EGU’s popular Artist in Residence programme, which provides artists and scientists with opportunities to exchange ideas during the annual meeting, is back again for our General Assembly in 2027. We now welcome applications from science-artists for two residencies at EGU27, taking place in Vienna, Austria from 4 - 9 April 2027. The Artist in Residence programme now also welcomes applicants who are Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) focused, previously co-ordinated by the EDI Committee. The deadline for applications is 28 October 2026.

EGU’s annual General Assembly brings together geoscientists from all over the world for a meeting that covers all disciplines of the Earth, planetary, and space sciences, not just for those attending on-site, but also for people attending virtually around the world. The Artist in Residence programme provides science-artists with a unique opportunity to interact directly with a broad range of researchers and subjects in this exciting and dynamic setting, and examine their own work through a new perspective. The collaboration of the science-artists also benefits researchers who can learn about new and creative ways of understanding their work, and of sharing that work in fun and accessible ways.

Given the unique situation of this residency, EGU are looking for applications from curious and open-minded creatives, either scientists who also work as artists, or artists with some experience engaging with science, to apply to spend the week with us in Vienna, Austria. We welcome applications from artists who work in any kind of creative field (although the location does come with some practical limitations for those who work in audio formats, please contact us for more information). The residency will involve the production of new creative works, generated during the week of the meeting, and inspired by the research or researchers of EGU27.

Interested artists should apply online by 28 October 2026. The application should include:

• a description of the type of work that will be produced during the meeting, how the art will build on and interact with the research presented there, and how the new work could be showcased to General Assembly participants (both on-site and virtually). This can be work that focuses on an aspect of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) of science or the conference more broadly.
• details about potential costs related to the transportation of art materials to Vienna, potential costs of materials for a short course, and any technical and space requirements, as well as potential travel costs to the meeting, based on artist location.
• a one-page CV and short description detailing previous experience.

The applications will be assessed by a panel of previous winners, EGU staff and volunteers from the Art-Science Working Group. The principal criteria for assessment are: relevance to a large portion of our community; originality of art form to the EGU General Assembly; and suitability of proposal to the venue. Additional criteria include the artist's previous experience, multi-format accessibility of the project (across both in-person and virtual platforms), and diversity (including geographic diversity) of the applicant. The selected applicants will be informed by the end of November, to give them the opportunity to submit an abstract to present at the conference if they wish to, by early January. Examples of the work produced by the EGU Artists in Residence in 2018, 2019, during our online meetings in 2020 and 2021 and back onsite in 2023, 2025 and 2026 can be found online. The residency takes place at the conference centre, the Austria Center Vienna, in a custom booth in an area with high foot traffic and moderate ambient noise during busy periods, and lasts for the full week of the meeting, Monday to Friday. 

In addition to creating new artworks, the successful Artists in Residence will be able to submit an abstract to present their work/research during the meeting, and are also encouraged to run a short course or pop-up event on how their creative format can be used to communicate science. Examples of past courses organised by Artists in Residence include Rhyme your research and Get creative! Sketching and drawing (your) science.

The successful applicant will be provided with financial support to cover their transport and accommodation costs, a stipend to provide for materials during the meeting, as well as food in the venue (a light breakfast, hot lunch and beverages) and a free registration to EGU27. We are anticipating being able to cover transportation costs up to €1000 (we prefer that sustainable transportation is used by all EGU27 attendees, where possible), accommodation up to €900, and an additional artist stipend of €700 towards expenses such as materials, printing, etc. For more information please contact Jane Roussak, EGU Events Manager.

All work produced will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Licence. The EGU reserves the right to use the art, or reproductions of the art (such as photographs), on the EGU blogs, social media and other communication channels, including the screens at the conference centre. Depending on the format of the works, EGU may also request to use them on stickers, t-shirts and other merchandise. We will give appropriate credit to the artist and request that all art produced mentions EGU.

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. It is a non-profit interdisciplinary learned association of scientists founded in 2002 with headquarters in Munich, Germany. The EGU publishes a number of diverse scientific journals that use an innovative open access format and organises topical meetings plus education and outreach activities. Its annual General Assembly is the largest and most prominent European geosciences event, attracting more than 20,000 scientists from all over the world. The meeting’s sessions cover a wide range of topics, including volcanology, planetary exploration, the Earth’s internal structure and atmosphere, climate, energy, and resources. 

Image in header credit: Stacy Phillips, EGU Artist (not) in Residence 2021

• Application form
  EGU General Assembly 2027 website
  EGU blog, GeoLog