Reflective Residency at Off the Grid in collaboration with Kunsthal Mechelen - Deadline 14.10
EN
Ernest Albert Invitational – Artistic Development Residency at Cas-co and Exhibition at Kunsthal Mechelen 2027
Deadline to apply 14 October 2026 (23:59 CET)
Cas-co and Kunsthal Mechelen invite Belgium-based emerging curators, writers, critics, researchers, art historians, or practitioners working through research to apply for the Ernest Albert Invitational 2027: a four-month Reflective residency at Cas-co, Leuven.
The Reflective Resident will join four artists taking 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 a Reflective contribution to the group exhibition’s public programme at Kunsthal Mechelen from 4 June to 29 August 2027. The exhibition will be curated by Jessica Meuleman (Kunsthal Mechelen), Zuzanna Rachowska and Arthur Cordier (Cas-co)
The residency creates a space for research alongside artistic practice. The Reflective Resident develops an independent research trajectory while closely following the questions, processes and conversations emerging within the Artistic Development Residency, a group of four selected artists. Reflection is understood here as an active practice: a way of creating connections, introducing perspectives, asking questions and generating new contexts around artistic work.
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Over four months, the Reflective Resident becomes part of the working environment at Cas-co. Through studio visits, one-to-one conversations, reading groups, collective discussions and exhibition visits, they contribute to the intellectual and artistic exchange around the residency while developing their own line of inquiry.
Rather than working towards a conventional exhibition text, the Reflective resident is encouraged to experiment with how research can circulate and become public. The resulting outcome might take the form of an essay, lecture, publication, performance, conversation, podcast, archive or another format developed through the research itself.
The outcome will become part of the wider context and public programme of the Ernest Albert Invitational exhibition at Kunsthal Mechelen (4 June – 29 August 2027).
Research guidance and mentorship will accompany the residency, with opportunities for exchange with researchers and practitioners connected to KU Leuven and LUCA School of Arts.
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The Reflective Residency takes place within the conceptual framework of Moving Grounds: Perspectives on (Inner-)Landscapes, the theme of the 2027 Ernest Albert Invitational.
Taking the landscape practice of painter and educator Ernest Albert as a historical point of departure, the programme asks what landscape might mean today. Rather than treating landscape as a genre or fixed territory, we approach it as a field of relations — something perceived, inhabited, constructed and continuously negotiated.
Landscape might be psychological, ecological, social, technological or political. It can emerge through memory and imagination as much as through movement, infrastructure, extraction, migration or changing environments.
Applicants are invited to propose a research trajectory that enters into dialogue with, complicates or productively departs from this framework. We particularly welcome intersectional perspectives, interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies that challenge established ways of producing and sharing knowledge.
There is no expectation of a predetermined outcome. The residency prioritises curiosity, process and exchange, allowing research to develop in response to encounters with artists, artworks, places and ideas.
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The Reflective Residency is open to Belgium-based emerging curators, writers, critics, art historians, researchers and research-based practitioners working in relation to contemporary art and adjacent fields.
We particularly welcome applicants who:
are at an early stage of their professional practice;
have had limited access to institutional opportunities or visibility;
are developing a curatorial, critical, theoretical, artistic or interdisciplinary professional research practice;
are interested in working closely alongside artists and artistic processes;
value experimentation, collective learning and critical exchange.
We understand an emerging practice not through age, but through the stage and context of a person’s professional trajectory.
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16 September 2026
Open call launched14 October 2026
Application deadline (23:59 CET)26 October 2026
Jury meeting4 November 2026
Announcement of the selected Reflective resident18 November 2026
Reflective resident to participate in the second jury phase for the Artists-in-Residency call14 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 and Reflective residents will develop new work while engaging with each other, benefit from curatorial guidance, and meet with invited professionals. The four artists will be in conversation with the Reflective resident.
4 June – 29 August 2027
Contribution to the group exhibition public programme at Kunsthal MechelenThe residency concludes with participation in the public programme at Kunsthal Mechelen. The exhibition will be curated by Jessica Meuleman (Kunsthal Mechelen), Zuzanna Rachowska and Arthur Cordier (Cas-co).
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The Reflective Residency is based on the principle that research and critical reflection are forms of artistic labour and should be fairly remunerated.
During their four months residency at Cas-co, the selected Reflective Resident receives:
Artist fee: € 1,100 per month
Transportation allowance: € 120 per month
Production budget: € 600 (one-time contribution)
Total remuneration: € 5,480 inc. VAT
In addition to the financial support, the residency provides access to the shared residency programme, studio environment, mentorship, professional guidance, and the opportunity to present the outcomes of the research as part of the exhibition’s public programme at Kunsthal Mechelen.
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 presentation of your practice and research interests.Residency proposal (maximum 1 page)
A proposal outlining the research you would like to develop during the residency, which form it could take, and how you imagine engaging with the artists and the exhibition’s public programme.CV or biography (maximum 1 page)
Portfolio (maximum 10 pages)
A portfolio or selection of relevant projects, publications, documentation, links, writing samples, exhibitions, or research
Please combine all documents into one PDF and submit via the Online Form.
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Applications will be reviewed by a jury composed of representatives from Cas-co, Kunsthal Mechelen, and invited professionals, including Valerie Verhack (Curator, M Leuven), and Camille Van Meenen (Curator, Komplot & CASTOR).
Selection is based on:
the relevance of the proposed research;
the quality and originality of the applicant’s research practice;
the openness to dialogue and collaborative dimensions of the project;
the potential to contribute meaningfully to the artistic residency and public programme.
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.