Artist-in-residence at Off the Grid in collaboration with Kunsthal Mechelen - Deadline 28.10
EN
Ernest Albert Invitational – Artistic Development Residency at Cas-co and Exhibition at Kunsthal Mechelen 2027
Deadline to apply 28 October 2026 (23:59 CET)
Cas-co and Kunsthal Mechelen invite Belgium-based visual artists to apply for the Ernest Albert Invitational 2027: a four-month residency followed by a group exhibition.
Four artists will take part in Cas-co’s Artistic Development Residency, within the Off the Grid programme, in Leuven from 14 January to 14 May 2027. The residency will culminate in an exhibition at Kunsthal Mechelen from 4 June to 29 August 2027.
For the first time, Off the Grid, Cas-co’s residency programme is followed by a full-scale exhibition at a partner institution, connecting artistic development directly with an ambitious public presentation.
The Invitational rethinks the format of the art prize as a shared process rather than an individual award. Its resources are distributed equally among four artists, creating time and space for research, experimentation and the development of new work ahead of the exhibition, supported by financial, curatorial and production resources.
The exhibition will be curated by Jessica Meuleman (Kunsthal Mechelen), Zuzanna Rachowska and Arthur Cordier (Cas-co).
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The Artistic Development Residency offers four early-career artists the time, space, and support to develop new work while deepening their ongoing artistic practice through research, production, and exchange.
Over four months at Off the Grid (Cas-co), residents pursue individual residencies while participating in a shared programme of critical dialogue, peer learning, and experimentation. Additionally, a Reflective resident will be selected via a separate Open Call, and function as a sparing-partners. See details here.
The residency culminates in a group exhibition and public programme at Kunsthal Mechelen.
The Ernest Albert Invitational takes its name from Ernest Albert (1897 – 1976), painter, educator and former director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Mechelen, whose practice was closely connected to landscape. Rather than revisiting his work historically, the 2027 edition takes the (inner)-landscape as a point of departure for thinking through today’s lived experiences.
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Moving Grounds: Perspectives on (Inner) Landscapes approaches landscape not as a genre or fixed territory, but as a field of relations: something we perceive, inhabit, construct and negotiate. Landscapes can be intimate and psychological, shaped by memory, emotion and imagination, while extending into social, urban, technological, political and ecological realities.
What landscapes emerge through movement, migration, extraction or coexistence? How do bodies, images and environments shape one another? Which landscapes remain invisible, contested or still in formation?
Taking inspiration from Nicolas Bourriaud’s idea of the radicant artist who “invents routes rather than roots” — the programme welcomes practices that move between inner and outer worlds, places and perspectives, and that work through displacement, hybridity and transformation.
The theme functions as a shared conceptual horizon rather than a prescribed theme: an invitation to consider landscape as a way of seeing, thinking and positioning oneself in relation to the world.
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We welcome applications from artists who:
are based in Belgium;
are in the early stages of their professional career;
have limited institutional and commercial visibility;
are dedicated to professionalising their practice through research and experimentation
are open to dialogue and participation in a shared and collective residency trajectory.
We particularly encourage applications from artists working across disciplines, including visual arts, installation, performance, moving image, sound, scenography, socially engaged practices, and other experimental forms.
The programme is especially suited to recent graduates and emerging practitioners seeking a context that values exchange, collective learning, and long-term artistic development.
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16 September 2026
Open call launched28 October 2026
Application deadline (23:59 CET)9 November 2026
First jury meeting18 November 2026
Second jury meeting25 November 2026
Announcement of the selected artists14 January – 14 May 2027
Residency at Off the Grid (Cas-co), LeuvenThe residency focuses on artistic research, development, and production. Throughout four months, the selected artists will develop new work while engaging with fellow residents, benefit from curatorial guidance, and meet with invited professionals. The four artists will be in conversation with the Reflective resident (see Open Call here).
The residency culminates in a group exhibition and public programme at Kunsthal Mechelen.
4 June – 29 August 2027
Group exhibition and public programme at Kunsthal MechelenIn addition to the financial resources made available for their residency, the artists will benefit from a separated and dedicated production budget, as well as an artist fee from Kunsthal Mechelen. The exhibition will be curated by Jessica Meuleman (Kunsthal Mechelen), Zuzanna Rachowska and Arthur Cordier (Cas-co).
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Each artist selected for the Artistic Development Residency receives for a 4 months support by Cas-co (all inc. VAT):
Artist fee: € 1,100 per month
Transportation allowance: € 120 per month
Production budget: € 1,200 (one-time contribution)
Total remuneration per artist: € 6,080 inc. VAT
In addition to the financial support, the residency provides a studio space at Off the Grid (Cas-co), curatorial and production guidance, peer exchange with fellow residents, and the opportunity to present newly developed work within the exhibition and public programme at Kunsthal Mechelen. The exhibition will include a separate artist and production fee.
Please note that Off the Grid (Cas-co) does not provide accommodation.
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Please submit one PDF (maximum 10 MB) containing:
Presentation of your practice (maximum 1 page)
A short text introducing your artistic practice and current research interests.Residency proposal (maximum 1 page)
A project proposal describing the research, development, and production you wish to undertake during the residency. Specify how this resonates with the theme.Exhibition proposal (maximum 2 pages)
Describe how you envision presenting your work within the framework of the group exhibition. This may include existing works, new productions, or a combination of both.CV or biography (maximum 1 page)
Portfolio (maximum 10 pages)
A selection of recent works relevant to your proposal and/or the theme of the open call, including brief descriptions of the works.
Please combine all documents into one PDF and submit via the Online Form
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The selection takes place in two phases.
Phase I
All eligible applications will be reviewed by a jury composed of representatives from Cas-co, Kunsthal Mechelen, and invited external professionals: Karel Op ’t Eynde (curator, Jester & CASTOR), Magali Elali (co-founder & curator, The Constant Now), and artists Clementine Coupau and Angyvir Padilla. Based on the submitted applications, a shortlist of artists will be selected.
Phase II
Shortlisted artists will be assessed by a second selection commission. The final jury will include the selected Reflective resident, strengthening the dialogue between artistic and curatorial perspectives. When suitable, the jury reserves the right to conduct (online) interviews with the candidates.
Applications will be assessed according to:
the quality and originality of the artistic practice;
the relevance of the proposal to the theme;
the potential for artistic development during the residency;
the feasibility of the proposed research and production;
the willingness to engage in dialogue, experimentation, and a collective residency environment.
Cas-co and Kunsthal Mechelen are committed to an inclusive and equitable selection process. Applications are assessed on the basis of the criteria above, regardless of gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnic or cultural background, nationality, religion or belief, socio-economic background, or family situation. We welcome applications from artists with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and lived experiences.
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To guarantee a fair and equitable assessment of all candidates, only practical questions regarding the application procedure will be answered. For questions regarding the application process, you can contact Arthur Cordier, Residency coordinator at Cas-co, at arthur@cas-co.be.
This project is supported by the Flemish Community, the City of Leuven, and the City of Mechelen.