About the opportunity
Founded in 1998, HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme – is the largest international residency centre in the Nordic and Baltic region. Every year up to 40 artists and arts professionals residing in Finland and abroad are offered a working period at HIAP.
With $12,500 in funding, this three-month residency program offers time and space for open-ended research and experimentation, without the requirement to produce finalised work. The HIAP residency venues are located on Suomenlinna island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located a 15-minute ferry ride away from the centre of Helsinki, and in the Cable Factory cultural complex in Helsinki.
The HIAP residency program focuses on visual arts, however, it is open to artists and curators from various disciplines. Collaborating with local and international partner organisations, residencies extend to such creative fields as dance, theatre, literature, and music. The activities are organised predominantly through thematic residency programs that highlight a geographical area or concentrate on a specific contemporary topic or an aspect of artistic practice.
The HIAP residency program offers time and support for developing new work in dialogue with the local art scene. The goal is to offer space for experimental, cross-disciplinary art practices and to actively contribute to topical debates within and around the context of art.
The HIAP team help the residents with their research as well as practical everyday matters. Residents have access to services such as weekly residency community meetings, facilities and equipment, and the option to take part in the HIAP Open Studios event. This normally takes place towards the end of each residency season and is an opportunity to present work-in-progress to arts professionals and the general public.
If you need advice about your application, contact an Artists Services Officer.
Information pack: Download PDF.
Meet this year’s participants
Caitlin Franzmann
Caitlin Franzmann
Caitlin Franzmann is a Meanjin/Brisbane based artist who creates installations, participatory works and performances that explore ethics of learning with, and caring for, the environment. She is interested in understanding how histories and the influencing forces of power and care, shape places, cultures, and ecosystems. In reaction to the fast pace and sensory overstimulation of contemporary urban life, she invites people to slow down, gather, listen, and contemplate interactions with their surroundings and with other living entities. Since 2018 Caitlin has worked with Ensayos, a collective research practice working on issues of political ecology in Tierra del Fuego and other archipelagos.
Simon Lawrie
Simon Lawrie
Simon Lawrie is an independent curator and writer focused on spatial practice, public art commissions and site-responsive projects. His approach often aims to articulate and augment the experience of place, working closely with artists across sculpture, sound, installation, film, and performance to explore tensions between integration and intervention within a given context. Based in Melbourne, Lawrie completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and a Master of Art Curatorship at University of Melbourne. Major exhibitions include Lorne Sculpture Biennale 2025 (current); Site and sound: sonic art as ecological practice (2021); and Solid light: Josef Stanislaw Ostoja-Kotkowski (2019).
- Only individuals may apply to this category.
- You must be a practicing artist or arts worker and an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident.
Who can’t apply
You can’t apply if:
- You received a grant, or administered a grant, from us in the past and that grant has not been satisfactorily acquitted
- You owe money to Creative Australia
- We will not accept applications from legally constituted organisations.
Our staff and industry advisors in consultation with HIAP will consider applications according to the assessment criteria. Successful applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by mid-October 2024.
Applicants must address the following assessment criteria:
- Artistic merit
- suitability of your practice to the residency program and its artistic environment/offer
- quality of work previously produced, and public and peer response to your work.
- Viability
- suitability of your proposal to the residency program
- the skills and artistic ability of your collaborators (if applicable) and their relevance to the proposed activity
- realistic and achievable planning, resource use and evaluation.
- Impact on career
- how the proposed activity strengthens your artistic practice
- the relevance and timeliness of the proposed activity
- how the proposed activity strengthens your capacity as an arts professional, particularly in relation to international development and collaboration.
You should submit support material with your application. Assessors may review this support material to help them gain a better sense of your project.
What you should provide
We do not accept application-related support material submitted via post. Application-related material received by post will not be assessed and will be returned to the sender. If you think you will have difficulty submitting your support material online, or need advice on what type of material to submit, please contact us.
There are three types of support material you may submit:
1. Artistic support material
This should include relevant, recent examples of your artistic or cultural work.
Types of support material we accept
Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks).
You can provide up to three URLs (weblinks) that link to content that is relevant to your proposal. This may include video, audio, images, or written material.
These URLs can include a total of:
- 10 minutes of video and/or audio recording
- 10 images
- 10 pages of written material (for example, excerpts of literary writing).
Please note: Our assessors will not access any URLs that require them to log in or sign up to a platform. Please do not provide links to Spotify or other applications that require users to log in or pay for access.
If you are linking to media files that are private or password protected like Vimeo, please provide the password in the password field on the application form.
Other accepted file formats
If you cannot supply support material via URLs, you may upload support material to your application in the following formats:
- video (MP4, QuickTime, and Windows Media)
- audio (MP3 and Windows Media)
- images (JPEG and PowerPoint)
- written material (Word and PDF).
2. Biographies and CVs
You can include a brief bio or curriculum vitae (CV) for key artists, personnel or other collaborators involved in your project.
Brief bios or CV information should be presented as a single document no longer than two A4 pages in total.
3. Letters of support
Individuals, groups, or organisations can write letters in support of your project. A support letter should explain how the project or activity will benefit you, other artists or arts professionals, participants, or the broader community. It can also detail the support or involvement of key project partners, or evidence of consultation.
If relevant to your activity, letters of support must provide evidence of appropriate permissions and support from First Nations organisations, communities, and Elders. Please refer to the First Nations Protocols for more information.
You can include up to five letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.
The selected residents stay in a HIAP Suomenlinna atelier apartment. The residency spaces are in the Palmstierna studio complex, a renovated two-storey red-brick barrack from the 18th century, currently housing nine residential units (five atelier apartments and four regular apartments) and one workspace for artists.
The HIAP Suomenlinna atelier apartments are approx. 80 sqm each, furnished, and divided into a working space downstairs and a separate living space with bathroom and fully equipped kitchenette upstairs. The atelier apartments feature two single beds and a sofa-bed and can accommodate a family up to three persons. Bedding, linen, and towels are provided. The atelier apartments have a wireless internet connection. You can see some of the residency spaces here.
It is possible to access the ground floor of the HIAP atelier apartments, office, Gallery Augusta & Project Space by wheelchair, but HIAP recommend wheelchair users be accompanied by a person assisting because the entrance doors are not step-free. The living area of the two-story atelier apartments is accessible only via staircase (approx. 19 steps), and not accessible by wheelchair. The toilets are not spacious enough to meet accessibility standards. Despite this, HIAP are happy to help you plan your residency. Please contact HIAP to discuss your access needs and receive additional information. You can also find further details on accessibility in the information pack.
To apply for this grant, you will need to complete an online application form. If you would like to submit sections of your application in accessible formats such as audio or video, please contact us at least two weeks before the closing date.
Family members and guests are welcome in all HIAP’s locations. The atelier apartment can accommodate a family of two adults with up to two small children. The set up of the apartment cannot accommodate artists living together outside of a family situation. Please note that pets are not allowed in the rooms.
Your application must comply with the following Protocols. We may contact you to request further information during the assessment process, or if successful, as a condition of your funding.
Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts
All applications involving First Nations artists, communities or subject matter must adhere to these Protocols, provide evidence of this in their application and support material. More information on the First Nations Protocols is available here.
Commonwealth Child Safe Framework
All successful applicants are required to comply with all Australian law relating to employing or engaging people who work or volunteer with children, including working with children checks and mandatory reporting. Successful organisations who provide services directly to children, or whose funded activities involve contact with children, will additionally be required to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
2022-2023
- Sarah Rodigari
- Make or Break
- Helen Svoboda
2021-2022
- Francoise Lane
- Sumugan Sivanesan
2020-2021
- Rebekah (Bek) Berger
- Joshua Pether
2019-2020
- Rhiannon Newton
- Judith Hamann
- Sarah Aiken
- Courtney Coombs
2018-2019
- Loren Kronemyer
- Lisa Hilli
- Tamara Searle
- Caitlin Yardley
2017-2018
- Laith McGregor
- Tessa Rapaport
- Natalie Abbott
- Matt Shilcock
Frequently Asked Questions
Unless stated otherwise in the program description, all residencies are offered for fixed dates and periods of time.
Yes, but this will be at your own cost and we will not be able to provide additional funds towards the extension.
No. You are not required to provide a budget with your application.
There is no requirement for you to provide a timetable of your activities, unless stated otherwise in the individual residency program guidelines.
Yes. If successful, you are required to take out travel insurance for the duration of your residency. It is recommended you pay for this from your grant.
The capacity to accommodate children and partners varies for different residencies. Please check the program descriptions for specific requirements. Please note that the programs are limited to the participating artist only and have various limitations e.g. communal living and/or working space or modest living quarters.
Yes, the grant to an individual that accompanies a residency is considered income and taxable. Please visit the Australian Taxation Office website for more information.
The International Residencies Program is dynamic and responsive and the programs on offer may vary from year to year.
Yes. If you are looking for some tips on organising your residency or programs in the region you’re interested in, check out the Tips and Links resources on our International Engagement web page.
There is no limit to the number of international residencies applications you can submit. However, you will need to consider how the assessors will perceive your commitment to a particular residency program and/or market if you have applied for multiple residencies. Each residency requires you to submit a separate application form. Please note, applications to International Engagement funding opportunities do not count as an application to the Creative Australia Grants Program.
Yes, as long as you have satisfactorily acquitted the previous residency grant.
The grant is not intended to cover lost income or rent at home and applicants will need to consider their capacity to undertake the residency prior to applying.
We partner with established and reputable residency providers and each program is unique. Successful applicants will be provided with detailed information about each residency and introductions to the residency providers who will assist artists with making local connections. Our staff are able to provide further advice and contacts, as requested. Artists are also expected to have their own resources, contacts and project plans for the residency.
The grant is a contribution from Creative Australia toward your travel (including airfares and travel insurance) and living costs during the residency period. Applicants are expected to research the cost of living in the residency location they are travelling to. You may need to supplement the grant with your own funds depending on your projected costs for the residency period.
We cannot provide any advice on visa or immigration matters. You must contact the relevant country’s visa service to get current information. We suggest you allow plenty of time to apply for all international visas.