The Kemmler Foundation (part of Kemmler Kemmler GmbH) was established in 2020 to support and connect the work of artists, writers and creative thought across disciplines. In the face of a collective future threatened by a multitude of intertwined crises, we maintain that arts and culture are not just a luxury, but essential to understanding and acting on the most pressing questions of our time.

Borne out of a set of ideals shared within the Kemmler Family and inspired by the legacy of co-founder Katharina Kemmler-Kitzinger, the Kemmler Foundation’s mission is to amplify voices of hope and positive social change from a variety of backgrounds, fields and experiences, collaborating with established and emerging talent.

Since 2022, Kemmler Foundation has supported individual artists across disciplines through our open call. We greatly appreciate the global reach of our open call and the volume and quality of the application we have received in previous years. 

2025 and 2026 have seen severe cuts to cultural funding in Germany and in Berlin in particular. We have decided to change the focus of this year's open call to supporting institutions to reflect these developments. While we do not believe private support should be a substitute for public funding of the arts, we believe the best use of our budget at this moment is in helping to maintain vital cultural infrastructure. While our open call is directed at art institutions this year, we will continue to support individual artists, other disciplines and projects outside of Germany through commissioned projects and our CO-ORDINATES residency network.

Our open call for 2026 therefore will award

– 4 grants of 5000 € each for exhibitions or public events to mid-sized art institutions in Germany

– up to 4 grants of 2000 € each to small independent art spaces in Berlin that have been in operation for more than 12 months 

The application period is open from February 23 to April 12 at midnight. A selection of applicants will be invited for a call to present their projects in greater detail. 

Applications should be for an art exhibition, an event or presentation of works. Grants can also be used to cover the production of new art works by an individual artist or a group. 

Funded projects must take place between May 15, 2026 and March 31, 2027. All grant funds must be claimed by December 31, 2026.

Applicants are free to choose how to present their projects. Applications should generally include: 

– an outline of the proposed project 

– a brief overview of the institution and selected past projects

– biographical information on the artists involved

– a budget calculation specifying how the funding from KF would be used

Applications can be submitted in English or German. Applications can only be submitted by the institution itself.

Please understand that for the reasons stated above we will not consider applications from individual artists or institutions outside of Germany this year. 

Please submit your applications to [email protected]