Open Call for Designers in Residence in Pforzheim 2025

The town of Pforzheim is characterized by an active creative scene which is focused on the area of design. The faculty of design at the Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences has established Pforzheim as a university town with an international reputation. "Designers in Residence" scholarship program counts with the generous support of Sparkasse Pforzheim Calw, C. Hafner, Rotary Club Pforzheim-Schlossberg and yellow design.


Conditions
Every year from April to June the city of Pforzheim together with Pforzheim University and Design Center Baden-Württemberg invites international young designers as part of the scholarship program “Designers in Residence” to Pforzheim. 
The scholarship program is directed towards young international designers in the areas of jewellery, fashion, accessories, industrial and communication design as well as other design disciplines. Applicants must have completed studies at an university of applied sciences or university, must either not be older than 35 years or must have completed their studies not longer than two years ago. To apply, a proposal for a project that can be implemented during the scholarship must be submitted. Interdisciplinary project proposals are welcome. Language skills in German or English are required.


Scholarship benefits 
In total there will be three scholarships. Of all applications, the three best will be considered. The scholarship includes use of fully equipped workshop and coworking workplaces in the EMMA Creative Center in Pforzheim and free accommodation for the period of three months.
As required, it will also be possible to use the workshop facilities of the Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences. In addition, each scholarship holder will receive a monthly support of 1,000 euros together with travel costs for the journey from and back to home. A special allowance will be made available for material costs. During the scholarship, there is the opportunity to network and exchange ideas with the jury and professors at Pforzheim University.
The results of the scholarship will be presented in an exhibition at the EMMA Creative Center in Pforzheim. Those accepting the scholarship are required to be in residence. The scholarship holder may only be absent for a maximum of 10 days.

The period of residence in Pforzheim is from April 1 to June 30, 2025.


Jury
Melitta Baumeister, Fashion Designer, New York.
Melitta Baumeister is a German fashion designer based in New York City. With a thorough foundation in tailoring she moved on earning a MFA in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design before launching her own brand.

Romin Heide, Product designer, Verband Deutscher Industrie Designer e.V., Berlin.
Romin Heide studied product design at the Coburg University of Applied Sciences with guest semesters at the Berlin Weißensee School of Art and the ENSCI|Les Ateliers in Paris. Together with Hanna Litwin, he has been running the design studio BÜRO FAMOS in Berlin since 2012. The studio’s work includes projects with a wide variety of materials in the areas of furniture, lighting and accessories and has been awarded the Apolline Prize of the Grassi Messe Leipzig and the Red Dot Award, among others.

Jiro Kamata, Jewellery artist, Munich.
Jiro Kamata, born in Japan in 1978, lives and works in Munich. He studied at the Yamanashi Institute of Gemology and Jewelry Art in Kofu, Japan and at Pforzheim University. He then studied with Otto Künzli at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. His works have been exhibited internationally and are in several private and public collections, such as the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, the Grassi Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Leipzig, the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, USA or the Victoria & Albert Museum, UK.