📢 OPEN CALL – Legends and lovelies, we are back! The application form is now online!

📅 SAVE THE DATES for Countdown Grabowsee 2025 — 14.8 - 24.8.25

🌿 This year under the working title Fairytale, we welcome all forms of artists, creatives, and musicians to join us for our 13th exploratory residency at Heilstätte Grabowsee.

📖 Through deep forests, over winding paths, fierce princesses and enchanted farmhands are whispering their truths into stories in your ears in our books in our history.
The supernatural gives space to the natural, we can follow in the giant’s footsteps.
Like a sculptor, fairytales are taking the edge off the plump rock that is time, that is history.
We are allowed to give sense to the world through the process of being told a fairytale — complete immersion as an anchor for reality. Though the campfire might be more significant than the fairytale itself. This year at Countdown Grabowsee let us collectively explore the spiritual dimension of fairytale, the utopian potential of simplicity, the power of imagination, the moral and formal economics of the storytelling practice, and the communal spirit of sitting around a campfire.

🎨 You are invited to create a site-specific piece of work — this could be anything from a sculpture, a painting, a soundscape, workshop or just conversation. We invite you to be creative, think outside of your usual comforts of making by producing something on site, using the working title and the special nature of the space through the experiences you make whilst on the residency.

📌 Please read carefully before applying:

🌲 We are:

🛶 a camping residency, in the middle of a forest, by a lake, surrounded by derelict buildings.

🤝 a community of creatives who strive to belong outside of the city, finding alternative ways of meeting.

🌀 aiming to cultivate a peaceful creative community, where participants are encouraged to experiment, collaborate and be inspired.

🎁 We provide:

🏚️ designated rooms as temporary studios

🧰 materials from the ‘Fundus’ – fabrics, found objects, bits of furniture, wood, etc.

🔨 basic working tools like hammers, drills, saws, screws

🏕️ designated areas for tents and camper vans/cars

🚽 compost toilet

🔥 a campfire

🚿 running water

🍲 a functional kitchen for communal vegetarian/vegan cooking

⚠️ We have limited:

🔌 electricity

📡 internet

💡 lighting

🔊 sound equipment

📋 specific requests

👶 participants must be age 16+

🧗 We kindly ask you to be self-reliant — the special nature of this residency allows you to be challenged and work accordingly.

📍 Need to know:

🏚️ You are entering a derelict area — please be cautious of broken glass, dust, and unsafe buildings.

🥾 Wear appropriate footwear and take care on site.

🌼 Respect the natural site and its wildlife.

🏗️ This is not a traditional venue — please consider this for your practice.

🚫 No dogs allowed.

⏰ Only full-duration applicants accepted.

💶 The residency costs 200–250€, covering infrastructure, food, electricity, technical support & documentation.

👥 If applying as a team, only one application is needed per group.

🫱 If you have financial concerns, contact us after acceptance — we’ll try to help.

📝 Apply here: Application Form

📬 Email us with any questions.

🗓️ Application deadline: 15.06.2025

✅ Selected participants will be informed by the end of June.

💖 We look forward to your application and welcome you to this year's edition!