Artist Funding in Croatia
Arts councils, grants, and funding bodies for artists
European Cultural Foundation
The foundation supports artistic and cultural projects across Europe, including mobility, cooperation, and public-interest cultural work. Croatian visual artists are most likely to benefit through collaborative or networked projects rather than direct individual artist grants.
European Union - Culture Moves Europe
This EU mobility scheme supports artists and cultural professionals, including visual artists, who need funding for international travel and temporary mobility to develop work, collaborate, or do residencies. Croatian-based artists can apply, and the scheme is valuable for cross-border research, short residencies, and networking rather than large production budgets.
FACE Croatia: The Fund for Croatian Arts and Cultural Exchange
FACE Croatia supports selected arts and culture projects in Croatia and fosters exchange between Croatian and U.S.-based artists and organizations. It is open to professional artists in visual arts and to eligible arts/cultural organizations; support is project-based and especially useful for creation/production and exchange-oriented work.
Grad Rijeka - Upravni odjel za odgoj i obrazovanje, kulturu, sport i mlade
Rijeka’s city culture administration supports local cultural life, including exhibitions, artistic production, and independent cultural initiatives. Visual artists and organizations can use these calls for project support, venue-based programming, and city-linked cultural activity.
Grad Split - Upravni odjel za društvene djelatnosti
Split’s city administration is an important municipal funder for culture and can support visual arts projects, exhibitions, and cultural events with local relevance. The support is usually competitive and tied to annual calls, with emphasis on public benefit and city visibility.
Gradski ured za kulturu i civilno društvo Grada Zagreba
Zagreb’s culture office is a major local funder for artists, collectives, galleries, and cultural organizations based in the capital. It typically supports exhibitions, publication, production, and local cultural programming, with calls that are important for visual artists working in or with Zagreb’s independent scene.
Ministarstvo kulture i medija Republike Hrvatske
The national ministry is the principal public arts funder in Croatia, supporting museums, galleries, exhibitions, artist programs, visual arts projects, and broader cultural activity. Individual artists, public institutions, associations, and other cultural organizations may apply through recurring calls; support is usually project-based or program-based rather than unrestricted.
Splitsko-dalmatinska županija - Upravni odjel za kulturu, sport i tehničku kulturu
This county-level authority is one of the better-known regional public supporters of culture in Dalmatia, including visual arts programming and local cultural initiatives. Funding is generally project-based and favors organizations and activities with clear regional impact; it is useful for artists and curators anchored outside Zagreb.
West Balkan Fund
The Western Balkans Fund supports regional cooperation projects among Western Balkan participants, including cultural and artistic exchange. It is often used for collaboration, mobility, and networking projects involving Croatia’s neighborhood region; support is project-based and international/regionally collaborative.
Zaklada Kultura nova
Kultura nova is Croatia’s key public foundation for contemporary arts and culture, created to strengthen civil-society organizations working in the field. It funds program development, production and organizational capacity, professional development, networking, and cooperation; it is especially relevant to independent visual arts organizations rather than solo artists seeking personal grants.
Artist Residencies in Croatia
7 residencies listed
Prostor by Culture Hub Croatia (CHC)
Split, Croatia
, led by Culture Hub Croatia (CHC), is a dynamic creative hub located in Split, Croatia. Established in 2017, CHC is dedicated to fostering creativity, contemporary art, and intercultural dialogue through innovative educational programs and continuous exhibition activities. The residency program at Prostor supports artists and cultural professionals in contemporary art, emphasizing participatory, research-based, and process-based practices. Residents receive a private room, shared facilities, and access to an open studio, co-working area, and exhibition space. The program also offers opportunities for networking, curatorial support, and presenting work through exhibitions, talks, or workshops. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with thematic focuses for each year. Prostor’s self-directed residency aims to create a collaborative and community-engaged environment for artists to develop and share their projects. This initiative emphasizes the importance of art in fostering a socially just and sustainable future.
WHW Akademija (WHW Academy)
Zagreb, Croatia
WHW Akademija, founded in 2018 by the curatorial collective What, How & for Whom/WHW in Zagreb, Croatia, is an innovative, tuition-free interdisciplinary program for emerging artists. It embodies the acronym of its founding collective, signifying the focus on economic organization's key questions: What, How, & for Whom. The program, accepting 8–12 fellows annually for a seven-month period, is centered on new forms of self-determination, critical reflection, and artistic encounters. The curriculum includes intensives, experimental exercises, workshops, and seminars, alongside public exhibitions, performances, and discursive programs. A partnership with the Kontakt Collection, Vienna, enriches the program, focusing on experimental art from Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe since the late 1950s. The program’s design emphasizes “learning by doing,” fostering a dialogic educational process and collective co-learning and co-production of critical content. Structured to blend exhibitions, performances, and collective actions, the program alternates between two-week intensives and ongoing workshops and seminars, inviting curators, artists, and theorists to engage in various co-learning formats. This unique approach allows participants to test ideas, make discoveries, and engage in trial and error, encouraging a blend of theoretical and practical learning without traditional academic constraints.
Kamov
Rijeka, Croatia
The Kamov Artist-in-Residence Program, established in 2011 by the Department of Culture of the City of Rijeka, Croatia, aims to enrich the cultural landscape by fostering art and supporting the non-institutional art scene. Named after the avant-garde Rijeka writer Janko Polić Kamov, the program embodies the spirit of questioning and progress. It has hosted over 500 international artists, theorists, and creators, encouraging collaborations across cultural boundaries. The residency offers spaces for inspiration, research, and experimentation in writing, performing arts, and open-ended post-studio practices. Residents engage in Rijeka's cultural life, presenting their work through lectures, workshops, and exhibitions. Kamov Residency provides a unique opportunity for artists to delve deep into their projects, supported by a rich community and a variety of resources.
KONTEJNER bureau of contemporary art praxis
Zagreb, Croatia
KONTEJNER | bureau of contemporary art praxis is a non-profit NGO based in Zagreb, Croatia, founded in , focusing on progressive contemporary intermedia art, sound art, experimental music, and projects exploring science, technology, and the body. They organize artist residencies, often in collaboration with programs like EMAP (two-month production residencies emphasizing collaboration in digital art, media art, and bio-art) and A Sea Change (two-week residencies at MedILS in Split with grants). Residencies provide stipends, accommodation, travel support, and access to technical facilities for innovative, research-based projects.
KURS Association
Split, Croatia
KURS Association hosts the Marko Marulić Residency, welcoming foreign writers, translators, and visual artists for one-month stays to introduce literary, cultural and social opportunities in Split and Croatia.
SEA AIR
Silba, Croatia
SEA AIR is an off-grid, process-oriented artist residency on Silba, a car-free island in the Adriatic Sea, Croatia, inviting international artists, writers, sound explorers, herbalists, and cultural practitioners for 2–8 week stays in a remote forest home powered by solar energy and rainwater. The program emphasizes ecological awareness, intuitive processes, ritual practices, and deep listening, with no pressure for results, offering solitude, freedom, and the island itself as a studio. It welcomes queer, BIPOC, and emerging artists, with a basic donation (~25 EUR/day) covering utilities or alternative contributions like barter and workshops.