Solitude Fellowship — Fellowship

Akademie Schloss Solitude is a foundation under public law in Stuttgart, Germany, financed by the state of Baden-Württemberg and running an international residency programme from a late-Baroque palace above the city since 1990. Around 1,700 fellows from more than 120 countries have worked there. The Solitude Fellowship is its main open call: every two years the Akademie selects between 50 and 60 fellows, who move into a furnished live/work studio on the estate and spend six or nine months on their own projects.

Applications are sorted into six spheres of practice — Visual, Aural & Physical, Spatial, Textual, Digital and Scientific — covering fine art, film and video, music and sound, performing arts, architecture, design, German-language and international literature, new media and digital art, and academic research in the humanities and applied sciences. The Akademie looks for people who already run an independent practice and are in an active phase of growth, and it sets no age limit. The 2026–2028 round closed in November 2025; the next call is expected in fall 2027.

Benefits & funding

Monthly stipend of €1,300 for living expenses.
A furnished live/work studio with utilities included — living area, small kitchen and private bathroom. The Akademie has 41 studios; one is fully accessible and the rest have minor accessibility limitations. Studios are allocated by the Akademie and cannot be chosen.
One-time reimbursement of travel costs for arrival and departure.
Health insurance costs covered for non-EU residents.
Project funding is possible depending on budget availability.
Six or nine months for individuals; six months for collectives and for the Scientific sphere.
Shared infrastructure on the estate: lecture hall, workshops, library and cafeteria, a converted barn used for concerts, and a project space in central Stuttgart, plus events run with Stuttgart cultural institutions.

Eligibility

Open to artists, designers, writers, performers and researchers from any country. Nationality and country of residence do not restrict who may apply.
Aimed at applicants with at least two and no more than ten years of professional experience after finishing their education. The Akademie states this window is a guideline rather than a strict criterion and still considers applications beyond ten years when the relevance to a current phase of development is clear.
In the artistic spheres, education counts in every form: study at an art academy or university, vocational training, mentoring, master classes or self-taught practice.
In the Scientific sphere, a master’s degree or higher is required.
People still in education or enrolled in a degree programme cannot apply. Doctoral candidates are the exception and are eligible.
Anyone who already holds a full professorship at a university cannot apply.
Collectives of up to two people may apply together, provided they have worked together artistically for at least two years.
Proficiency in German and/or English is required.
No age limit applies; the Akademie selects on career stage rather than age.
Fellows must hold their main residence in Stuttgart for the whole fellowship period.

Can you apply?

Open to all applicants

No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.

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Application process

1
Wait for the call to open on the Akademie’s application platform. The 2026–2028 round is closed and the next call is expected in fall 2027, for fellowships starting no earlier than fall 2028.
2
Register on the application platform, create a profile and choose the sphere of practice that fits the work.
3
Stage 1 — submit the short online application within the first window. In the last round this ran from 15 October to 14 November 2025, closing at 6 pm CET. In spheres that draw very high application numbers, an anonymous random selection procedure decides which short applications move forward.
4
Settle the application fee. The official FAQ sets out who is required to pay it, at which stage it falls due and the payment options; the amount is not stated on the public programme pages.
5
Stage 2 — applicants invited forward submit the full application with work samples. In the last round this window ran from 24 November to 19 December 2025, closing at 6 pm CET.
6
An independent international jury reviews the full applications and makes the selection. In the last round it met in May 2026, all applicants were notified by email, and the names of the selected fellows were published in June 2026.

Program timeline

15 October 2025
Applications open for the 2026–2028 round
Stage 1 deadline, 6 pm CET
14 November 2025
Stage 2 opens for applicants invited forward
24 November 2025
Stage 2 deadline, 6 pm CET
19 December 2025
International jury meets and makes its selection
May 2026
Names of the selected fellows published
June 2026
Next call for applications expected
Fall 2027
Fellowships from the next call begin at the earliest
Fall 2028