that from now on, to access Mon dossier CALQ and submit an application, you must log in via the Government Authentication Service This link will open in a new window. This authentication method replaces clicSÉQUR – Citizens.
If this transmission mode is not available for the present program or if you cannot use it, the CALQ will receive the application file by WeTransfer. Instructions for sending are provided on the Application form – detail project.
Apply online
Mon dossier CALQGrant application form - Details of the project for studios and studio-apartments (Word) (64 KB)
Grant application form - Details of the project for studios and studio-apartments (PDF) (1 MB)
Grant application form for studios - Personal Information (PDF) (977 KB)
Grant application form for studios - Personal Information (Word) (64 KB)
Contents of the application file
The required file contents are detailed on the application form.
Any documents or supporting materials received by the CALQ after the application deadline will not be submitted for evaluation.
The CALQ cannot be held responsible for the loss of submitted items or damage sustained by such items during shipping. Applicants are urged to never send the originals of items or supporting materials required for a grant application.
Subject to the provisions of the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information, the CALQ respects the confidentiality of the documents and information in its possession and of those sent to it.
Applicants must promptly notify the CALQ of a change of address so that mail can be sent to the new address.
Sojourn Abroad
The grant recipient is responsible for obtaining all the documents necessary for his sojourn abroad, including a visa when the host country demands it.
Do not hesitate to contact the cultural team at the Québec delegation, government office or field office responsible for the territory where you will reside to take advantage of the resources that the team can offer you.
Contact information for Québec government delegations, offices and field offices abroad is available on the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie This link will open in a new window.
Obligations and reports
Awarding of grants
- The CALQ determines the amounts awarded taking into consideration the funds available, budgets submitted and eligible expenses.
- The grant will be disbursed in the month following the announcement. However, to proceed with a payment, the CALQ must be informed of the grant recipient's social insurance number. In accordance with tax legislation, a grant recipient is bound to declare the amount of the grant awarded. The CALQ issues a tax slip to each grant recipient and submits the list of grant recipients to the ministère du Revenu.
- For the studio and studio-apartment residency program, the grant will be disbursed two months prior to the beginning of the residency.
- For the studio and studio-apartment residency program, the artist selected undertakes to comply with the applicable conditions and rules, whether communicated by the host organization or the institution overseeing the residency or posted on their website, as the case may be.
For further information…
- The CALQ cannot support the same project more than once. Moreover, the CALQ may not award a grant in respect of the same expenses related to a project already supported under another program of the CALQ or any other organization whatsoever.
- By cashing a grant cheque, the artist enters into a commitment to carry out the project planned and comply with the conditions governing the use of the grant.
- The grant recipient has three years from the application registration date to complete the project supported. The end of this period is the project expiry date. Should the artist fail to comply with this condition, the CALQ may demand repayment of the amount disbursed. Moreover, should the artist die or be disabled prior to completion of the anticipated activity, the CALQ may demand repayment of the grant prorated to the state of advancement of the activity.
Report on the use of a grant
The grant recipient undertakes to submit a detailed report on the use of the grant or the results of the research. This report must be submitted within three months after the end of a project. To be eligible to submit a new application, a grant recipient must have submitted the reports on the use of grants for all projects that have reached their end date, and these reports must be approved by the CALQ. The official project end date is determined by the candidate upon registration.
Visibility and use of the CALQ’s logo
Standards governing visibility
- When the project results in public activities such as exhibitions or publications, the CALQ's logo or a mention of its contribution must appear on any documentation, promotion or advertising materials.
- The grant recipient must comply with Standards governing the use of the CALQ's logo This link will open in a new window.
Further eligibility
Failure to comply with any of the foregoing conditions may jeopardize an artist's eligibility to submit a subsequent application.
Tools and references
Partners
This studio has been made available through the collaboration of the Künstlerhaus Bethanien, the Québec Government Office in Berlin, the ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie and the ministère de la Culture et des Communications This link will open in a new window.
Contact info
The contact information for the Québec government offices abroad (delegations, bureaus, and trade offices) can be found on the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie website This link will open in a new window.
Reference documents
Synoptic table (124 KB) of the studios and studio-apartments eligibility per artistic field and professional experience (PDF).
- Frequently Asked Questions This link will open in a new window
- Code of ethics and professional conduct governing jury and committee members and assessors hired by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (65 KB)
- Glossary This link will open in a new window
- Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information This link will open in a new window
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Act This link will open in a new window
- Act respecting the professional status of artists in the visual arts, film, the recording arts, literature, arts and crafts and the performing arts This link will open in a new window
- Policy governing juries, committees and assessors (365 KB)