EIB Institute: Artists Development Programme (ADP) - Art & Development

The EIB Institute was set up within the EIB Group (European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund) to foster thought-leadership and impact initiatives with European stakeholders and the public at large.

One of its flagship initiatives is the Artists Development Programme (ADP). The ADP offers emerging European visual artists under the age of 35 a residency mentored by an internationally renowned artist. It enables artists to develop their practice and work on the production of an artwork without any material constraints. The mentors provide an exceptional tutoring and networking opportunity for young artists, while the exhibition of works from the project at the EIB premises adds the credibility of an established setting.

The ADP was created in 2013, targeting artists from a selected number of countries. The programme has since consistently broadened its target audience and has grown from one to four residencies, expanding the initial idea to residencies with two angles: geographic and thematic. Each year the geographic angle of the programme shifts its focus within the EU and aims to address the balance of nationality in the EIB’s art collection by selecting emerging artists who come from countries under-represented in the collection.

The 2025 thematic residency invites artists to work on the theme 'Art & Development'. It aims to interrogate the role that artistic creation can play in anticipating, facilitating or even actively engaging societal transformations, whether psychic or operational. Artists are invited to reflect on the links and/or ruptures that exist between creative expression and the construction of a more just and sustainable world. The research carried out by the selected laureate will thus explore the position and content of their artistic creation, in relation to their role vis-à-vis sustainability issues faced by societies around the world. These could include technical progress, infrastructure construction, access of vulnerable populations to essential services (health, education, employment, energy, water, food, etc.), the preservation of ecosystems, cultural heritage, the roles and quality of institutions, justice, tolerance, the capacities of human beings to live and compose together and the renewal of narratives on the future.

The programme is a residency organised conjointly with the Metis Fund, an innovative public/private institution hosted by the French Development Agency (AFD). Partners are the Cité internationale des arts (Paris) and neimënster (Neumünster Abbey Heritage Site for Culture) (Luxembourg), which are also the locations where the residency will take place. Starting with a residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris for two months (September-October) followed by another month at neimënster in Luxembourg (November). The laureate will be mentored by acclaimed Franco-Italian artist Tatiana Trouvé, as well as professor, theorist and art critic Christophe Kihm.