---
title: >-
  The Art Of The Icon: 8 day Athens residency workshop focussing on Byzantine
  art and the concept of the icon
description: >-
  8-day Athens residency exploring Byzantine art and the icon tradition, with
  workshops, guided tours and a video or narrative published through SMCK.
url: 'https://www.artsume.com/programs/0322fd5a-4c17-4e96-b715-d92054229223'
type: program
status: closed
createdAt: '2026-09-04'
updatedAt: '2026-09-30'
programType: Residency
organization: FaveLAB
organizationUrl: 'https://www.artsume.com/o/favelab'
deadline: '2026-09-16'
location: 'Athens, Attica, Greece'
isOnline: false
compensationRange: >-
  Fee of 890,00 EUR paid by the artist; includes accommodation (single room) in
  a central Athens studio, online introductory course, workshops and guided
  tours.
disciplines:
  - jewelry
  - object
  - design
  - sculpture
  - installation
  - performance
  - video
  - photography
  - textile art
  - ceramics
  - film
  - craft
---

# The Art Of The Icon: 8 day Athens residency workshop focussing on Byzantine art and the concept of the icon

**Hosted by:** FaveLAB

**Type:** Residency | **Location:** Athens, Attica, Greece | **Deadline:** September 16, 2026

## About This Program

> "Byzantine art and the concept of the icon; Athens' medieval and Byzantine cultural traditions"

The Art Of The Icon is a residency and video / narrative / drawing project for visual artists, jewelers, crafters, designers, filmmakers, performers, art theorists, curators, academics who wish to explore Athens' medieval and Byzantine cultural traditions that still live on. The residency program initiates participants in understanding how to read, and be inspired by, the icon tradition, and explains concepts of time, space, eternity, providence, and divine union embedded in the visual language of Orthodox art. Byzantine art, a highly conceptual art created by a combination of mastering ancient techniques and preparing the artist's body and mind for creative contemplation, is widely unknown to the West.

Icons are intellectual and emotional bridges to the invisible world, while the sacred space manifests the union of humans with God through rituals of bonding the past, the present and the future. The residency program includes an online introductory course into Byzantine art history, and its significance for contemporary conceptual art, Pop Art and major modern art movements, guided visits at Unesco sites, museums and Byzantine monuments, individual tips on Athens' secret addresses, as well as curatorial and editorial advice for the realization of a creative video or narrative. Participants' videos that will be inspired by the residency program will be screened at Munich's SCHMUCK Jewelry Week 2027, while the narrative or article or presentation of the artists' work will be published in SMCK Magazine.

Residents' work inspired by The Art Of The Icon will be eligible for the SMCK On Reel Video Awards 2027, and promoted through press and social media. Workshops offer support and advice for developing a narrative / script / comics / video: shooting a video, narrative and storytelling; canalizing inspiration in new work, new formats of presentation and promotion. Guided city tours plus visits at Unesco sites, museums and art venues include a trip to Elefsina with a guided tour to ancient and Byzantine monuments, a curated visit to the Byzantine Museum and to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, and an Athens city tour with focus on Byzantine treasures and monuments.

## Eligibility & Requirements

- **Geographic Eligibility:** International
- **Disciplines:** jewelry, object, design, sculpture, installation, performance, video, photography, textile art, ceramics, film, craft
- **Age Requirements:** 30+ years old
- **Note:** Disciplines, work equipment and assistance

Artists working in the field of jewelry, object, design, sculpture, installation, performance, video, photography, textile art, ceramics, as well as filmmakers, crafters, art theorists, researchers, curators are encouraged to apply.

Expectations towards the artist

Participants are expected to have a professional interest in the subject of the residency program.
Artists who wish to apply must be at least 30 years old.

### Additional Requirements

### Application information

Email  your application to favelab.info@gmail.com, with a cover letter introducing yourself and stating your incentive to participate in The Art Of The Icon residency project.
Include your bio/CV and website/blog or instagram or 6–8 images of your work.

## Compensation & Benefits

Fee of 890,00 EUR paid by the artist; includes accommodation (single room) in a central Athens studio, online introductory course, workshops and guided tours.

### Accommodation

The fee includes accommodation (single room) in a central Athen studio. The fee does not include travel fares, entry tickets for museums and archaeological sites, meals, artist material or tools, print matter.

### Fees and support

890,00 EUR – PAID BY THE ARTIST in two or three installments.

## What's Provided

- **Housing:** Provided - Accommodation (single room) in a central Athens studio, 8 days / 7 nights. Included in the fee.

## Timeline

- **Opens:** September 4, 2026
- **Deadline:** September 16, 2026
- **Program Start:** November 15, 2026
- **Program End:** November 22, 2026

## Contact

**Email:** favelab.info@gmail.com

## How to Apply

Apply at: https://favelab.net/opencall-art-of-the-icon.html