Argo residencies provide time and space to develop your practice in a social, supportive, and stimulating environment.
All of our residencies take place in Athens, Greece. They are open to artists, writers, performers, musicians, scholars, and any other creative.
Every residency includes accommodation, studio space, research support, and a chance to take part in our creative community.
We offer two types of residency:
Self-directed residencies
Allow you to focus on a project or practice of your own choice. Most self-directed residencies last for 25 days.
Themed residencies
Draw together a group of creatives with similar interests. They take place over a set period (usually 3-5 weeks) and can provide a chance to work collaboratively.
You’ll work in our large, bright studios …
We have private and shared studios, a store of basic materials, a woodshop, a kitchen, a library for quiet working or reading, and endless Athenian light.
… be part of a creative community …
We have up to seven residents at a time, so Argo provides plenty of opportunities for learning new skills from your fellow residents, working collaboratively, or simply hanging out.
Residents regularly share meals, go to art shows together, and many leave the residency with new friends.
… get personalized support to develop your practice …
We support residents by providing personalised recommendations for places to go, things to do, and people to meet in Athens.
We can often arrange meetings with local artists, we know where you can source specialised materials, and we’ll help you quickly find your feet, scene, and inspiration in this amazing city.
… with comfortable accommodation a short walk away.
You'll stay in comfortable shared accommodation about 20 minutes walk from the studios, with everything you need to settle in quickly and focus on your practice. Our accommodation has private and shared rooms, some are en-suite, and there is a large, plant-filled balcony for shared meals.
Open Calls
Self-Directed Residency
Our classic residency - a chance to focus on your practice for four weeks, with as few (or as many) distractions as you like.
Though you’ll work on your own project, you’ll be sharing an apartment and studio space with four or five other artists, so social and artistic inspiration is always available. The Argo team will also do our best to support your research and creative exploration, recommending museums, galleries, artists, and other resources in Athens.
We offer set periods for self-directed residencies - normally around 25 days, though some are shorter. Our upcoming sessions are:
Nov 2 - Nov 27, 2026 (25 days)
March 22 - April 16, 2027 (25 days)
May 10 - June 4 (25 days)
June 21 - July 3 (13 days)
You can find prices for all these sessions on our application page >
The Fertile Void
30 November - 15 December 2026
(two weeks)
Between what has ended and what hasn’t yet begun, there is a pause. Not empty, but pregnant. The fertile void is a residency for that threshold: the inner winter, the cave, the silence between notes, the held breath before form.
Borrowing from Gestalt therapy’s point zero and the kabbalistic idea of an infinite that withdraws to make room for creation, we’re interested in potential before it hardens into shape. Silence wrapped inside sound. Light held in darkness, darkness held in light. Growth happening beneath the surface, out of sight.
This is a season of rest, patience, and secret beginnings. Of hermitage and coolness, of dissolving, of questions instead of answers. We welcome work that dwells in the liminal (life and death, solitude and belonging, the finite and the infinite), with particular openness to sound, scent, and movement: the senses that live in the dark.
Not an absence, but a waiting.
The focus is on exploration & research, and we are open to a wide range of themes and approaches …
Inner winter - Rest - Patience - Potency - Secret beginnings - Winter as phase of initiation, renewal, and rebirth - Silences wrapped inside music - Sublimity - Chasm - Growth beneath the surface - Cave - Ascetic - Mystic - Kabbalistic - Qabah - Darkness - Coolness - Silence - Hermitage - Movement - Sound - Quiet mystery - Finite v. Infinite - Light within darkness // darkness within light - Memory? - Questions, not answers - D i s s o l v i n g - Uncertainty { liminal } - Be neath - The infinite creating a void within itself, within which exists all of the created universe - The process as potential before a form is created
Eco-Witchery
11 January - 1 February 2027
or
8 February - 17 March 2027
Last few spots available
Our coven will gather as winter turns to spring in the ancient necropolis that is Athens, drawn here by a shared interest in the murky, hidden, sacral connections between ecology and the occult. Carnival is in the air, the earth is awakening, and the city is bathed in Sahara dust and a cold wind from the Steppe.
The focus is on exploration & research, and we are open to a wide range of themes and approaches …
worlding networks of kinship & care — divination (ancient Greek and otherwise) — botany, eroticism, agriculture and myth — Donna Haraway, Anna Tsing — trance states — prophecies at Delphi — entanglement — ghosts (and climate crisis) — traditional nature caring & engagement practices — knot magic — plant magic — altars and shrines — potions — herbal remedies — witches as healers — full moon dances — Silvia Federici — animism & pantheism rewilding — ecology/sex/death practice — fear of the occult/ vilification of witches — supernatural appreciation of nature — pleasure of entanglement with more-than-human species — werewolves — animal familiars — Eleusinian mystery rites — shamanic/ mystical encounters with plant/animal consciousness — etc. — etc. — etc.
¡DADASØMMER!
July at Argo has a certain kookoo energy, so in 2027 we want to harness our chaos horses to the churning torrents of creative upside-down-ness.
If you’re a surrealist painter, futurist balloonist, vorticist flutist, or committed realist, this is your time.
What, exactly, happens in summer? Why does everyone go mad? Is summer sexy, or sticky? Why is the sun not an orange? Over the course of 4 weeks, we won’t find out.
Prices and Funding
Every residency offers:
— Accommodation in either a private or shared bedroom. There is a large kitchen and two bathrooms, a large shared space, and two balconies. The apartment is both comfortable and beautiful.
— Studio space for your research and practice. We can often offer a private studio, but it depends on everyone’s needs. Painting, playing music, dancing, and arcane rituals are all allowed.
— Woodshop, tools, and some limited supplies such as paper, paint, scrap fabric, and strange, small pieces of plastic whose purpose has been long forgotten.
— Access to our small but growing lending library.
— Personalized recommendations for research and creative resources: readings, shops, museums, ancient sites, etc.
— Connections with the local art scene.
The price of your residency depends on which type of bedroom you’d like.
We have three types:
Our shared rooms have two single beds, so you’ll share with at most one other person.
Our private rooms are large, and each has a double bed.
Our deluxe room is huge and has a double bed and an en-suite bathroom.
You can see the prices of each type of room for each session on our application page.
Lots of residents apply for funding to cover the cost of their residency. The main sources of funding are Culture Moves Europe and national arts organizations.
Athens-based artists can often participate in our programs for free. If you're one of them, please let us know on your application form.
FAQs
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Most residencies at Argo last for around 25 days, because we find this is the perfect amount of time to settle into your practice. Occasionally, we have shorter residencies.
You can see our current residency sessions on our apply page.
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“To Spiti” (“The Home”) is our residency accommodation. It’s a very large (180 sq m) family apartment with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a huge plant-filled balcony for shared meals, and a large and very yellow kitchen.
The rooms vary in size, but all are quite large and have natural light and balconies. One room has AC, as does the living room.
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Most residents have their own space in our shared studios, which are large enough that you won’t feel cramped. If you’d like a private studio, though, please let us know and we can normally arrange that.
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Anyone aged 18-118 with a creative project or practice: artists, writers, thinkers, academics, performers, dancers, directors, etc.
We welcome both emerging and well-established creative practitioners and scholars.
If you’re interested in a residency but aren’t sure if you or your project will fit in, just get in touch with us!
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We offer simple studio set-ups, with tables, easels, lamps, and storage. In terms of media, we can accommodate painting, drawing, writing, research, performance, sculpture, dance, and textile craft.
You will have access to a wood shop, with tools and safety gear.
In terms of art supplies, you will need to provide your own materials. There are 6 excellent art supply shops within a short walk from the studios; we will be happy to guide you there.
There is also some AV equipment available, including TVs, a mic, and an amp. If you are interested in specific performance/dance rehearsal space, let us know, and we can arrange that as well.
You will also have access to a rotating series of cultural events hosted in our project space: artist talks and lectures by visiting guest artists, group and solo exhibitions, film screenings, workshops, and performances.
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The cost of a residency at Argo depends on what kind of bedroom you’d like. We have three types: shared rooms, private rooms, and deluxe rooms. You can see the prices for each, per session, on our apply page.
Athens-based artists, who normally don’t require accommodation, can take part in our programs for free. If that’s you, get in touch!
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We are working towards making our program as financially accessible as possible, in order to include as diverse a residency community as we can.
At the moment we cannot provide scholarships or stipends, but please sign up for our newsletter or follow us on social media to stay updated on developments in the near future.
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Athens is a dynamic, politically engaged city, and Exarcheia is one of its liveliest neighborhoods — alongside the trendy boutiques and cozy cafes, there's a strong tradition of political activism and protest. Generally speaking, it's safe, and we live here year-round and feel that way ourselves.
Occasionally, this energy becomes visible: general strikes or major protests can draw large crowds and sometimes lead to clashes with police, usually downtown (about 30 minutes' walk away) or, more rarely, in Exarcheia itself, typically late at night. These are infrequent and easy to avoid if you'd rather not be near them, but we're happy to answer any questions if you're curious or want more detail.
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While we would love to be able to accommodate everyone, unfortunately the answer is no.
The residency accommodation is up one flight of stairs in an old building with no elevator, making it inaccessible for people with certain physical disabilities.
There is an elevator in the studios building.
In terms of other forms of accessibility, please get in touch- we are happy to find solutions to make our residencies suitable for your needs.
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Dog: no.
Everyone else: probably.
If you want to do a residency with your partner or friend, please let us know (on your application form). We can generally arrange it so that you are sharing a bedroom and studio with them.
We don’t generally allow individual residents to share their room with someone who isn’t doing a residency - the accommodation would get very full if we did.
All this said, if you have any questions about bringing someone with you, please get in touch and we’ll try our best to accommodate you.
If you are interested in applying as a larger group, please get in touch with us as well- we are happy to discuss a specific residency reserved for your group only.