Cultural and social science professionals, artists and researchers can apply for a residency in Villa Karo. The residency is suitable for both one’s own research and artistic work as well as community projects. Ideally, if a resident could also offer something to the local community.

The staff at Villa Karo will help you with getting contacts and organising your work.

Every year, we also invite West African professional artists, researchers and cultural professionals to a residency without weekly rental costs or office fees, and we offer a small allowance (50€ /week) for working and material costs.

Avecs, with the age limit of 12 years are also welcome to join the residency (for a fee). Their name and contact details must be provided before the start of the residency. For the month of June, also smaller kids are welcome as avec.

Applications will be evaluated by a separate panel. Decisions are not explained to the applicants.

Residency applications are processed twice a year. The application period is continuous, ie the application can be submitted at any time. After the application deadline, applications will be processed within 1-1,5 months.

Applications for the autumn of the same year and the spring of the following year end on the last Sunday in March, and applications for the following year end on the second last Sunday in September (23:59 o'clock).

The application should have:

- a short CV/portfolio (in Finnish, English or French)
- a work plan (in English or French)
- a short introduction of yourself and the desired dates for the residency (in Finnish and English).

The residency period can be from 6 weeks up to 12 weeks. For well justified reasons, there is some flexibility for a shorter period in the research center, depending on availability. Villa Karo's residency starts on a Monday and ends on a Monday.

The application should include the following:
- Name/s as shown on passport
- Contact information (email, phone number, home address)
- Birth date
- Your potential affiliation to a community member (see list under “Community Members” tab)

Please apply through the application portal. Should there be any technical difficulties, you may contact us by emailing toimisto[at]villakaro.org.

The residency given by Villa Karo covers:
- transport from Cotonou to Grand-Popo and back to Cotonou on a Tuesday for the arrival and on a Monday for the departure
- accommodation, cleaning of the room, breakfast every morning during the residency period
- exchange between local community and local artists
- support from staff in executing your project
- help and support in planning the trip and instructions for visa application

Fees: The resident’s own costs are
- reservation fee 200 EUR
- travel expenses to Benin
- 120 EUR weekly rent in the main building  / 200 EUR weekly rent in the research center (VKRC)
-> As a working pair (both applying to a residency), 180 EUR weekly rent in the main building OR 300 EUR in VKRC
- visa 100 EUR (90 days) and travel insurance
- antimalarials and vaccinations (yellow fever vaccination is compulsory for all arrivals)
- hotel nights in Cotonou on arrival in Benin (approx. 15-50 EUR)
- possible excursions with Villa Karo and your own excursions
- large-scale interpretation services (eg. for own work).

Every year, we invite 6-8 West African* artists, researchers and cultural professionals to a residency (4 to 6 weeks) without them needing to pay for it and we offer a small allowance (50€ /week) for working and material costs (100€).

Villa Karo announces themes for each residency call, so please follow our channels to know the theme of each application period.

Applications with resumes/portfolios and work plans can be sent in English or French through the application portal. Should there be any technical difficulties, you may contact us by emailing toimisto[at]villakaro.org.

If the applicant already has funding for residency, we process the application in a joint application, so the number of West Africans can be higher than 6 people each year. In case of already having a funding, the same fees as for the Finland-based applicants are applied to the West African applicants. 

The residency given by Villa Karo covers:
- transport from Cotonou to Grand-Popo and back to Cotonou on a Tuesday for the arrival and on a Monday for the departure
- accommodation, cleaning of the room, breakfast every morning during the residency period
- exchange between local community and local artists
- support from staff in executing your project
- help and support in planning the trip

Villa Karo's residency starts on a Monday and ends on a Monday.

*By West African applicants, we mean individuals who live and have an ID/passport from one of the West African countries. 

Villa Karo does not provide justification for the residency decisions. 

The application should have a short CV/portfolio, work plan, a short introduction of yourself and the desired dates for the residency.

The residency period can be from 6 weeks up to 12 weeks. For well justified reasons, there is some flexibility for a shorter period in the research center, depending on availability.  Villa Karo's residency starts on a Monday and ends on a Monday.

Application can be sent through the application portal. Should there be any technical difficulties, you may contact us by emailing toimisto[at]villakaro.org.

The residency given by Villa Karo covers:
- transport from Cotonou to Grand-Popo and back to Cotonou on a Tuesday for the arrival and on a Monday for the departure
- accommodation, cleaning of the room, breakfast every morning during the residency period
- exchange between local community and local artists
- support from staff in executing your project
- help and support in planning the trip and instructions for visa application

Fees: The resident’s own costs are
- reservation fee 200 EUR
- 220 EUR/ week for Main Building
- 300 EUR/ week for the Research Centre
- travel expenses to Benin
- visa 100 EUR (90 days) and travel insurance
- antimalarials and vaccinations (yellow fever vaccination is compulsory for all arrivals)
- hotel nights in Cotonou on arrival in Benin (approx. 15-50 EUR)
- possible excursions with Villa Karo and your own excursions
- large-scale interpretation services (eg. for own work).

Finland-West Africa Peer Mentoring Residency Programme: Open Call till 30.9. 

Peer mentoring residency program is for early career artists in visual arts who wish to collaborate in the Villa Karo residency. If you are in your first 5-10 years of your professional practice after completing formal education and/or beginning serious engagement with your art career, Finnish or based in Finland and eager to connect with a fellow artist based in Nigeria, you can apply for Villa Karo’s peer mentoring residency program.

The purpose of this programme is to offer an immersive cross-cultural residency where the two visual artists live, work, and learn together, fostering peer mentorship, intercultural collaboration, and artistic growth within Villa Karo’s inspirational setting. The programme offers early career and emerging artists based in Finland and in Nigeria the opportunity to exchange and explore their artistic paths together, while discovering the rich cultural heritage and vibrant art scene in Benin.

The programme offers a free residency for the participants, and a travel grant of 1200 EUR for each. One Finland-based and one Nigeria-based artist will be chosen for the spring season in May-June 2026 and four artists (2 from Finland and 2 from Nigeria) for the autumn season in Aug-Oct.

The exact residency periods for 2026 are 4.5.-29.6.2026 and 10.8.-5.10.2026, for 8 weeks each.

The Finland-based artists can send in their application through application portal by September 30, 2025, and after this we will seek to identify a matching profile from our existing pool of Nigerian candidates. Please include the following information (all in English):

Residency workplan
CV and/or portfolio
Motivation letter with a description of how you approach peer mentoring: how the programme might contribute to your own professional development as well as that of the West African colleague
Mention if you are applying for the fall or spring season, or either one.

The programme is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Swedish Cultural Foundation and implemented in collaboration with the Yinka Shonibare Foundation.   

Finlands svenska författareförening
Finnish Association of Architects SAFA
Finnish Composers
Juho ja Maria Lallukan taiteilijakotisäätiö
Ornamo ry
Suomen Näytelmäkirjailijat ja Käsikirjoittajat ry
Suomen tanssi- ja sirkustaiteilijat STST
Suomen tietokirjailijat ry
The Union of Finnish Writers
University of the Arts Helsinki (Uniarts Helsinki)
University of Helsinki
University of Turku
Wikimedia Finland
Åbo Akademi University

- In which language should the application be written?
-> The work plan can be written in English or French. The CV can be in Finnish, English or French.

- How long can the residency be?
-> Villa Karo's residency periods are up to 12 weeks. Residency periods longer than this are not granted.

- How long should the application or work plan be?
-> Maximum 2 pages.

- Could I get help with finding partners?
-> You can if you are selected for residency.

- Can I complete the application after sending it?
-> You should prepare everything at once.

- Can I bring an avec to the residency? Should it appear in the application?
-> Avecs are welcome and can be announced at a later stage. Minimum age: 12 years (except for the month of June, also younger kids are welcome).

Each resident receives an information package before the start of their residency.