Ptarmigan operated in Tallinn from 2011-2014. We no longer maintain any presence in Tallinn, but this website will continue to serve as an archive of the activities produced at Ptarmigan during these years.
Ptarmigan seeks creative projects from the Nordic and Baltic regions for two-month residencies in Tallinn, Estonia. These residencies are supported by the Kulturkontakt Nord Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme.
Ptarmigan is a transdisciplinary cultural platform operating in both Tallinn, Estonia and Helsinki, Finland. For three years, Ptarmigan has organised events, residencies, workshops, performances and other projects that span across various spheres of art, music, performance, humanities, and other more nebulous fields. Our focus is on event-driven cultural production that’s simultaneously inclusive and unusual.
Who is eligible
Any legal resident of the Nordic or Baltic countries, excluding Estonia. This means: Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, the Åland Islands, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania.
What we are looking for
Your residency is a project; your proposal should clearly describe what you hope to do with two months in Tallinn. We look to produce projects that excite us and occupy unique cultural space. We like to see things that are active and lively, and fit in well with what we do. At Ptarmigan, the joy is in collaboration, being together, and expanding perspectives. We’re inclined towards ideas that offer some sort of educational component, and a chance for the public to be involved, while being experimental in nature. Participation and engagement with our existing projects is also a bonus - many of our regular projects benefit from guests, and there are also opportunities to work in our partner spaces, such as Tiib in Tallinn and the Score Store Kiosk in Helsinki.
You can always take a look at our past events, projects and residencies on our websites to get a sense of what we are interested in. In general, if your project is ‘spend two months painting/sculpting/video editing/whatever to create a gallery exhibition’, we aren’t likely to select you. If you’re looking to create interactive, psychogeographic maps of Tallinn’s secrets/animals/vertical objects/whatever through a series of workshops, tours, and other interventions -- now we’re listening.
What you get
If chosen, your travel to and from Tallinn will be paid for (up to €400). You will be accommodated in a small apartment within a short walking distance of the Ptarmigan project space which will be fully paid for. In addition to this you will receive a stipend of 1400€ for your two months stay, pending requirements (see below). Any living costs (food, materials, etc.) will come from this stipend. In Ptarmigan, you will be given a 21m2 room to use as a studio, if desired. (There are some limitations in what you can do with this studio, primarily sound/volume-related, but otherwise it’s yours). Ptarmigan additionally operates a small, experimental visual art space called Tiib - this space is available to use as a gallery/exhibition space if desired. You will be asked to visit Helsinki at least once to present, perform, or otherwise engage with our Finnish side - ferry travel and accommodation will be covered for this trip.
Ptarmigan is an artist-run space that is all-volunteer, and our organisers will do their best to help with your project. This includes local promotion and marketing, general local know-how (including practical information and cultural networking), and anything else we can do.
Other requirements
If you are not a legal, tax-paying resident of one of the aforementioned countries, then you are not eligible for this residency, which is funded by KK Nord only for mobility between Nordic and Baltic countries. If you have a good idea for Ptarmigan anyway but are not a resident of these countries, please don’t hesitate to propose anyway -- but understand that we do not have any financial support for residencies beyond the Nordic/Baltic programme.
The residency, as required by KK Nord, is for a minimum of two months. We are generally budgeted for exactly that time, though a few extra days over is okay. If you have an idea for a longer project then please describe it in your proposal.
The stipend is broken into two monthly payments of 700€ each. This is intended to cover all living costs and materials. To receive this stipend, you must spend 85% of your stay in Tallinn (though your visit to Helsinki will not count against this).
Ptarmigan is a very social, public-focused space, and if your project does not directly engage with the public, then we ask that you will open your working space up for a few hours per week to anyone who might be interested in meeting you and seeing what you are working on. This is negotiable and primarily symbolic anyway.
How to apply, deadlines, and other administrivia
To apply for Ptarmigan’s Nordic/Baltic residency programme, please use our general-purpose proposal form, and choose “Tallinn residencies” as the “existing project”. Our application form is at http://ptarmigan.ee/proposals/new and we prefer that you apply in English.
We will be selecting three residencies in 2012, with a minimum duration of two-months each. Please specify clearly on the proposal form when you would be most interested in coming, ex. “July-August”, “November-December”, etc.
The deadline for this year’s residency applications is 1 June. We will inform all applicants no later than 15 June.
