Buitenplaats Brienenoord and Nieuwe Instituut in collaboration with the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux invite applications from Finnish and/or Finland-based artists, artistic researchers and creative practitioners for a 4-week residency in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
This residency is part of Zoöp Connections, a networked knowledge exchange programme connecting Dutch Zoöps and European cultural institutes, realised by EUNIC Netherlands in coordination with DutchCulture and supported by the EUNIC Global Cluster Fund. Taking place within the Zoöp framework developed by the Zoönomic Institute, the programme creates one-month residencies in 2026 for artists, thinkers and practitioners from across Europe to learn from, live with, and work within living ecosystems. It prioritises process, learning and shared inquiry over predefined outcomes, and is centred on co-creation, care, listening and reciprocity.
Residency: 1.9–30.9.2026
Deadline for applications: 30.4.2026 at 23:59 CET!
What is a Zoöp?
A Zoöp is an organisation that actively represents the interests of other-than-human life in its decision making processes. Zoöps consider themselves participants in ecosystems, and work towards restoring their health. Both Buitenplaats Brienenoord and Nieuwe Instituut are Zoöps. As a resident, you will work from within this practice, living on an island facing major urban changes and you will engage directly with the people and processes that make ecological thinking central to how these organisations operate.
Learn more about the Zoöp model.
Rotterdam: the Zoöp residency’s home
Buitenplaats Brienenoord is located on a 20-acre island at the edge of Rotterdam, one of Europe’s largest port cities and a frontrunner in urban sustainability and water management. The site itself is a nature reserve and cultural destination, situated where the city’s industrial and living ecologies meet. The municipality of Rotterdam wants to add thousands of new homes while also expanding its green spaces. Right next to Buitenplaats Brienenoord, this tension is becoming very concrete: in the coming years, a new tidal park of 15 acres and a new neighbourhood of 4500 homes will be built directly adjacent to the island.
The residency will explore what it would look like if these developments were guided by Zoöp principles — not just adding green to an urban environment, but asking how humans can act as beneficial participants of the ecosystems they are shaping. How can we participate meaningfully in an ecosystem?
Who we are looking for:
Residents in Zoop Connections may be creative professionals of many kinds; designers, researchers, educators, writers, technologists or other practitioners. What matters is shared purpose: the ability to work experimentally, collaboratively and reflectively.
Selection criteria:
- Available during the residency timing: 1.9-30.9.2026. Full presence for one month is required.
- Finnish and/or Finland-based artist, artistic researcher, or creative practitioner – any discipline welcome (aged 18 or older)
- The applicant should be based in a Creative Europe* country other than the Netherlands
- An affinity for space and place, but not necessarily a specialist
- A practice or research resonating with Zoöp principles, including more-than-human perspectives, ecological reciprocity, regenerative practice, and multispecies collaboration
- Curiosity to explore our collective understanding of what a space beneficiary for a multispecies community-to-become could look like
- Willingness to travel to Rotterdam by land, with flexibility depending on individual circumstances
What we are offering:
- Accommodation: A guest space at B.a.d. Foundation is arranged for the duration of your residency at no cost. The accommodation is located 3 km from Het Nieuwe Instituut (approx. 20 minutes by public transport / 15 minutes by bike) and 5 km from Buitenplaats Brienenoord (approx. 40 minutes by public transport / 20 minutes by bike). Accommodation includes approximately 40 m² room equipped with a sink, basic furniture and wifi. There is a shared kitchen and a shared bathroom with two shower cubicles and a laundry.
- Resident stipend: Residents receive a personal artist stipend of €1,500 for the 30-day residency. This is a gross stipend of €50 per day — an all-in amount covering both a personal fee and daily subsistence including food. We want to be transparent: this is a modest stipend reflecting a process-focused residency centred on immersion and exchange rather than production. Tax obligations are the responsibility of the resident.
- Travel costs: Travel to and from the residency is reimbursed, with a strong preference for land-based travel. Train, bus and multi-day accommodation en route are covered. Local travel during the residency is also covered.
During your time, you will mainly be based at Buitenplaats Brienenoord. You’ll get full access to the working space, network, and facilities of Buitenplaats Brienenoord. Furthermore you will be immersed in their community of artists, experiencing what it means to be a Zoöp from within, and have access to Nieuwe Instituut and the Zoönomic Institute. You will gain a network of architects, designers and researchers in the Zoöp network.
What is asked of you:
We believe residents should first immerse themselves, being curious, connecting, co-learning, before shaping their own project. The scheduling of activities will be planned in dialogue with you from the start.
The things asked of the resident:
- A public moment aimed at our community and networks, form to be developed together
- A documented exchange with Maike van Stiphout and/or Ishtar Bakhtali, our Speakers for the Living; form open, to be shared online
- A Trace of Care — a site-specific gesture or intervention that improves biodiversity care or increases the life-carrying capacity of the local ecosystem
- Exchange of knowledge on regenerative spatial practices.
Please indicate briefly in your application whether you anticipate needing specific materials, tools or resources. No formal production plan is expected.
How to apply
Applications for the Zoöp Connections residency are submitted via our online application form. Applications should be submitted in English.
We are committed to an accessible and inclusive application process. If you would like to submit your application in a different format – for example a short video introduction (max 3 minutes) instead of, or alongside, a written motivation letter – please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate this.
Your application should include:
- A motivational statement (max. 500 words or max 3 minutes video)
- A CV
- A portfolio (detailing max. 3 works)
- A brief note on any materials or resources you anticipate needing
The deadline for applications is 23:59 (CET) on 30 April 2026. >>Apply now<<
The selection will be made by a panel of representatives from each partner organisation. All applicants will be informed of the outcome within two weeks of the deadline.
For questions about the open call or application process, please contact Buitenplaats Brienenoord’s founder and co-director Maurice Specht at maurice@buitenplaatsbrienenoord.nl.
Selection procedure
Applications will be reviewed by a jury including representatives from Nieuwe Instituut, Buitenplaats Brienenoord, and The Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux. Applicants will be notified before 15.5. To establish your eligibility for this opportunity, we will be assessing your application on the following criteria. Please ensure you have addressed each of these in your application.
- Finnish and/or Finland-based artist, artistic researcher, or creative practitioner
- Your practice, recent work and activity
- Resonance of your practice or research with Zoöp principles, including more-than-human perspectives, ecological reciprocity, or multispecies thinking
Accessibility, inclusion & diversity
Buitenplaats Brienenoord, Nieuwe Instituut, and the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux are committed to promoting diversity, equality and inclusion, and welcome / encourage applications from practitioners representative of the full diversity of society, regardless of gender, transgender identity or non-normative gender expression, sexual orientation, cultural or ethnic background, nationality, language, religion, disability, age, socio-economic background, or any other aspect of their identity. Please feel free to express this in your application if you wish. All information will be treated confidentially.
We are committed to making this residency as accessible as possible. Please note that the residency does not currently include additional funding for external caretakers or childcare. If you have access needs, questions about the suitability of the residency space, or questions about what support may be available, we encourage you to reach out. This residency operates under Buitenplaats Brienenoord’s Code of Conduct.
Questions or concerns relating to safer spaces and accessibility can be directed to maurice@buitenplaatsbrienenoord.nl.
Residency partners
Nieuwe Instituut
Nieuwe Instituut is the national museum and institute for architecture, design and digital culture, located in Rotterdam’s Museumpark. Through exhibitions, events, research and other national and international initiatives, we show how design ideas contribute positively to urgent societal and ecological challenges. Polyphony is also the foundation of the Zoöp, our organizational model in which non-human life has a voice.
www.nieuweinstituut.nl
Buitenplaats Brienenoord
A rehearsal space for the future, situated on a 20 acre island at the edge of the city. Run by a collective of over 30 artist from various backgrounds – theater, visual art, photography, textile, dance amongst others – we try to envision different relationships towards time, care, generosity, space, people and nature. We do this through organizing events, workshops, gatherings, screenings, exhibitions, and creating new work. Given the location of the Island it offers a chance to step back from reality, without turning your back on it.
www.buitenplaatsbrienenoord.nl
Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux
The Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux creates sustainable connections and work opportunities for culture and art professionals between Finland and the Benelux countries, and promotes the visibility of Finnish culture in the Benelux region. We work with artistic projects as well as societal questions, and aim for long-term partnerships and connections to produce and support sustainable, contemporary and cross-disciplinary cultural initiatives.
www.finncult.be
EUNIC Netherlands
EUNIC Netherlands is the framework through which European national cultural institutes and other cultural representatives of European countries in the Netherlands co-operate in the development of unique multilateral cultural projects and initiatives. It is the Dutch cluster of EUNIC, the European Union of National Institutes for Culture, which groups together European national cultural institutes or other cultural representations collaborate around the globe.
www.eunic-netherlands.eu
*Creative Europe
The applicant should be based in EU, but not in the Netherlands. Applicants based outside the EU or EEA should verify their country’s eligibility via the Creative Europe country list.
Images: Buitenplaats Brienenoord by Patricia de Ruiter and Frank Hanswijk.
