OPEN CALL
IN BLOOM
Queer Art Residency on Self-Representation, Identity and Transformation

02.-26. April 2027 | Trahütten, Austria

IN BLOOM is an international residency for queer artists whose work engages with self-representation, identity, visibility, embodiment and transformation.

The residency is organised by kulturfrische Trahütten and hosted by the queer art space and guesthouse Absteige zur bärtigen Therese in Trahütten, Austria.

Five artists from eligible Creative Europe countries will be invited to spend three and a half weeks together in the Alpine village of Trahütten, developing artistic research, new work and dialogue around questions of selfhood, visibility and artistic becoming.

About IN BLOOM

Many queer artistic practices begin with a fundamental question:

Who am I?
How do we construct ourselves?
How do we become visible?
How do we transform experience into images, performances, narratives, costumes or artistic gestures?

IN BLOOM welcomes artists who use the self as material, subject, archive, fiction, body or image.

We are interested in artistic practices that explore self-portraiture, self-analysis, alter egos, artistic personas, drag identities, autobiographical narratives, queer visibility and the relationship between lived experience and artistic creation.

The residency is open to visual artists, performers, drag artists and interdisciplinary practitioners.

About the Hosts

IN BLOOM is initiated and hosted by the artist duo itshe+io.

Working between queer art, performance, self-representation and hospitality, itshe+io explore questions of identity, transformation, memory, intimacy and visibility.

Their artistic practice frequently blurs the boundaries between art, everyday life, storytelling, performance and lived experience.

About the Venue

The residency takes place at Absteige zur bärtigen Therese, a queer art space and guesthouse located in the mountain village of Trahütten in southern Austria.

The Absteige serves simultaneously as an artist residence, exhibition venue, social space and place of encounter.

Residents will also have access to temporarily unused historic farmhouses within the village, which will function as temporary studios and artistic workspaces.

The rural setting offers a unique environment for artistic reflection, experimentation and exchange.

What We Offer

• Three-and-a-half-week residency in April 2027

• Accommodation at Absteige zur bärtigen Therese

• Meals during the residency

• Travel support according to Culture Moves Europe regulations

• Studio and workspace access

• Exchange with international artists

• Encounters with local queer communities

• Open Studio Day

• Public presentation of artistic outcomes

Funding

IN BLOOM is supported by Culture Moves Europe, the mobility programme funded by the European Union and implemented by the Goethe-Institut.

More information:
https://culture.ec.europa.eu/culture-moves-europe

Eligibility

Applicants must be legally resident in one of the countries eligible under the Culture Moves Europe programme.

Please consult the official programme website for current eligibility requirements.

Who Can Apply

Artists working in:

• Visual Arts

• Performance

• Drag

• Interdisciplinary Arts

Application Requirements

Please submit:

• CV

• Portfolio

• Short motivation letter:
  Why would you like to participate in IN BLOOM?

• Project proposal:
  What would you like to research, develop or create during the residency?

• Website and/or social media links

The residency concludes with an Open Studio Day and a public presentation.

DEADLINE: August 10, 2026