how to apply: spæs residency program

We invite artists, designers, practitioners, engineers, scholars, and researchers from all disciplines whose work critically
engages with sound and space as aesthetic practice.

Contributing to a diverse and emerging body of shared knowledge is at the core of the spæs residency program. We encourage residents to focus on process and experience rather than on a finished outcome. Residents are also asked to reflect on, document, and share their work publicly in some form.

The spæs residency is not primarily concerned with working in spatial sound as a production format. Instead, it is dedicated to investigating the spatial aesthetics of sound: how sound participates in the perception, organization, and meaning of space, and how spatial relations emerge through listening. While many residents work with multichannel sound, loudspeaker systems, or immersive audio environments, the residency is not focused on producing spatial sound works as an end in itself. Projects are expected to treat spatial sound not merely as a medium or format, but as a question, a condition, or a method for inquiry.

The residency program runs year-round, with no fixed application deadlines. Residency periods are scheduled individually, based on mutual availability and project requirements.

what we offer

The residency takes place in Berlin, Germany. During your time here, you will have access to one of the two studios and receive a technical introduction to its facilities. These resources support the residency’s primary focus on reflective, process-oriented inquiry into the spatial aesthetics of sound.

Residents are supported through dialogue and exchange, including mentoring, consultations, training, and technical guidance where this serves the inquiry at hand. Support is oriented toward critical reflection, methodological development, and situated listening practices, rather than toward production supervision or finished outcomes.

Depending on the lab’s schedule, residents may be invited to take part in communal activities, such as listening sessions, where work-in-progress, questions, or observations are shared and discussed collectively.

fee structure

spæs is an independent, non-funded organization. The residency fee does not finance studio rent or generate profit. It contributes to covering a part of the time, care, and infrastructural work required to host the residency, including preparation, mentoring, technical support, and the ongoing maintenance of the lab. The fee allows us to sustain the residency program while remaining independent.

The fee for the program to be paid by the artist is €980.00 per week, which includes five working days and a total of 5 hours of personal support. The residency program offers flexible durations, dividing more extended work periods into several non-consecutive weeks if desired. Additionally, we can arrange accommodation at the spatial audio loft at a rate of €80 per night.

application

Please send your application via email and include the following information:

Explain how your proposed work approaches sound as a spatial practice, and what you aim to investigate, question, or make perceptible about spatial experience through sound, and how it engages with the lab’s interest in the spatial aesthetics of sound. (Maximum 1.500 characters, including spaces).
Provide up to five links to previous works that inform or contextualize your proposed residency work.
Describe any support you would need beyond the basic technical introduction to the studio, and why this support is relevant to your inquiry (maximum 800 characters, including spaces).
Indicate which studio you would prefer to work in.
Indicate the intended duration of your residency and your preferred time frames.
Describe your funding situation for the proposed residency and how you plan to cover the residency fee (maximum 500 characters, including spaces).

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
We look forward to receiving your application.