About Residencies About Residencies

SAM Residencies is a museum-run programme committed to supporting the development of innovative artistic and curatorial practices that respond to current global discourses. Developed in line with SAM’s vision of engaging local and international artistic communities across a wide range of disciplines, the programme features four residency types that support emerging and innovative practices, facilitate collaborations, and widen public understanding of art. The studio-based residencies have hosted artists, curators, art organisations and artist-run spaces, as well as community and education-focused art practitioners based anywhere in the world. 

 

Residency Programmes

  • Artist Residency: Open to artists and collectives pursuing new artistic research, experimentation and modes of making.
  • Community & Education Residency: Open to practitioners working at the intersection of artistic practice, education, and community engagement.
  • Curatorial & Research Residency: Open to curators and researchers working towards new approaches to exhibition making, curatorial practice and research methodologies.
  • EX-SITU: Art Spaces Residency: Through a closed call process, these include independent non-profit art organisations, artist-run spaces, early-stage museum projects, as well as community-led initiatives exploring innovative ways of activating public spaces to engage with the local art scene and public. 

Set against the backdrop of Singapore’s historic Tanjong Pagar Port, SAM Residencies serves as an incubator for new approaches to artistic, curatorial and creative practices – supporting dialogue within and beyond the field of contemporary art. The residency is a platform for artistic experimentation which encourages the exchange of ideas and opportunities for future collaboration, and network building across the globe.

 

SAM Residencies will provide:

  • A shared studio space OR co-working space
  • Support from the museum and the Residencies team in the form of (but not limited to) institution resources and expertise, network building, opportunities for public engagement, and a scaffold for interaction and exchange

SAM Residencies will support individual residents with:

 

Singapore-based residents

International residents
  • Residency Period: Up to 6 months
  • Monthly Stipend of S$1,500
  • Monthly local allowance of S$250

 
  • Residency Period: Between 1 to 3 months
  • Monthly Stipend of S$1,500
  • Roundtrip flight on economy class
  • Housing arrangement
  • Assistance with visa formalities

 

For the community at large, you can expect a wide range of public activations and presentations – artist talks, workshops, work-in-progress showcases, reading groups, film screenings and various forms of activations that will vary alongside each resident’s research trajectories. Always expect to be surprised by the experimental modes of artmaking and thinking.  


FAQ

 

What is SAM Residencies? What makes it different from other residencies?

SAM Residencies is a fully funded, studio-based programme that promotes experimental thinking about and around contemporary art practices. Consisting of four residency types, developed to actively engage not only the local and international artistic community, but also the public at large. Unique to the Southeast Asian region are the Community & Education Residency and EX-SITU: Art Spaces Residency where, through a diverse lineup of activities, residents will be encouraged to interact with or involve local communities and the public in different ways. 

Who is SAM Residencies for?

Local and international practitioners (individual or group) across all disciplines of the arts over the age of 21 are welcomed to apply. Please visit Announcements for our open calls. 

How do I become a SAM Resident?

Artist, Community & Education and Curatorial & Research Residents are selected through a public open call process. Open calls are carried out every 2 years for the next residency cycle. Residents are selected by an international panel comprising respected professionals from different disciplines. 

Can I apply for more than one residency type?

No. Each applicant should apply for only one residency type per cycle.

Can I apply for more than one cycle?

Yes. We encourage applicants who were not selected for past cycles to apply for subsequent cycles. As selection of residents for each cycle is guided by the themes guiding the cycle, applicants are encouraged to apply for the cycle where the focused areas of the programme align with their research interest and practice.

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How many places does SAM Residencies offer?

Over the past cycles, SAM Residencies has hosted 20 to 25 (including duos and collectives) across all four residency types. 

How is the residency structured for each resident?

Our residency programme is mainly self-directed, whereby the resident will facilitate their own research and site visits. We urge all residents to share a concise workplan with the team. This will be the basis for us to be familiar with your research and its development and consider the curatorial support we can offer.

Residents will pursue independent research and are open to engage with communities and the public in Singapore as part of their process. They are also encouraged to share works in progress or research outcomes through open studios, screenings, workshops, talks, and other experimental public formats.

We highly encourage collaborations among residents and the community. SAMRes hopes to serve as a platform that encourages the exchange of ideas and opportunities for future collaboration, and network building. We are open to sharing institutional resources and expertise, opportunities for public engagement, and scaffolding for interaction and exchange between other residents and communities within and outside the contemporary arts. 


Are there any specific expectations for public presentations or activations?

At SAMRes, our activations are multimodal and open-ended. All residents are expected to lead at least 2 public presentation or activation during the course of their residency. 

  • Residency Thursdays, an public platform facilitating artist conversations and perspectives which takes place on Thursday evenings;  
  • Open Studios, a quarterly public format where residents are encouraged to show research and works developed during the course of their residency;
  • In Conversation with SAM Residencies, an annual showcase which gathers a multitude of resident projects, works-in-progress and research materials developed by residents. 

Subject to discussions with SAMRes, other activations and presentations can be realised in the format of the resident’s choosing. Residents are also encouraged to engage SAM Curators who can faciliate and moderate conversations and discussions on various public presentations and conversations.


What can the public look forward to? 

The residency spaces are open spaces for social interaction, not just for the art community but also with the larger creative sector, serving as a catalyst for collaborative and collective activities to develop. The public activations add to the diversity of SAM’s content and programming to engage visitors in different ways through activities and presentations. These activations may take the form of open studio, public workshops, talks as well as interactions with residents. It will also create more spaces to support community interactions between artists and the public and enable meaningful encounters with art.

Head to Activations to view upcoming and past programmes by our residents. 


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