Deadline: 03-Nov-2025
The European Festivals Association is accepting applications for its European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists to support collaborations between festivals from different countries.
EFFEA provides a platform for emerging artists to develop their work and gain international visibility through residencies hosted by leading and partner festivals. Around 50 residencies will be selected involving 50 emerging artists, either individuals, groups, or collectives, in collaboration with approximately 150 festivals. Each residency is led by a leading festival, supported by at least two partner festivals from different eligible countries.
The objectives of the residency are to help artists develop their skills, build collaborations and lasting relationships, and achieve professional goals. It further aims to create cooperation opportunities for festivals across borders, establish a co-programming platform in Europe, and offer audiences new and surprising artistic encounters within their communities.
There are two categories of residencies under this programme. The Discovery category supports artists at the early stages of their careers with potential for international breakthrough, offering grants of 8,000€. The Springboard category supports artists already established in their own countries and ready to expand internationally, with grants of 15,000€. Both categories require structured activities such as presentations, workshops, or masterclasses, participation in seminars, and the production of a short film documenting the residency.
Festivals and artists benefit in multiple ways through EFFEA. Festivals become part of a peer-to-peer network that fosters international collaboration, co-productions, and artist mobility. Emerging artists gain research opportunities, mentoring, international exposure, and participation in multiple festivals. Audiences experience access to new talents, diverse and interdisciplinary works, and encounters with innovative artistic practices.
The programme covers a wide range of artistic disciplines, including Architecture, Ballet, Contemporary Dance, Circus, Design and Applied Arts, Digital Arts, Film, Folklore and Folk Arts, Heritage, Interdisciplinary Practices, Literature, Music, Opera, Street Art, Theatre, Photography and Video, Puppetry, Sculpture, and Painting.
The EFFEA Residency is open to leading festivals and artists with an official address in eligible countries including Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, and Ukraine. Festivals based in Israel, Moldova, Palestine, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK may participate only as partner festivals, though artists from these countries can still be proposed.
The eligibility criteria require a partnership of at least three festivals from three eligible countries, including one leading festival and two partners. Festivals must be registered on FestivalFinder.eu before applying, and artists must have nationality or legal residence in one of the eligible countries. Applications must include letters of intent, budget templates, and supporting documentation.
The selection criteria for EFFEA residencies focus on several key aspects. Under relevance, applications must demonstrate the importance of the proposed residency in relation to the needs of the artists at this stage in their careers, its significance to their artistic field, and the objectives it seeks to achieve. In terms of quality, the description of planned activities should highlight their relevance for the artists, festivals, and the wider artistic field, the strength and roles of the partnership (with additional partners beyond the required two considered an added asset), the sustainability of the residency in new production parameters such as digital tools, duration, or local co-creation, and how the residency is innovative.
The criteria assume that residencies are relevant for artists, festivals, and audiences, that they will positively impact artists’ careers, provide opportunities beyond the residency period, and ensure fair remuneration at all stages. Topics such as diversity, sustainability (ecological, cultural, artistic, economic, and social), digital tools, and inclusion are also valued in evaluating the quality of the residency.
Exclusion criteria specify that artists selected for a Discovery residency in previous calls cannot apply again for Discovery, though they remain eligible for Springboard, while those selected for a Springboard residency in past calls cannot reapply. Festivals presenting their very first edition or failing to meet eligibility conditions are also ineligible.
Applications must be submitted exclusively online via the EFFEA Platform. The leading festival is required to provide general information about their organisation, details of the proposed artists including biographies and links, information on partner festivals, motivation for engaging artists and forming the partnership, letters of intent with both the artists and partner festivals (templates provided), and a detailed budget form. Applying festivals must upload and sign all required documents, including the budget and letters of intent, to complete the application.
The application deadline for EFFEA’s fourth call is 3 November 2025, followed by jury evaluations in November 2025. Results will be announced to applicants in December 2025, with the public announcement also taking place in December. The implementation period for the selected residencies will run from 1 January to 31 December 2026. As part of the programme, the EFFEA Intake Seminar is scheduled for 20 January 2026, while the Outtake Seminar will be held on 22 September 2026.
For more information, visit EFFEA.