OPEN CALL: Residency for artists as part of the Skateholders project
📅Residency dates: June 1 – July 5, 2026
🛑Application deadline: February 28, 2026
The Skateholders project, part of the European Capital of Culture 2028 program in České Budějovice, is announcing an open call for one artist from cities involved in the CreArt 3.0 network!
The residency will take place in the summer of 2026 in České Budějovice and will culminate in an artistic output presented during the Skateholders Forum festival.
ABOUT SKATEHOLDERS
SKATEHOLDERS focuses on connecting architecture and design interventions in public spaces with education and social work. It creates an ideal city for skateboarding and other wheeled and urban sports. The flat terrain of České Budějovice provides suitable conditions for the development of wheeled sports.
The aim of this project is to make the city a popular destination for skateboarding and other urban sports throughout Europe. We will achieve this goal through a series of artistic and architectural interventions. For example, every year Studio U/U will transform one unused or neglected public space into a unique place that will serve both for skateboarding and as a high-quality space suitable for social interaction.
The project also includes the Skateholders Forum, a multi-day festival offering performances, workshops, exhibitions, lectures, and film screenings with international participation. The festival creates a space for connecting the local and international scenes and strengthens social and cultural networks in the region.
The project's achievements to date include two successful editions of the festival in 2024 and 2025.
RESIDENCY 2026
The next edition of Skateholders Forum (first week of July 2026) will present an interdisciplinary program focused on DIY skateboarding through the lens of craft, art, urbanism, community, and resistance. The festival will feature:
- The premiere of a documentary about Czech DIY skateparks by Javier Varillas,
- An exhibition of photographs, visual art, and artifacts related to the DIY scene and guerrilla interventions in urban space,
- The creation of a new skate spot in České Budějovice in collaboration with Czech DIY collectives
The residency lasts approximately 5 weeks and includes mandatory participation during the Skateholders Forum.
WHAT THE RESIDENCY OFFERS
During the residency, the selected artist will be closely connected with the České Budějovice skate community and its representatives. The residency will also include a meeting with Javier Varillas and a local artist who is working on a video art project about the skate scene in České Budějovice.
We offer:
- Travel expenses within the CreArt cities,
- Accommodation for the entire duration of the residency,
- Material budget: EUR 1,000,
- Artist's fee: EUR 1,000 (including food costs),
- Workspace according to the artist's needs and media.
KDO SE MŮŽE PŘIHLÁSIT?
Výzva je určena jednomu umělci (narozenému, žijícímu nebo působícímu) z některého z měst sítě CreArt 3.0, který:
- Má zkušenost se skateboardingem, DIY kulturou, street kulturou, urbanistickými praxemi nebo příbuznými obory,
- Má zájem zkoumat DIY skateboarding jako řemeslo, umělecký výraz, filozofii, životní styl, grassroots urbanismus nebo formu občanského odporu.
Contact:
Martin Kalenský, martin.kalensky@budejovice2028.cz
