Open Call for Applications: International Residency Researching the Photo Archive and Producing an Exhibition
The Estonian National Museum's photo archive, ranging from glass negatives to digital images, is open to researchers. Four residents will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in our photo archive over a six-month period and, as a result of their work, co-create a joint exhibition in ERM’s temporary exhibition hall (742 sqm), open from 25 November 2026 to 4 July 2027.
This residency operates within the context visual anthropology, examining photographs not just as images of culture, but as evolving cultural practice itself. What do people do with pictures and what do pictures do with people? In modern data-driven societies, photographs undergo another metamorphosis, through technical systems that are not neutral.
The Estonian National Museum offers four residents a collaborative creative research process.
Application deadline: 28 February 2026, 23:59 (EET, UTC+2)
Resident confirmations: 27 March 2026
Support: €10,000 per resident + accommodation and transport during the co-creation and installation period + exhibition production team and production costs
Residency: 1 May – 30 September 2026 (hybrid: research can also take place outside Estonia)
Mandatory co-creation periods in Tartu: 25–29 May and 29 June – 3 July 2026
Exhibition open: 25 November 2026 – 4 July 2027
Read more and apply here: https://www.erm.ee/en/residency
For further information:
Maris Klaas,
Head of Exhibitions and In-house Events (ENM)
maris.klaas(a)erm.ee
Tel. +372 736 3072