Introduction

Created by the bank in 2025 under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg, the Spuerkeess Foundation aims to foster social inclusion for young people, promote financial education in the broadest sense, and enhance Luxembourg’s artistic heritage, notably through its own collections, including a body of photographic works by Edward Steichen.

Within this context, the Spuerkeess Foundation is launching a call for applications for photographic production support. Through this patronage initiative, the Foundation seeks to encourage and support artistic production in Luxembourg.

Production Support – Eligibility Criteria

This production support is intended to enable one or more Luxembourgish artists or photographers, or artists residing in Luxembourg, to create a photographic series or body of work for exhibition purposes.

The support is open to artists and photographers who can demonstrate an active and regular practice at national or international level. Priority will be given to emerging artists with strong ties to the local artistic scene.

Projects receiving production support must be presented in the context of a solo or group exhibition within 12 months following the granting of the support, in a public or private institution in Luxembourg or abroad.

The total annual amount allocated by the Spuerkeess Foundation is €30,000 incl. VAT, divided into two sessions of €15,000 incl. VAT each. The support may be distributed among several artists.

Evaluation Criteria

The production support will be awarded by a jury based on the following criteria:

• The artistic background of the applicant(s)
• The artistic quality of the project
• The relevance of the artistic approach
• The coherence of the project in relation to the resources implemented for its realization

The Jury

Applications will be pre-selected by a jury composed of members of the Luxembourg cultural sector. The jury’s role is to evaluate each application according to its eligibility and to propose the selected candidates to the management committee of the Spuerkeess Foundation for the allocation of financial support, based on the evaluation criteria.

The jury is composed of:

• Paul Di Felice, independent curator, President of EMOP
• Sandra Schwender, Cité de l’image, Clervaux
• Sara Giuliattini, independent curator, programming coordinator at La Chambre, a space dedicated to contemporary photography, Strasbourg
• Xavier Canonne, Director of the Musée de la Photographie, Charleroi
• Eric Kerschen, Member of the Management Committee of the Spuerkeess Foundation, Spuerkeess

The jury’s decision is final. The jury reserves the right not to award a grant if it considers that the submitted applications do not satisfactorily meet the eligibility and/or evaluation criteria.

Timeline

Applications for the first session will be open from 30 April 2026 to 19 June 2026.

How to Apply

Applicants must submit an application file including the following mandatory documents:

• Motivation letter from the applicant(s)
• Copy of the applicant(s)’ identity document
• Certificate of residence
• Detailed artistic CV of the applicant(s)
• Portfolio showcasing previous work
• Description of the project for which support is requested
• Statement of intent describing the project
• Estimated budget
• Provisional financing plan indicating other grants applied for or obtained, as well as the level of participation of potential partners (galleries, art centers, museums) in the production

Submission of Applications

Application files must be sent by email to:

spuerkeessfoundation@fdlux.lu

Applications for the first session will be open from 30 April 2026 to 19 June 2026.