Are you an early career visual artist based in Finland? Are you looking for an inspirational setting and immersive experience with the opportunity to exchange and explore artistic paths together with a peer from Nigeria?
Villa Karo's Early Career Peer Mentoring Residency Programme offers a free, 8-week-long cross-cultural residency where two visual artists - one from Finland and one from Nigeria - live, work, and learn together at Villa Karo, in Grand-Popo, Benin. The residency fosters peer mentorship, intercultural collaboration and artistic growth, while offering participants the chance to discover the rich cultural heritage and vibrant art scene of Benin.
The program is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Swedish Cultural Foundation, and implemented in collaboration with the Yinka Shonibare Foundation / Guest Artists Space Foundation (G.A.S.), Lagos. Since its launch in 2026, the program has brought together three pairs of artists: Eevi Oittinen (Finland) and John Adewale Kolawole
(Nigeria) in the spring, and this autumn, Wanda Holopainen (Finland) and Nengi Nelson (Nigeria), and Jarl Hohenthal (Finland) and Michael Adebiyi (Nigeria).
The residency includes a free, 8-week residency at Villa Karo, a travel grant of 1200 € to cover travel and other costs, onboarding, pre-travel preparations and welcome on arrival in Cotonou managed by Villa Karo.
One Finland-based artist will be selected for the spring residency (May-June 2027) and another for the autumn residency (August-October 2027). Once selected, each artist will be paired with a Nigerian visual artist from the G.A.S. alumni pool.
Apply by the 30th of September 2026 through the "Peer Mentoring - Visual Arts - VK x G.A.S." section in Villa Karo's application portal (apply.villakaro.org).
Contact:
Finland office: toimisto@villakaro.org
Grand-Popo centre, Benin: info@villakaro.org