Open Call for Artists-in-Residence in the DIVA Atelier

A residency at DIVA is a chance to grow as a maker and to reflect on your work and creatively explore new ideas. It is also an opportunity to benefit from access to the museum’s excellent specialist library and to become better acquainted with the rich and diverse museum collection.  
 
Meeting the public and other experts and professionals from the sector is an essential part of the residency. Leading makers, curators, theoreticians and gallery owners will visit the DIVA Atelier during your residency and provide personalized feedback. Residents also have the opportunity to address and engage with the public. This will take the form of a talk and presentation of your work at DIVA.

Duration
A DIVA Atelier residency lasts three months.     
 
Number of residencies  
DIVA selects four residents per year: two in the spring and two in the autumn.   
 
Selection criteria     
The museum nominates a team of experts to choose the candidates, who need to have successfully completed a relevant course in the field of jewellery design and silversmithing.   
 
When  
As a jewellery designer or silversmith, you can apply for a DIVA Atelier residency at any time of the year. Once a year - in November – DIVA selects the residents for the following year. If you wish to be considered for a residency in 2023, please ensure that the museum receives your application by November 6th 2022.     
 
Enrolment  
Your application should consist of a motivation letter and a project proposal describing what you wish to achieve during the residency. DIVA favours projects that contribute to the resident’s artistic development.    
 
DIVA offers each resident:  
• reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs up to €1,500  
• a work and production budget up to €1,500  

>>Click here for the Application Form.

Kindly email any further questions you may have to: atelier@divaantwerp.be .


About the DIVA Atelier  
The DIVA Atelier is arranged in such a way that residents can work independently and try out different techniques. Residents have free access to the atelier every day from 8 to 21.00 hrs.      

The ca. 160-m² DIVA Atelier consists of four interconnected spaces. The first of these is the acid chamber, equipped with an acid table, a fume cupboard, storage for chemicals and a workbench. This space is used for (among other things) frosting, galvanizing, anodizing, polishing and patinizing workpieces.  
 
The second space is designed for use as a goldsmith’s workshop. There is a large workbench and you will find a range of equipment, including a drawing bench, rolling and polishing machines and a cupboard where small tools for jewellery-making are kept. A wide range of technical manuals is available for consultation in the reference library. 

Next, you come to the forging area, where you will find workbenches for forging, heavy-duty bench vices, tree-trunks, a selection of stakes and hammers and a furnace with several burners. This space also contains foundry and vulcanising equipment, a wax injector and all the requisites for lost wax casting.

Apart from casting, forging, soldering, spinning and pressing, in the DIVA Atelier, you can also do chiselling, enamelling, niello, fold forming, Mokume Gane, etc.  

The last space is set aside for residents to meet and exchange experiences.