ITI Academy Week 2026 Open Call

About the Open Call

The ITI Academy Week will take place during the festival THEATER DER WELT from June 21 to 28, 2026, in Berlin and Chemnitz. THEATER DER WELT is a significant international theater festival in Germany, showcasing global perspectives, transcending borders, and connecting people. The ITI Academy serves as a platform for international encounters and artistic research, conceived as a laboratory for collective resilience and resistance in art and theater. Fellows, who are at the beginning of their artistic careers, will attend performances and events of THEATER DER WELT, collaborate with artists from the ITI Academy LABs, and exchange perspectives on topics like artistic freedom, censorship, practices of collective care, fair collaboration, and decolonization. They will also reflect on community and cross-cultural relations, emphasizing diverse perspectives, aesthetics, and working methods. Fellows will join the ITI Academy alumni network, strengthening international connections based on the worldwide ITI network. Participation in the entire program is mandatory and requires attendance and active involvement from June 21 to 28, 2026, plus three preparatory online meetings.

What is Offered

The fellowship includes tickets for performances and events of THEATER DER WELT, hotel accommodation with breakfast, per diems, train transfer from Berlin to Chemnitz, public transportation costs during the ITI Academy Week, travel and health insurance (for international fellows), assistance with visa applications and payment of visa fees (for international fellows), and a contribution to travel costs (train, 2nd class, or air travel, economy class). The program also features exclusive artist and curatorial talks, participation in workshops on resilience and collective resistance, exchange and networking opportunities with international theatre makers and cultural practitioners, and two individual one-to-one mentoring sessions.

Requirements

This global Open Call addresses artists, theatre makers, and individuals who are connected to one of the national ITI centers or are interested in becoming part of the worldwide ITI network. Applicants should be at the beginning of their artistic career but have already gathered some professional experience. They must be enthusiastic about the power of theater and arts as drivers of empathy, learning, and change, with a strong interest in the intersection of art, activism, social criticism, and social participation. Applicants should use their practice to raise questions about justice, sustainability, responsibility, and belonging, and have a good command of English. The German Center of the International Theatre Institute is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, encouraging emerging professionals who have left their country of origin due to war or for political, social, or economic reasons, as well as professionals facing structural exclusion or access barriers to the performing arts sector.

How to Apply

Applicants must send their application, including a letter of motivation (max. 1 page), a brief classification of their connection to ITI (max. ½ page), and an artistic CV or a text outlining their artistic background (max. one page) with optional links or attachments (max. 5 pages) of work samples (with short descriptions, images or sound material), by January 5, 2026, via E-mail (with attachment as Pdf) to academy@iti-germany.de. Info sessions are available online on November 5, 2025, December 3, 2025, and December 8, 2025, with registration required.