The residency programme at Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts (NAC) grants selected artists the opportunity to live and work in Nida, Lithuania for a period between two and six months. NAC is located in a remote UNESCO World Heritage Site, surrounded by the unique landscape of the Curonian spit: forest, sand dunes, a freshwater lagoon, and the sea. NAC is a subdivision of Vilnius Academy of Arts and in addition to the international artist-in-residency programme, it organises educational projects and exhibitions.
 
The programme has the capacity to host up to five international residents at a time. NAC regularly works with artists and researchers working within the fields of history, ecology and politics, social sciences, visual culture and interdisciplinarity. The programme is also open to designers, architects, researchers, theoreticians and curators, as well as practitioners working with performing arts, sound, material research/craft, and film. This list is not exhaustive and proposals for a residency by professionals from other fields are always welcome.

The programme is predominantly conducted in English. 
 
The goal of the programme at NAC is to provide participants with time, space and focus, and the opportunity to gain insight into other practices and diversify their own outlook through exchange with others. The programme engages residents in discussions with fellow practitioners, participants in the NAC artistic programme, and the Nida Doctoral School. NAC is collaborating with local cultural institutions and offers the possibility to organise presentations and engage with the educational programme of NAC by conducting artist talks or workshops at Vilnius Academy of Arts or local public elementary and secondary schools.
 

Living and working conditions

NAC can host up to five residents at any time. Each resident is provided with a 65m2 live/work space equipped with basic kitchen facilities, a bathroom, and work space. Residents have full access to communal spaces such as the reading room and workshops with weaving looms, laser cutting, basic wood and metalworking tools, basic photo, video and sound equipment, silkscreen, and a hand printing press.

The atmosphere and life intensity in Nida depend on the season and programme of NAC. There are between 7 and 70 people staying at NAC at all times. For most of the year, from September through May, one enjoys solitude, occasionally accented by art professionals or art, architecture and design students of VAA and their professors arriving for workshops or other activities. During July and August, Nida becomes a busy (although not overcrowded) summer holiday resort.
  
Costs

Studio and living space rent is 400 Eur/month, excluding all taxes, including use of equipment, communal spaces and bicycles.

 
Grants
In general residency grants are only distributed via partnering institutions of NAC. Selected candidates for open call residencies are issued a letter of support for individual grant-seeking.