Exhibition Funding

Exhibition view with a view of a serving trolley with a large plush bunny and shark on the left and a light installation on the right in the photo

View of the exhibition Cosima von Bonin: Songs for Gay Dogs, 11.10.2024 — 02.03.2025, Mudam Luxembourg; Photo: Mareike Tocha © Mudam Luxembourg

View of the exhibition by Dani Gal. Shelves with many different vinyl covers can be seen on the wall.

Simon Fujiwara: Installation View of Once Upon A Who?, 5min stop-motion animation, 2022. Dhaka Art Summit, 03.-11.02.2023. Courtesy of the artist, Esther Schipper and Samdani Art Foundation. Photo: Abdullah Mashrif.

YORGOS SAPOUNTZIS MICHSICH HOTEL | Yorgos Sapountzis: Michsich Hotel a scenography; © Ivo Corrà | 20.07.-16.09.2018, Kunst Meran, Meran

Device_art 7.021, Festival of art, robotics, and new technologies, 23.11. – 19.12.2021, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb Quadrature, LOOP, photo Courtesy of the artist.

Jumana Manna, Wild Relatives, 2018, installation view. Courtesy of the artist and The Douglas Hyde Gallery, 2019. Photography by Louis Haugh.

BITTER THINGS – Narrative und Erinnerungen transnationaler Familien, 23.10. - 04.12.2020, FABER, Timisoara BITTER THINGS @Archive Kabinett, Berlin © Mathias Voelzke

+ + + The deadline for submitting applications for project funding for initiatives scheduled for implementation in 2027 will be announced on this website no later than January 31, 2026. + + +

Please note that applications for projects planned for implementation in 2026 are no longer being accepted.

We kindly advise you to check this website regularly for updates on deadlines and further information regarding the application process.

International visibility for contemporary art from Germany

The ifa understands contemporary art as a sounding board for social debates and as an important means of communication in public discourse.

The ‘Exhibition Funding’ programme line is an important element of external cultural policy to strengthen intercultural dialogue.

The ifa supports exhibitions that cover a broad spectrum of socially relevant topics, pursue transdisciplinary approaches and deal with current social, cultural or ecological issues.

The aim of the funding is to make art from Germany visible beyond national borders, to strengthen international exchange and to introduce socially relevant topics into the global dialogue. The exhibition funding programme supports visual artists in the form of contributions for travel, art transport and rental of technical equipment for exhibition presentation.

Who can apply?

The programme is addressed to contemporary visual artists who have been living in Germany for at least five years and are part of the German art scene. Funding in the country of origin is excluded.

For what exhibition formats may applications be submitted?

Individual and group exhibitions outside Germany staged in non-commercial museums, galleries and art institutions
Biennales and other curated international exhibition formats that support intercultural exchange and the visibility of art from Germany

What conditions must be met?

Invitation from a non-commercial institution outside Germany for a specific exhibition project (excluding sale of artworks)
The exhibiting institution does not charge any fees or request any other financial participation by invited artists and in addition, provides services of its own free of charge
The project is of a high artistic standard and addresses current socially relevant issues.

What does the funding include?

artists’ travel expenses to and from the venue and for board and lodging
cost of transporting artwork and exhibition material
rental costs of technical equipment required for presenting the exhibition

What else has to be considered?

The approved financial support is reimbursed only upon submission of the relevant invoicing documents/receipts in compliance with the Federal Budget Code and the German Travel Expenses Act (see: www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bho).
Project funding outside the approval period is excluded.
Students are excluded from the funding. Students are recommended to contact the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst - DAAD).
For budgetary reasons, financial support from the Federal Foreign Office and/or the Goethe-Institut and the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen is not permitted.
Any application documents submitted will not be returned.

Application guidelines

How to apply?

Application in 4 steps

Request access to the online application via the application system ⇒
Open the link sent in the email and create an online application.
Complete the application form (intermediate storage possible).
Submit the application online, then print out and sign the application and send it to ifa by post:

ifa - Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
Exhibition Funding
Charlottenplatz 17
D-70173 Stuttgart

What application documents are required?

Official invitation from the foreign exhibiting institution.
General information about the exhibiting institution (for example: profile, programme, previous exhibitions); link to the institution’s website may be included in the application.
CV and list of exhibitions for all artists for whom funding is requested.
PDF file containing visual material on the planned project and documentation of previous artistic work by the artists concerned (max. 2 MB). Links to artists’ websites and audio and video work may be included in the application. One file with material on all the artists is possible and desired.
Three cost estimates each for travel and transport expenses and for the rental costs of technical equipment for the presentation of the exhibition, if applicable.

When are the application deadlines?

Applications may be submitted once a year.
The application deadline is 15 July of each year and applies to projects throughout the following year.
The application must have been submitted using the application system by this deadline.
The application form must be printed out, signed and sent by post – the date of the postmark applies. Applications sent after the deadline cannot be considered.

What happens after the application has been submitted?

All applicants receive confirmation or rejection in writing within three months. Recourse to legal action is excluded. Reasons will not be given for decisions. Rejected applications may not be resubmitted.

Link to the application system