About

Atelier Mondial

Atelier Mondial is an international and interdisciplinary grant program offering artists in various disciplines, such as the visual arts, digital media arts, dance and literature, from the Basel Region (Cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Land and Solothurn), Southern Baden and the Alsace the opportunity to spend several months abroad in one of 11 partner countries. Once a year these approximately fourteen studio grants are open for applications, as well as one travel grant for an independent project. The studio grant consists of a financial contribution to help cover living expenses as well as the free-of-charge use of a studio with an apartment or a live-in studio abroad. A professional jury selects approximately fourteen grantees per year. 

In return and in the sense of a classic exchange, our partner organizations around the world award grants for stays in the Basel Region, where Atelier Mondial manages seven studios. The selection among applicants as well as the funding of these grants is generally assumed by our partner institutions, which means: A stay in Basel can be exclusively and solely applied for through our partner institutions abroad! In certain cases Atelier Mondial further supports selected guest artists from ‘southern’ partner countries with a financial contribution. The approximately sixteen guest artists selected by our partner institutions each year live and work for three to six months at the Atelier Mondial studios, where the guests are attended to by our team.

Atelier Mondial aims to specifically promote intercultural and interdisciplinary dialogue about art, as well as the development of a sustainable network based on interest and friendship between artists from different countries and cultures. To this end the exchange program continues to seek and enable contact to regions whose understanding of art has not been overly shaped by so-called Western culture. The basis of this exchange and dialogue is provided by our partnerships with similar organizations abroad, where the relationships have been built up over many years. Atelier Mondial strives to respond flexibly to new developments in art production and the art market and continually establishes new partnerships in further locations.

In short, the main goals of Atelier Mondial ’s comprehensive program include providing the art scene of the Basel Region, Alsace and Southern Baden with important impulses; promoting contact between artists from different countries and cultures; and making a lasting contribution to the personal and professional experience of artists.

At the end of 2014 the International Exchange Programme moved into the Dreispitzareal, a new and emerging area near the SBB railway station, where the Academy of Art and Design Basel, galleries Oslo 8 and Oslo 10, Radio X and the project "Helsinki Dreispitz" by architects Herzog & De Meuron are already based – joining forces to create the Arts campus: On the first floor of Freilager-Platz 10, just above the House of Electronic Arts Basel (HeK), the new and fully equipped studios of Atelier Mondial are open for it’s guest artists coming from all over the world.

New location, new neighbourhood, new content (the programme will now be open to various art forms such as visual arts, digital arts, dance and literature for the first time) – and a new collaboration and sponsorship commitment from the TriRegio area which consists of Alsace, South Baden, Basel-Stadt and Baselland: With all of these innovations we have been prompted to present our new program on the Dreispitz with a different name and under a different guise.

Opening at Freilager-Platz 10 are 7 new residential studios, housing our guest artists from around the world: five large studios (85m2) and two smaller studios (45m2), are built around a central project space. The 135m2 space called Salon Mondial is an event and exhibition space which the artists can use for their projects and shows. It is located next to the communal kitchen "Cuisine Mondiale" (82m2) which could also be used for exhibitions – but will mainly function as a place for intercultural, interdisciplinary and interculinary encounters between regional and international guest artists.