Temporary relocation to Germany: Artists and cultural actors at risk have the possibility to temporarily stay and work in Germany with the support of a host cultural organisation. This funding option from the Martin Roth Initiative enables host organisations in Germany to temporarily take in artists and cultural actors at risk and enable them to continue their work in a safe context. In addition to a monthly stipend, the funding includes financial ressources to support artistic/cultural work, among other things.

Note:  The MRI is not an emergency programme and therefore cannot provide immediate support or speed up processes. Scholarships last up to 15 months.

What does the funding include?

• a monthly scholarship
• individual support for the scholarship holders (e.g. necessary insurance, psychosocial support, language courses, trainings, networking activities, etc.)
• if necessary, financial support for additional personnel for the host organisation (please note that we cannot fund permanent staff and freelance work that is not directly related to the purpose of the grant)
• counselling by the MRI and further training (for example on topics such as safety, sensitive public relations, psycho-social support) as well as networking activities and exchange of experience with other host organisations and scholarship holders
• support in the visa process for scholarship holders (please note that the scholarship visa does not automatically entitle scholarship holders to take up employment or self-employment in Germany)

Who can be a host organisation?

Host organisations can be cultural institutions or collectives (e.g. museums, theatres, festivals, etc.) and other socially relevant organisations that are based in Germany.

Who is eligible to receive a scholarship?

Artists and cultural actors worldwide, who

• through their artistic work are committed to an open society, freedom, peace and democracy, who reject any kind of discrimination and who, because of their work or due to other circumstances, experience restrictions on their freedom or threats from state and/or non-state actors
• are still active in their countries of origin, have only recently left their countries of origin (departure after the deadline of the last call for applications by the MRI on the 20/09/2023), or are not safe in their current locations
• do not have access to a safe abode (e.g. due to dual citizenship or permanent residency by means of a national or humanitarian visa),
• have the necessary language skills to facilitate collaboration with a host institution
• are demonstrably artistically/culturally active and whose works have a proven artistic/cultural and/or social relevance (hobby artists or persons who undertake purely private artistic activities are not eligible for funding)

Please note that all the above criteria must be met in order to be eligible for a MRI-scholarship and that MRI cannot provide matching with a host organisation. EU citizens are not eligible for funding.

What criteria are used to select scholarship holders and the corresponding projects for MRI funding?

After an assessment of the formal eligibility criteria by the Martin Roth-Initiative, an independent committee selects the project applications to be funded. The selection is based on the following criteria:

• Existing threats/risk situation for the artist/cultural actor
• Profile of the artist / the cultural actor (quality and social relevance of previous work / fit with MRI mission).
• Quality of the application & capacities of the host organisation (Are the goals and measures/activities reasonable, appropriate, realistic and coherent? To what extent is the professional development or continuation of artistic/cultural work of the scholarship holder supported?)
• Artistic/work-relevant fit between host organisation and scholarship holder, support and integration (suitability of the host organisation)
• Potential positive impact on the home/host community through the project.
• Gender and diversity aspects

Application process

Applications can only be submitted via the Martin Roth-Initiative application platform; access is available on request during the current call for applications.

Host organisations, artists and cultural practitioners each complete their own application documents on the MRI platform. Further information on the respective documents can be found on the platform and in the FAQs provided there. If you have not found an answer to your question there, please contact the MRI team at the following e-mail address: apply@mri-application.de

Important note: There is no legal entitlement to a grant from the MRI. Please note that the selection is subject to the availability of the estimated budget funds.

Application platform

Access to the application platform is provided to host organisations as well as artists and cultural actors by the MRI: Please contact the Martin Roth-Initiative by e-mail at apply@mri-application.de. If you use Protonmail, the contact is end-to-end encrypted. Requests for account creation will be accepted until 5:00pm CET on 15.04.2024.

Please indicate whether you are a representative of a host organisation or an artist or cultural actor when you first contact us at the above mentioned e-mail address. Scholarship candidates should also indicate the name of their co-applicant host organisation.

After  your initial enquiry is received, you will receive an e-mail with your access data. Please assign a new password when you register for the first time. As soon as you have assigned a password and set up your user account, you can log in to the application platform at any time with your e-mail address and password and track your applicant status on the Dashboard via the status display. You will find all the documents you need to complete on the platform on your dashboard. If you have any questions about the platform, you can contact: apply@mri-application.de.

How can I apply for support from MRI?

• You can only apply in tandem with a cultural host organisation in Germany. This means that you submit an artist application via the MRI application platform and your host organisation submits a host application. An application is only complete and can only be considered for funding if both applications are received by MRI on time.
• All access criteria listed under General information must apply to you.
• If your project is selected for funding by the independent selection committee, the MRI will enter into a funding agreement with the host organisation and a scholarship contract with you upon arrival. The host organisation will support you with your artistic and personal integration and with questions and challenges of everyday life.

Which art disciplines/cultural fields are supported?
People from all fields of art and culture can apply for an MRI scholarship, provided that all the above criteria (see general information) are met.

martin-roth-initiative.de