Science and art are both creative processes, each in their own way. Collaborations between artists and scientists can provide fantastic opportunities for mutual inspiration and communication to a wide audience. However, today there are few opportunities for scientists and artists to meet and develop new projects. We have therefore established REAL art, an artist-in-residence program that facilitates contact between research groups and visual artists.
The next call will be published in February 2027, with deadline May 2027.
Our artists-in-residence
Fall 2026 - spring 2027: Marius Mathisrud
Marius Mathisrud collaborates with Stephanie Werner and the Centre for Planetary Habitability at the Department of Geoscience. Read more about the project here..
Fall 2026 - spring 2027: Emilia Bergmark
Emilia Bergmark collaborates with the research group SNOW and Désirée Treichler at the Department of Geoscience. Read more about the project here.
Fall 2025 - spring 2026: Ane Graff
Ane Graff collaborates with professor Cinzia Anita Maria Progida and her research group "Cell dynamics". Read more about the project here.
Fall 2025 - spring 2026: Taylor Alaina Liebenstein Smith
In the project «Breathing Transcriptions: The Invisible Language of Methane», Smith works together with PhD candidate Eira Catharine Lødrup Carlsen. Read more about the project here..
Spring 2025: Per Maning
The artist-in-residence during the spring of 2025 is Per Maning with "3 cells and clay" in collaboration with Kamran Shalchian-Tabrizi at the Department of Biosciences. You can read more about the project here.
Fall 2024: Jeannette Christensen
The artist-in-residence during the fall of 2024 is Jeannette Christensen with "Jelly Works" in collaboration with Dirk Linke at the Department of Biosciences. You can read more about the project here.
Spring 2024: Izabela Żółcińska
The artist-in-residence during the spring of 2024 is Izabela Żółcińska with "The weeping project" in collaboration with Andreas Carlson at the Department of Mathematics. You can read more about the project here.
Fall 2023: Laila Kongevold
The artist-in-residence during the fall of 2023 is Laila Kongevold in collaboration with Mats Ola Sand at the Rosseland Center for Solar Physics (RoCS) (RoCS). You can read more about the project here.
Frequently asked questions
What type of science is relevant for the program?
- Every department at the MN faculty have research activities that are visually exciting, for example through fieldwork, microscopy or simulations, or that can be inspiring to artists through the type of problems they address.
- As UiO:LifeScience and KORO are partners in the program, at least one of the two granted projects in each call need to take place within the theme of life science, in a broad sense.
What type of art is relevant for the program?
- The program is aimed at visual arts. This includes traditional forms like painting, sculptures, graphics, drawing and textiles, but also newer forms like performance, video, installations and sound art.
- Pure scientific illustration (commissioned works for use in scientific publications or science communication) is not covered by the program.
What is the research group expected to provide for the artist?
- The research group must offer the artist a workspace co-located with the research activity. If possible, the workspace could also be used as a studio or workshop, not just an office.
- It may also be relevant to include the artist in lab- or fieldwork. In that case, any extra expenses for the artist (access to lab, standard lab equipment, travel, accomodation etc.) should be covered by the research group.
What can REAL art offer?
- The artist will receive a stipend (80 000 NOK) and can apply for additional funding (up to 50 000 NOK) to cover travel and living expenses in Oslo (for artists who live outside the Oslo region) and material costs.
- The project committee and the Science Library can assist in developing communication/dissemination activities.
Who will have the rights to artistic products from the project?
- The artist will retain the rights to their products. If the research group wish to buy any artistic outcomes for further use then this must be arranged separately with the artist.
Application criteria and information
- The program is open to artists who
- work in visual arts. This includes traditional forms like painting, sculptures, graphics, drawing and textiles, but also newer forms like performance, video, installations and sound art.
- have the necessary permits for living and working in Norway.
- can live in Oslo and work with a research group at the University of Oslo during a period (suggested 2-4 months) during the project period.
- The application must be developed in collaboration with a research group at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo.
- The list of potential collaborators will be published together with the next call for projects. Artists can also apply together with researchers who are not on the list.
- As UiO:LifeScience and KORO are partners in the program, at least one of the two granted projects in each call need to take place within the theme of life science, in a broad sense.
- The research group should offer a work space for the artist and good possibilities for interaction with research activities in the group.
- A contact person from the research group must be given in the application. The jury will contact the contact persons on the top listed applications before a project is granted funding.
- The application must contain an overall time plan for the project, including a plan for dissemination of the creative process and artistic results.
- The dissemination plan should include interactions with students, researchers and/or other audiences within the University.
- An exhibition may take place some time after the residency is finished. This must be described in the plan.
- The science library (contact: Linn Katrine Hirsti) can contribute with space and some support for activities such as exhibitions and talks.
- The granted project will receive a stipend of 80 000 NOK. In addition, you can apply for up to 50 000 NOK to cover material costs and/or travel and living costs (for applicants living outside the Oslo region). The latter must be specified with a budget in the application.
- The assessment of the applications will be based on
- artistic quality. Because the project and application process are limited in time, the project can be of exploratory nature.
- the artists' qualifications (documented by CV and previous works).
- that the artist and research group have a mutual understanding and motivation for the project.
- feasibility, given the constraints of time and funding.
- the dissemination plan.
- The jury will aim for diversity in both artistic expression, background and age of artists.
- The jury will consist of one indepentent artist, one representative from arts at UiO, one representative from KORO and one representative from sciences at the MN faculty. In the previous call, the jury consisted of artist Helene Sommer, UiO arts curator Charlotte Wiik, and MN Dean of Research Bjørn Jamtveit.
- Each artist can only submit one application. A research group can participate in applications from more than one artist.
The application must contain
- Project description (submitted as one pdf file of maximum 2 pages):
- Description of your artistic profile
- Motivation and artistic goals
- Short description of how you collaborated with the research group in developing the application
- Overall time plan, including dissemination
- Budget if you apply for extra funding for materials, travel and/or living costs (up to 50 000 NOK)
- CV (maximum 2 pages)
- Portfolio of up to 5 reference works (submitted as a pdf, may include links to external web pages/videos)
- Name and contact information of the research group contact person
For more information, contact project leader Anja Røyne. The project committee also consists of Henrik H. Svensen, Linn Katrine Hirsti og Charlotte Wiik.
The project is supported by:
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