Saari Residence in Finland

The Saari Residence, maintained by Kone Foundation, is a residence located in Mynämäki, Southwest Finland, for artists of all disciplines and nationalities. At the Saari Residence, artists and researchers can focus on their work in a peaceful rural environment and share their thoughts and experiences with colleagues. The residence’s long-term activities and thinking are underpinned by an ecological approach, which also covers social and mental sustainability. Its keywords are slowness, insight and change.

The residency places are intended for individual professional artists, fiction writers, poets and novelists, translators, composers, sound artists, curators and critics and artistic collectives (i.e., a workgroup or established organisation with a Business ID) of all disciplines and all nationalities for the purpose of carrying out a project proposed in advance. Individual residency can be applied for with a work partner in a joint application; the details of both applicants must be included in the same application. Non-fiction writers and researcher are not eligible for a residency.

The two-month work periods for individual residencies take place during spring, autumn and winter, and group residencies for 2–4 weeks take place in June, July and mid-August. The minimum group size is three people. We grant a one-week residency period only in special cases; for example, it would be suitable for a translator workshop or for groups that need to assemble for a small-scale seminar.

What are residencies for?
Residency places are for artistic work. We favour fields of art and subjects that are multidisciplinary, new and emerge from outside the mainstream.

The application period for Saari Residence takes place annually in March. The open call in March 2023 is for residency places in 2024. All applications must be submitted by using the online grant service during the application period. Please read the information and guidelines carefully before applying!