ARAC runs two residency programmes for contemporary artists and cultural practitioners, offering space and time for reflection, research, and the development of new work in both urban and rural settings in Romania. The residencies are closely linked to ARAC’s wider activities in exhibition-making, publishing, and international collaboration, providing residents with meaningful professional and artistic contexts.
The Bucharest residency, initiated in 2015, is rooted in the city’s cultural ecosystem and allows invited artists to connect with ARAC’s long-term partners and networks. Residents benefit from curatorial support and may choose to share their research with the public through open studios or presentations.
In 2024, a new residency programme was launched in the village of Săcel, Maramureș, in Northern Romania. This rural context offers an opportunity to engage with themes of ecology, memory, local traditions, and sustainable practices. At the heart of the programme is the reconversion of the disused Săcel train station into a working space for artists and a future venue for temporary exhibitions. The initiative reflects ARAC’s ongoing interest in landscape and community, bridging contemporary art with rural heritage.
Each residency is shaped in dialogue with the participating artists and does not follow a fixed format. While some residents focus on research or writing, others may develop long-term projects in close collaboration with local communities. The programmes welcome practitioners across disciplines and support experimental, interdisciplinary, and socially engaged approaches.
ARAC collaborates with a wide range of national and international partners to host its residencies, which may be initiated through direct invitations, institutional partnerships, or open calls announced periodically. All residencies are documented online and contribute to ARAC’s growing archive of artistic research, engaging both urban and rural contexts in Romania.