The Development Programme offers the context of Kunsthal Gent - an experimental intersection for contemporary art, located in a 13th-century monastery in the centre of Ghent - as a workspace and an opportunity for the development of artistic practice.
Six artists, collectives, small organisations or collaboration initiatives per year are offered a Development Fellowship of up to 3 months: a period of research and development, tailored with and around each selected participant, supported by a team of collaborators and invited guests. Participants are challenged to leave their mark on Kunsthal Gent’s public programme (running parallel to the exhibition programme) in experimental ways. The underlying ambition of Kunsthal Gent is to grow a network of participants, connected organisations and experts that will be beneficial beyond the fellowship period and provide a stimulus for the wider (local) arts community.

There is a significant document where you can find out much more about the spirit of Kunsthal Gent: their USER’S MANUAL. The first draft of this booklet explains what the organisation is made of, how it is set up, whom it is for, how it can be used and what it can offer. It is made for all users (this includes the public), partner organisations and artists.

For the Development Programme they are looking for artists, collectives, small organisations or collaboration initiatives with a significant need to explore a new direction, and/or to experiment with ideas one didn’t have the support or courage to pursue yet. The organisers encourage the artists to look for partners and potential collaborators (another artist, a curator, theoretician, an expert in another field, a local organisation, ...) that can work with them on the proposed plan. It is possible for a team of collaborators to apply.
The Development Programme supports contemporary visual arts, and is open for practices at the intersection with other artistic disciplines and fields. Kunsthal Gent’s broad approach transcends the classical definitions of artist, curator, critic and designer and at the same time breaks down divisions between individual, collective and organisation. They welcome development proposals by visual arts practitioners of any age, gender, career phase and cultural background and strive for diversity in the programme. For the duration of the fellowship, the participant should not be a student or taking part in another support structure. These profiles can, of course, be part of the team around a selected proposal.

How the programme supports artistic development: They challenge artists to propose a plan for a significant development of their practice, that can work in the context of Kunsthal Gent. They support development plans with time, space and a budget that makes collaboration and dialogue with relevant expert(s) or colleague(s) possible.
The total budget of a development proposal can be up to €5.000 all-in, to be used according to the needs of the proposal. This includes an artist fee, travel, production costs, taxes etc. From this, they reserve €500 for costs made directly by Kunsthal (e.g. public moments, fees for externals, documentation costs). They offer a dynamic context to work in and to share your process with colleagues and audiences. The development programme runs alongside and intersects with Kunsthal Gent’s exhibition and public programmes.
The duration of a residency follows from the plan and needs of the participant(s). It can be short, specific and intense, or longer and more spread out. The organisers think the provided budget is good for a maximum of 3 months. Longer engagements are possible, but will need an extra budget that the proposed plan should cater for (through additional subsidy, collaboration or co-production).
There are three periods per year that each host two development fellowships (following the rhythm of Kunsthal Gent’s opening weekends at the end of January, May and September of each year). New periods start in February, June/July and October and run until the following opening weekend. Each 3 month period they will host one local/national and one international artist/collective/organization. International artists are offered an apartment inside Kunsthal Gent.