Ceramics Residency

Open Call for Residency Applications

We’re thrilled to announce our Open Call to apply for an artist residency at Salemi Ceramics.

Application deadline: 15th of October 2025

We invite ceramic artists to apply for a creative residency at Salemi Ceramics for a period of 1 to 3 months in the year 2025.

The call is open to ceramicists, ceramic artists, and interdisciplinary artists with an existing ceramic practice.

We will select between 6 and 9 artists who are looking for an opportunity to deepen existing work or develop new ideas. We will also select 2 artists to develop ceramics murals installations in the town of Salemi.

Requirements

  • 2+ years of professional experience for applicants with a degree or professional certification in ceramics/arts / visual arts or
  • 4+ years of professional experience for self-taught applicants
  • a solid work plan and/or a strong concept for the work they want to develop with us

We are offering two different types of residency: 

  1. Independent residency
  2. Ceramics mural residency

The independent residency program is directed at artists who are looking for an opportunity to deepen existing work or develop new ideas. We will select between 6 and 9 artists for this mode.

The ceramics mural residency program we will select 2 artists to develop ceramics murals installations in the town of Salemi.

Residency conditions

We provide free of charge:

  • Pick-up and drop-off from Palermo airport on arranged dates
  • Accommodation with a private room in a shared flat within walking distance of the studio
  • Mon-Fri breakfast and lunch
  • Possibility to participate in cultural activities together with our students
  • Private working space at the convent, accessible 24/7
  • Unlimited access to studio facilities and infrastructure 
  • Materials and tools (to be requested in advance)
  • Technical assistance and mentorship from our staff
  • Possibility to leave pieces for sale at the studio gallery with a 40% commission

Artists working on murals for the town will also receive a fee of 500€. 

Residents developing personal work (not mural) will not receive any fee.

We ask:

  • For at least one piece to be donated to the Salemi Ceramics permanent collection

We do not offer:

  • To cover for the costs of flights or other transport to Sicily
  • Pick-up and drop-off from/to airports other than Palermo airport
  • To cover the costs of shipping pieces made during the residency

How to apply

To apply you must submit our application form.

You may apply for 2 different modes of residency: 

  1. Independent residency
  2. Ceramics mural residency

You will be able to select your preferred modality in the application form. 

The form will request your personal details as well as:

  • CV and bio (max 1 A4 page, or 2 slides)
  • Project proposal (max 1 A4 page, or 2 slides)
  • Portfolio of recent work (max 4 A4 pages, or 8 slides)

Please have all these documents ready before you start your application.

Selection procedure

The selection process is carried out by a committee of internal and external judges, including the Salemi Ceramics team and international professionals. 

The applications will be assessed based on:

  • Quality of existing work 
  • Quality and feasibility of project proposal
  • Evidence of the applicant's technical capacity to develop the proposal
  • Evidence of the applicant’s capacity to work with high-quality standards

We will also look for a balance between International and Italian applicants, professional background, gender and age. We believe that a group that is as diverse as possible is very valuable for mutual exchange.

At Salemi Ceramics, we believe that equal opportunities are extremely important and we want to create a welcoming and inclusive environment in which people have the opportunity to flourish. We encourage everyone from different backgrounds, ages, experiences, cultural and ethnic backgrounds to register.

Please note that unfortunately, we are not currently able to provide accommodation and all-round access for people with disabilities.

Apply here ->  Link of Application form