Open Call for Artists (Winter 2025-26) Last Ship Art Residency @Khajuraho

 

Artist in residence:

The artist studios of Last Ship are situated opposite the UNESCO World Heritage temples of Khajuraho. The Viswanath temple built in 999 AD is right in front, less than 20 meters from Last Ship.

Little known prehistoric and ancient historic sites in this region tell parts of a story more than 10,000 years old, of the Mughals, the Chandelas, going back to the Guptas, the Kushans, the Shungas and the Indo-Greeks all the way to prehistoric cave-dwellers, revealing secrets of the birth of the philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism and their common Tantric spiritual traditions.

The artists of the residency are invited to have their own experience of this heritage, like the sadhus, aghoris, and mystics who make solitary pilgrimages through this region, called the most powerful tantric region in the world, in search of enlightenment.

The Last Ship residency program is a one-of-a-kind experience of a history, nature and culture, hidden in the chaos and turmoil of contemporary India, and artists whose development would benefit the most from this experience are selected for the program.

The following are the upcoming residency programs for 2025-26, and their respective deadlines.

6 to 8 week residencies from Application deadline

6 to 8 week residencies from ----------------------------------- Application deadline

Mid October to December 2025 -------------------------------------- 14 July

December 2025 to January 2026 -------------------------------------  07 August

February to March 2026 ----------------------------------------------- 06 September 

Residency features

The residency at Last Ship does not ask for a tangible outcome from the artist. The artist can choose to create work or not, or may spend time in contemplation, research, exploration without tangible results. What is expected is respect for Last Ship, and some degree of participation and engagement with its community, as much as the artists personal space and own rules of engagement permit.

Selected artists will have to bear the costs of their travel to and from Khajuraho, and of their work material and production costs as applicable. No stipend will be provided. The costs of accommodation, food and local travel will be borne by Last Ship.

Artists will be required to stay with Last Ship at any of its spaces within the Khajuraho-Kalinjar region for the whole agreed duration of their residency, and not be permitted to travel outside unless required for work or an emergency.

Life in the residency

Each residency program will have two to three artists selected. It is designed to be a residency that provides the peace, solitude, and focus for the artist to think and create. The unique mix of the intense energy of the thousand year old temples and the laidback simplicity of rural India can clear the mind of a lot of programming, and almost always makes artists go through a journey of self exploration and realisation, with enlightenment as it is seen in India, not the Western definition of enlightenment, being an inevitable part of discussions very often.

To that end, not all artists may seek the same kind of experience. Some artists seek community, which is a very popular trend in a lot of residencies, with shared meals and experiences. Others may seek solitude. So the dynamic of each group of artists will be created by the artists themselves. Last Ship and its team plays a background role in this, so that artists can find their own way. Above all, the choices of each artist must be respected by the rest.

So, it could be either a silent residency of solitudes, or a gregarious one of sharing and community, or anything in between. This is up to the artists. Our team will participate, or be available for conversation, or as a sounding board, as the case may be.

Each artist will be provided

A private furnished studio with a work sink and toilet, fully accessible 24/7, at Last Ship, less than 20 meters away from and in front of the 999 BC Viswanath Temple. The studios are part of the Last Ship space, along with a shared study/library, and other guest accommodations. They are also suited for sleeping over, with a couch/bed, and food available.

All day food and drink from our on site outdoor/indoor restaurant, coffeeshop and bakery.

A large room with a comfortable bed and attached toilet at the Last Ship farmhouse on our 2 acre farm about 20 minutes away from the residency. The farm has two shared bathrooms and a shared kitchen, with a lot of outdoor sitting space. This will be shared between the two or three artists of each program, so there is ample space.

A bicycle, and shared use of a car and driver, coordinated with other artists/guests (usually 2-3 others).

A dedicated artist page on Last Ship's website.

Application procedure

Applications should be emailed to jmilastship@gmail.com. They should include the following:

​An artist's statement describing your work and motivations. What is important is what the artist stands to gain uniquely from Last Ship, and/or Khajuraho/Kalinjar.

Images of recent work, or extracts from video and/or other media, with captions.

A CV/Resume.

A statement describing your plans if offered the residency. These plans can be changed during the course of the residency.

Any other relevant documentation.

A cover sheet with name, contact address, email and telephone numbers, along with the preferred date of arrival in Khajuraho for the start of residency, and confirmation that you will stay in Khajuraho for a duration of two months from that date.

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Selected artists will be notified by email by within a week after each deadline. We are unable to reply individually to other applicants.

Please visit for further information https://www.lastship.in/programs

* Purpose of this blog is to limited to only for disseminate the information of funded residencies and its related open call for the Art Residencies.