participatory residency for disabled artists & activists

As part of the Participatory Residency Program, the Academy of the Arts of the World (ADKDW), together with Un-Label, is inviting applications for a residency from April to September 2025. Based on a self-selected subject, an artist-in-residence will develop a participatory program for the Un-Label network and implement it in collaboration with the ADKDW team.

It is important to us to provide a space for independent research and creative work. We support this with a strong local network that the artists-in-residence can draw on. The ADKDW and its partners also establish contacts in Cologne’s communities and art scene to make it easier to arrive, get to know each other and network.

What we expect:

The Participatory Residency Program is looking for artists and activists who deal with intersectional, but especially anti-ableist and de- or postcolonial critique of power. The applicants’ practice should take the form of artistic projects with aspects of power critique, participation and involvement in a contemporary cultural environment.

The artists-in-residence are expected to design a series of participatory activities and plan and implement events with the community in Cologne. The activities and events should be explicitly developed together and the aforementioned target group should not be seen as mere recipients of the program.