Open call: Text Laboratory #3 – international working residency project for text culture 29 December 2025 – 1 February 2026 in Helsinki

The House of Text in Helsinki, Finland is hosting the working residency program Text Laboratory in 2024–2026 for writers and other artists working with text. The aim of the project is to test and find new ways to bring text-based works and practices into contact with audiences and develop ways of sharing and inhabiting textual spaces together. The third and last Text Lab takes place between 29 December 2025 and 1 February 2026. Applications for Text Lab #3 are now open! 
 

We are looking for six writers or other artists with different backgrounds (disciplines, age, cultural background) who are interested in thinking about the possibilities of text culture, sharing their thinking and practices, and working together with other project participants. The group will be supported by two facilitators: Author Klaus Maunuksela and Curator and Project Coordinator Heidi Backström. You can find their introductions at the end of the open call. Other art professionals will also be giving workshops during the residency period. 

The working language of the project is English, but each participant can use their language of choice for their own texts / art works. 

The ideas, demos, try-outs, and pieces of art created in the laboratory will find their audience as part of the Text festival in the last week of the residency. The individual works  could take the form of, for example, a performance (duration of 1 to 45 minutes), workshop, installation or talk. 

 
The selected artists are asked to commit to working together throughout the residency period, and two pre-residency days remotely. The remote days will involve an e-meeting with the group and collaboration kick-off on 8 and 9 December 2025 and the Text Lab will take place from 29 December 2025 to 1 February 2026. There will be set times for working together and individually.  

We are able to cover travel and accommodation costs for a maximum of three participants from outside of Helsinki. The accommodation will be provided at Villa Kivi. 

- EUR 2000 compensation per person (paid on 31 January 2026) 

- the facilities of the House of Text (theatre space Parvisali + office spaces, printers etc. NOTE the spaces are shared and no workshop space is available for wood, metal or wet work) 

- networking opportunities (with the organisations at the House of Text and based on the verbalised needs of the participants) 

- community among the participants to learn from and make projects with. 

The application deadline is 21 September 2025. To apply, please send us the following, but NOTE: infos given in the email are not considered, only attachment(s) or portfolio links: 

- Your info: name, phone number, email address, and languages you work with. Please also state the art disciplines you work with and the city/country you would be travelling from to attend the Text Laboratory. 

- An introductory letter in which you tell us: who you are, why you want to join the Text Laboratory, what you want to offer the other participants, what you are hoping the facilitators and other participants could give you, what you would like to work on during the residency. Max. 1 page 

- Your CV. 

- A portfolio or a short work sample (1–3 pages + translation if necessary.) You may send the sample in the language of your choosing, but if needed, please provide a translated summary in English or Finnish. 

- Whether you need travel and/or accommodation support, and if so, let us know your itinerary. Please note that we can’t pay the travel costs before a person has their visa and any other necessary travel documents in place. 

Please send this info to osallistu@tekstintalo.fi by 21 September 2025. Please use the following format for the subject line of the email: Text Laboratory Application + your name. 

Klaus Maunuksela is a writer and a dramaturge. In recent years he has worked on a variety of pieces in different text and presentation formats, engaging in close collaborations with artists from different disciplines. Maunuksela’s debut novel, Manuaali (Manual) (2022) received the Most Beautiful Book of the Year award. His essay novel Prosessi (Process) (2024) was published not only in printed form, but also as a binaural audiobook. He is currently working on his artistic doctorate at Uniarts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy, on writing and experimental audio literature. His most recent collaborations are ‘From a Great Height’, premiering at Zodiak – Centre for New Dance in Helsinki in autumn 2025, and ‘Matrix of Modernity’, which has been performed at CTM and Spatial festivals in Berlin. 

Heidi Backström is a producer, curator and writer based in Helsinki and Turku. Heidi’s background is in the performing arts. At the moment she is doing MFA studies at the Academy of Fine Arts at Uniarts in Helsinki, focusing on curating and critical writing. She’s interested in what ‘easy’ can mean in the context of sustainable and art-based curating. Heidi works as the project coordinator at Text Laboratory. 

The selections will be made by 29 October and all applicants will be informed then. The selection committee consists of the facilitators: Klaus Maunuksela and Heidi Backström, with the support of Text Laboratory’s steering group members: Lois Armas, Maarit Bau Mustonen, Johanna Freundlich, Saara Hacklin, Eino Santanen and Jenna Viro. 

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the project coordinator: Heidi Backström, +358 505896073 heidi.backstrom@tekstintalo.fi. Please note that Heidi works part-time and it may take a few days for you to receive an answer. 

The Text Laboratory project is funded by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation. A total of three residency periods are being held during the period 2024–2026.