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Performing arts

Swiss Connection UK: Residencies 2026

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Target group
Practitioner with connection to Switzerland
Submission deadline
15 February, 23:59 (CET)

What

Two residencies of 10 to 14 days in the UK at Battersea Arts Centre London and Fierce Festival Birmingham. The residencies will enable participants to expand their network, become familiar with an institution in a specifically British context, and reflect on their own artistic practice with the help of local artists. In 2026, the residencies will take place in London in May and in Birmingham in October.

For Whom

  • Independent performing arts artists from Switzerland
  • Artists can apply alone or in pairs
  • Artists can only apply for one of the proposed residencies

Selection Criteria

Excellent knowledge of English is a prerequisite.

Participants are selected by the institutions according to the following criteria:

  • Suitability of the artist and their practice for the host venue
  • Impact of the residency on the artist at this moment in time
  • Potential for future programming in the UK

In addition to these specific criteria, the apply.

Financial Contribution

The contribution includes travel expenses, accommodation, daily allowances and other local costs (studio, materials, etc.).

Content Of Application

  • CV
  • motivation letter
  • Applications must be written in English.

Application Deadlines and Decision Timelines

Applications can be submitted from1 January
Submission deadline15 February, 23:59 (CET)
Notification of decisionWithin 8 weeks after the application deadline

Decision-making processes

Unless otherwise specified, applications will be assessed in accordance with the .

Additional Information

Battersea Arts Centre London (8-23 May 2026)

Battersea Arts Centre is a space for artists to experiment, develop, and make extraordinary art happen. BAC presents a programme over multiple spaces with a focus on contemporary performance and international work. It also runs a dedicated creative development programme, working with artists to challenge what performance can be and how it is created. We look to develop and present work that is groundbreaking in ideas and aesthetic, pioneering in its approach to inclusion, and bold in exploration of hidden perspectives. We are interested in work that is playful in approach to form, critically rigorous and socially impactful. We encourage global majority and disabled applicants.

The Residency at Battersea Arts Centre will provide an opportunity to: research, develop and rehearse a project (with a basic lighting and sound set-up) and if appropriate host an invited sharing at BAC; meet with London based artists and industry and be introduced to collaborators if desired; receive producing and artistic mentorship from Battersea Arts Centre; and attend Bloom Festival at BAC (a festival of experimental and non-conventional presentation models)

FIERCE Festival Birmingham (13-18 October 2026)

FIERCE champions artists who work at the boundaries of contemporary performance and live art. The festival disrupts expectations of what art can be, who can make it, and where it can happen. While Fierce isn’t an issue-led festival, it is recognised that the best artistic work so frequently comes from a marginalised position, whether based on gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, or any number of other factors. Fierce transforms the city and the way we feel about it: populating theatres, galleries and hidden, unusual or out-of-the-ordinary spaces like disused warehouses, swimming pools and car parks.
This residency will be contextualised by the next edition of Fierce Festival. Moving away from a traditional, in-studio residency, the artist/s will use the festival as the site of response, intervention, and/or creation. The residency period will be an opportunity to develop relational, site- and Festival-specific research, work and practice.

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General Requirements

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Introduction

Pro Helvetia promotes the professional contemporary Swiss art and cultural production (without film) with a view to diversity as well as national and international reach. It supports the creation of new artistic works and productions, the exchange between Switzerland’s various linguistic regions, the dissemination of Swiss art and culture outside Switzerland and international cultural exchange. As a national foundation, Pro Helvetia supplements the promotional activities of Swiss cantons and municipalities and only supports projects that are cross-regionally or internationally recognised.

Pro Helvetia will only consider funding applications if they are complete and have been submitted on time.

To be eligible for support, projects must

  • have a clear connection to Switzerland
  • be of nationwide importance
  • be adequately co-funded by other public or private means
  • respects/guarantee fair working conditions

Connection to Switzerland

A connection to Switzerland is given, if one of the following conditions is met:

  • The production or project in question is developed or implemented by artists and cultural practitioners, who verifiably hold Swiss citizenship or are permanent residents of Switzerland and who are regularly artistically involved in relevant events in Switzerland.
  • The project is created, developed, or implemented by an independent group or cultural institution whose place of production is in Switzerland and who is regularly and publicly active in Switzerland.

Nationwide relevance

Nationwide relevance is given, if one of the following conditions is met:

  • The art and cultural practitioners participating in the project are regularly involved in programmes of nationally recognised art and cultural institutions in Swiss regions other than their own or abroad, and the project in question has a transregional appeal.
  • The artistic potential of an emerging art practitioner involved is exceptional in terms of a national or international career.
  • The project makes a significant contribution to the development of Swiss artistic and cultural production and its dissemination.
  • The project is of significant importance for the exchange between Switzerland’s various linguistic regions.

Assessment of content and quality

Within the framework of the available funds, Pro Helvetia prioritises projects that most comprehensively meet the funding criteria. The Foundation assesses whether

  • the project demonstrates high degree of independence and professional competence as well as social and thematic relevance
  • the project is implemented according to professional standards
  • the costs are commensurate with the expected impact
  • a lasting impact can be expected

Furthermore, the Foundation attaches great importance to the following aspects:

  • The project has an appropriate commitment to diversity.
  • Resources are used in an ecologically responsible manner and work and production are planned sustainably.

Restrictions

Pro Helvetia is unable to consider funding requests if

  • the same part of the submitted project is already received funding from other federal bodies (e.g. Federal Office of Culture, Presence Switzerland, Swiss National Science Foundation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation)
  • the project is part of a school or university curriculum/basic training or continuing education programme (including dissertations, diploma projects, university scholarships, etc.)
  • funding is intended to cover infrastructure and equipment costs, as well as the costs of operating cultural facilities, archives and collections
  • the project does not depend on funding from Pro Helvetia
  • the project requires travel to regions for which the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) advises against travel at the time of application.»

Status: September 2025

General decision-making process

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Introduction

The decision-making process regarding applications is visualised below. Complete and legally relevant information can be found in the Grant Ordinance available in German, French and Italian.

Visualisation

Flowchart for application submission with three phases: formal review, substantive review, and decision, including color-coded steps and outcomes.

Status: december 2025