Southeast Asian Arts Residency

About the Open Call

Applications for residencies in 2026 are now open! The Southeast Asian Arts Residencies at Rimbun Dahan are for artists in any discipline (visual or performing artists, and literature) who are both from AND based in ASEAN nations only (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) or Timor Leste. The residencies are intended to provide an opportunity to live and engage in artistic work at Rimbun Dahan in Malaysia, for 2 months between 1 March and 30 November 2026. We provide workspace and accommodation in a serene garden setting, away from the bustle of the city. This residency is recommended for artists seeking solitude, quiet and/or space to focus on their work, or artists who have specific professional interests in our indigenous Southeast Asian garden and arboretum, Malay heritage textile collection, or contemporary and heritage architecture. We prefer applicants who are: Mid-career artists, who have already committed at least a few years to their professional arts career, NOT within 5 years of graduation from their initial arts degree or training. Professionally trained in their discipline (especially for visual artists) and are undertaking a professional level of practice. Self-motivated and able to live and work independently. Proposing a project that can be feasibly carried out at Rimbun Dahan. Projects should further your own artistic curiosity and trajectory, and build on your artistic career so far. Resident artists are expected to participate in 1 scheduled open studio day during their residency. Visual artists are expected to leave 1 artwork that has been made at Rimbun Dahan for our permanent collection. Artists are expected to acknowledge the Rimbun Dahan residency as a source of support in their published material, eventual exhibition, eventual performance or other major outcome of the project they are working on during their residency. Non-Malaysian residents are responsible for their own immigration/visa status. ASEAN passport holders are usually given a Short Term Social Pass automatically on entry, which usually lasts only 30 days, and cannot be renewed. So the two months of your residency need to be non-sequential, for example one month of your residency in March and one month in September, not sequentially from the beginning of March until end of April. Only Malaysian applicants may apply for consecutive months. To be eligible for this residency, applicants must be BOTH citizens of AND residents of a Southeast Asian country: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and including Timor Leste. Former resident artists under the Southeast Asian Arts Residency at Rimbun Dahan are not eligible to apply for this residency a second time. Rimbun Dahan is a family-owned and -funded residency space, and the selection of resident artists is carried out by Rimbun Dahan family members. Selection depends on the strength of the applicant’s portfolio and compatibility with the aims and capacity of Rimbun Dahan. If your artistic practice is centered around your belief in alternative medicine and alternative healing practices, mystic spirituality, horoscopes and astrology, or the supernatural, we do not encourage you to apply.

What is Offered

Accommodation (including private bathroom and kitchen, electricity and water), Private studio/workspace (including electricity and water), Monthly allowance of MYR1000, Orientation to the residency and limited on-site administrative support, Access to office/artist lounge (WiFi equipped), library, tennis court, and swimming pool, Weekly transport to nearby supermarket (if required), One travel stipend (paid upon arrival for the second month of the residency only), ranging from MYR300 to MYR1200 depending on location of origin. Meals or groceries, art materials, funding for art materials or artistic collaborators, flights to Malaysia (other than the travel stipend), transfer to/from KL International Airport and Rimbun Dahan, any other local transport costs, travel visas, and any fees for procuring and maintaining travel visas are NOT provided.

Requirements

Applicants must be BOTH citizens of AND residents of a Southeast Asian country: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and including Timor Leste. Applicants should be Mid-career artists, professionally trained in their discipline, self-motivated and able to live and work independently, and proposing a project that can be feasibly carried out at Rimbun Dahan. Former resident artists under the Southeast Asian Arts Residency at Rimbun Dahan are not eligible to apply for this residency a second time. Rimbun Dahan should be the primary home and full-time work place for the duration of the residency.

How to Apply

Please submit an application by email with the following attachments: The completed application form (PDF or Word format), CV (PDF preferred, Word docs okay), Portfolio of previous work (PDF preferred, Word docs okay; performing artists should provide links to online video samples, writers should include extensive samples of previous published work). Please send in complete applications only. The total size of your attachments should not be more than 10MB. For residencies from the beginning of March to the end of November 2026, send applications by end of 30 September 2025 (midnight UTC+8:00 – Malaysia, Brunei, Central Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore time) by email to arts@rimbundahan.org. Once you have submitted your application, you should receive a response by email from Rimbun Dahan within 3 days. Please email arts@rimbundahan.org if you have not received a response after 3 days.