BOLSA BARREIRO

2027 OPEN CALL

PADA Studios with the financial support of Câmara Municipal do Barreiro has developed a bursary for visual artists originally from and/or based in Barreiro. This bursary is focused on supporting three emerging local artists who would benefit from PADA ́s residency programme and facilities.

Three artists will be selected to co-attend the programme for three months, from the 5th of January to the 31st of March 2027.

Application deadline is the 29th of June 2026 and artists will be notified by the 10th of July 2026.

Make sure you read and familiarise yourself with the program and the residency guidelines before applying.

Residency Guidelines PDF

  • Application is done via an Open Call.

    This Open Call deadline is the 29th of June.

    This is what you will need to apply and begin your preparations:

    + Personal details and contacts


    + Cover letter introducing yourself and your motivation, along with a statement on your relation with Barreiro (max. 300 words)


    + Artist statement describing your practice/research and areas of interest (max. 300 words)


    + Project proposal indicating any particular project you would like to propose for the residency (max. 300 words)

    + Optional workshop or other event proposal (max. 200 words)


    + Portfolio (max. 10 pages, 12MB)


    + CV


    + A few sentences about how your project will minimise its impact on the environment


    + A few sentences on why you want to do the residency and your expectations of it.

    As an international residency, artists applying must be comfortable communicating in English and application must be written in English.

Application Form
A group of people walking along a paved path near an abandoned industrial site with a tall, weathered smokestack and dilapidated buildings under a clear sky.
An interior view of a room with a white wall covered in various printed images, diagrams, and text about landscapes or geological formations, a wooden table with brochures or booklets, and wooden shelving on the right side. There are small windows an
Art installation in a gallery with a white paper-covered table displaying pink and gray clay sculptures, and a white wall behind it decorated with various sketches, drawings, and notes.
Various cheeses, herbs, and a jar of water with herbs on a cheese-making cloth-covered table.
An artist is painting on a large canvas in an art studio, surrounded by colorful abstract paintings, with art supplies on a table nearby.
Person with short blonde hair taking a photo of a wall with various artworks and notes using a smartphone.
Two people in an art gallery or studio with white walls, hanging metal sculptures, ladders, and a colorful abstract painting on the wall. One person is jumping with arms raised, and the other is looking up at the sculptures.
An artist with short dark hair and glasses working on a watercolor painting in a studio, wearing a black shirt and a paint-spattered apron, with various artworks and sketches on the wall behind her.
Person with blonde hair creating abstract art on a table in a colorful, spray-painted studio with bottles of paint and art supplies on a nearby cart.
A woman working on a sewing machine in an art studio with colorful paper, fabric, and art projects around her.
Woman in black jacket and beanie holding paper, standing in an abandoned warehouse with geometric sculptures on the ground behind her, and another person crouching in the background.
People gathered in an art gallery with abstract and modern art on the walls, some standing, one sitting on the floor, and one sitting on the ground with legs crossed.

The residency includes

We believe dialogue is important for a rich studio practice, and the residency programme has been developed with this in mind. By organising monthly activities, artists have the opportunity to engage with each other and develop new contacts.

PADA provides structured opportunities for artistic development through a programme of tours, presentations, critiques, and mentoring.

Programme of Activities and Support

  • Artists are taken to the Industrial Museum, where a local historian will do a brief introduction to the history of Companhia União Fabril (CUF). Artists that would like to work with the archives, can make further meetings.

  • PADA provides a 2h walking tour to the restricted areas of the industrial park (old Sotinco Paint Factory and the North side of the Industrial Park) to introduce artists to the contemporary reality of the area.

  • The curator of the residency prepares and conducts a tour to some galleries, artist-run spaces, artists’ studios and other exhibitions venues or projects in Lisbon. This is aimed to expand the artists network within Lisbon and showcase some of the Portuguese art scene.

  • At the start of the residency, artists give a short, informal 10-minute introduction to their practice. These sessions are led by the residency curator and PADA’s founder, who also outline the programme ahead.

  • In each month of the residency artists will receive 1 to 2 in-depth studio visits with the curator to discuss goals, ideas, and progress. These meetings support critical reflection and professional exchange.

  • Visiting curators present their curatorial practice and meet individually with each artist for brief studio visits.

    A guest curator will be curating the final exhibition of Bolsa Barreiro, having met with the artists individually during the residency in preparation for the exhibition.

  • After two months of residencies, group critiques are held in the studios, offering artists the chance to present their work-in-progress and receive feedback from peers, the director and curator.

  • At the end of each residency period of the International Residency, final critiques are held in the gallery, where each artist presents up to three finished works. Bolsa Barreiro artists present their work as well.

  • At the end of the cycle, later in the year, the 3 artists will feature in a group exhibition in PADA Gallery. A catalogue of the exhibition will be produced to accompany it.

    On the last Saturday of each International Residency period, Open Studios are held and this encompasses all artist-in-residence. Bolsa Barreiro residency span for 2 of those periods.

Facilities

  • 24m2 studio

  • Access to PADA Studios facilities, including gallery and workshop

  • Access to the restricted areas of the Industrial Park

The Bursary

This bursary is focused in supporting recently graduated artists, assisting their professional development. Aimed at local artists, it doesn’t include accommodation. The bursary does not include a pecuniary grant, materials nor meals. Recipients are expected to participate in the programme on a consistent basis. The residency fee is fully supported by Câmara Municipal do Barreiro and PADA.

Selection criteria

• Quality of work and commitment

• Applications that take into consideration PADA´s unique location and facilities

• Unique perspective and approach

• Interest and willingness to work and live in a community of artists

• Clarity and focus of proposal

After applying

Artists will be informed by 10th of July 2026 about the success of the application.

After receiving the invitation, within 14 days, a two-part agreement between the prospective resident and PADA will be signed. A copy of that agreement can be requested in advance should you have any questions.

Cancellations have to be announced with as much notice as possible.

Please note that the undertaking of a residency is a commitment, with financial and other responsibilities related to the community of artists, facilities and operations here at PADA.

We encourage artists to apply for individual funding to cover the residency costs. Make sure to inform us as soon as possible when applying for funding. We help all successful applicants with letters of support.

Residencies will begin and end in the indicated dates, so artists should arrange transport to arrive or depart accordingly. The Check-In and Checkout shall happen within PADA’s team working hours (Monday to Friday 11am to 5pm).

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

  • Not being in crowded Lisbon - but being in this sort of urban hinterland was just so perfect for me. The open sunlit De-Chirico-esque landscape fed into a de-cluttered mental space - it was like being cut adrift in the best possible way - a sense of freedom and time to explore.

    Matthew Swift

  • I enjoyed every single minute of it!! - The residency at PADA is truly one of the best things I have done. The time, space and freedom the residency provided me enabled me to test and explore new materials and ways of working, to think and consider the properties of the materials I was using and why. I came to PADA with an intention and left with a completely different body of work than what I had intended and my practice is richer and stronger for it.

    Anna Boland

  • The documentation PADA does for us, filming our work and photography is really helpful to my practice. Often people ask for images of me working because my work is very much about the process but often when I'm working, I'm just working and I've photographed my work but not with myself doing the work. Now I have a reference point.

    Stephanie Pau

Minimalist art installation featuring a cylindrical wooden structure with vertical panels, positioned in a white gallery space with a flag on the wall and geometric models on the floor.
Empty white gallery space with an orange plastic net or barrier hanging inside the doorway.
An art installation features a large, abstract sculpture resembling a bear, made of textured dark material, mounted on a wooden frame with wheels. A glove and a stick are attached to the sculpture, resembling limbs. The background has white walls, wi
Two ancient papyrus scrolls, each with grid-like writing, are displayed on a black background, with a modern metal switch or device in the center.