Artist Residencies in Kasterlee

Why Kasterlee is on artists’ radar

Kasterlee is a small municipality in the Flemish region of Belgium, surrounded by woods, fields, and bike paths rather than galleries and nightlife. That’s exactly why many artists go there: you get an intense production environment without the usual urban noise.

The local art conversation revolves strongly around MASEREEL (formerly Frans Masereel Centrum), a contemporary art center with a major international residency program. If you’re working with printmaking, artist books, graphic media, or research-driven visual art, Kasterlee is one of the key destinations in Belgium.

Think of Kasterlee less as a place to network with curators over openings, and more as a place where you disappear into a studio for six weeks, come up for air with a new body of work, and build long-term connections with other residents.

MASEREEL: Kasterlee’s flagship residency

MASEREEL is the reason most artists end up in Kasterlee. It’s a center for contemporary art that combines an artist-oriented exhibition and production program with an international residency program for artists, researchers, and critics, with a strong focus on printed matter.

Website: masereel.art and residency pages via Frans Masereel Centrum

What MASEREEL actually offers

The core of MASEREEL’s program is the six-week Development Residency. Here’s what you can generally expect:

Six-week intensive residencies focused on developing a print-related or print-adjacent project.
About 36 residents per year, spread across several periods, usually with around nine artists in each cohort.
Fully equipped print studios with facilities for multiple techniques such as screen print, relief, intaglio, lithography, risograph, and other forms of print and publishing.
Introductory demonstrations in the printmaking studio at the start of each residency to help you understand the equipment and options.
On-site studio coordinators available on weekdays to support you technically while still expecting you to work independently.
Regular conversations and feedback with MASEREEL’s artistic team, fellow residents, and visiting tutors (e.g., studio visits, group discussions, informal crits).
Independent work structure: you manage your own working rhythm and project direction, with support when you need it.

There’s a clear emphasis on research, experimentation, and process rather than a polished “end product”. If you thrive when you have time to test methods, make mistakes, and push a project in unexpected directions, this setup is ideal.

Who MASEREEL is for

The residency is open to both promising and established artists. The common thread is an interest in printed matter in a broad sense. MASEREEL tends to suit artists who:

Work in printmaking, artist books, zines, graphic art, typography, or editioned work.
Engage with publishing, text/image, archives, or research-driven practices.
Want access to professional print equipment they might not have at home.
Enjoy intensive, self-directed time in a studio with technical support available but not hovering.
Value international exchange with peers more than being in a big city.

The residents are intentionally mixed: different ages, backgrounds, and disciplines, all orbiting around print and experimentation. This makes daily conversations in the kitchen or studio as useful as any formal critique.

Accommodation and living setup at MASEREEL

Housing is part of the draw. MASEREEL has a new artist pavilion with private mini-apartments and shared spaces. Typically, you can expect:

Your own small apartment for privacy and rest.
Shared kitchen, seating area, and garden for community and informal hangouts.
Basic amenities like internet, bed linens, towels, washing machine, dryer.
Partners and children are welcome at no extra accommodation cost, as long as you flag this in your application.

This family-friendly aspect is rare in residencies and can make a residency realistic if you usually have to turn opportunities down for care responsibilities.

Application basics

Applications are typically online, in Dutch or English, via MASEREEL’s own form. While details can shift slightly from call to call, they consistently ask for:

An artist statement describing your practice.
A project proposal explaining what you want to do at MASEREEL and how it relates to print or printed matter.
A motivation letter that connects your practice and project to MASEREEL specifically.
A recent portfolio, usually with work from the last five years.
A concise CV.

Each application is reviewed by a committee that includes MASEREEL staff and external art professionals (artists, curators, etc.). They look at your practice, how clear and grounded your project is, and how it fits the residency context.

There is generally a fixed open call period each year, often in early autumn, which you can confirm via their site. If you need visas or funding, plan enough lead time; six weeks can cross visa thresholds depending on your nationality.

Living and working in Kasterlee

What the town actually feels like

Kasterlee is rural, quiet, and heavily defined by its landscape: woods, sand dunes in the nearby Kempen, and low-density housing. Daily life is slower than in Antwerp or Brussels. This has a direct impact on your residency experience:

Your days are likely to be studio–kitchen–forest, not studio–gallery–bar.
Nights are very quiet; social life is mostly with other residents.
The surrounding nature is a big part of the rhythm: walks, bike rides, mental resets between print sessions.

If you like a concentrated bubble where your main distractions are conversations in the communal kitchen or a long walk in the woods, Kasterlee works well. If you need a constant stream of cultural events, it can feel too remote.

Cost of living: what to budget

Kasterlee is generally cheaper to live in than big Belgian cities, but you trade variety for calm. You’ll want to budget for:

Food: groceries are standard Belgian prices; you’ll likely cook most meals in the shared kitchen.
Transport: if you don’t have a bike, factor in bus tickets or occasional taxis. Distances are manageable but not always walkable.
Materials: while the studio is equipped, specialized inks, papers, plates, and experimental materials can add up, especially for ambitious print runs or large-scale work.
Travel to Belgium: flights or trains, plus local transit from the airport or major city to Kasterlee.

MASEREEL encourages artists to secure funding for participation fees, travel, food, and materials. Grants from your home country, local arts councils, or cultural institutes can often be framed around research, experimentation, or international collaboration.

Where artists actually stay

Most artists linked to MASEREEL stay on site at the artist pavilion, which is the most practical option. If you’re looking beyond that (for example, arriving earlier or staying longer), the options are usually:

Kasterlee center: access to basic shops and local services, bikeable to the residency.
Nearby villages or towns in the Kempen region: possible if you have a car or are comfortable with local buses.

Kasterlee doesn’t really have artist “districts” the way a city does. The residency itself becomes your neighborhood: studios, pavilion, kitchen, outdoor space, and the other residents.

Studios, art scene, and nearby cities

Studio infrastructure beyond the residency

Outside of MASEREEL, Kasterlee is not known for a wide system of open studios or shared artist spaces. For most artists, the residency is the main reason to work there and the primary studio access point.

If you want to extend your stay in Belgium with additional production time, you might look at:

Antwerp for independent studios, print workshops, and artist-run spaces.
Brussels for larger institutions, project spaces, and cross-disciplinary scenes.

That said, MASEREEL’s facilities are unusually well-equipped for print-focused work, so you may want to plan your most technically demanding production for the Kasterlee period itself.

Galleries and exhibitions

Kasterlee is not a gallery hub. The main art context in town is MASEREEL, which often combines its residency activity with exhibitions, projects, and events. If you want to see shows or visit institutions during your stay, nearby options include:

Antwerp: contemporary art museums, commercial galleries, artist-run spaces, and the academy scene.
Turnhout: a regional center with cultural programming closer than Antwerp or Brussels.
Brussels: major museums, experimental project spaces, and international galleries.
Eindhoven (NL): reachable across the border, with its own design and art ecosystem.

Many residents plan one or two day trips to Antwerp or Brussels during their stay, especially if they need a break from intense studio days or want to connect with institutions for future opportunities.

Community, peers, and events

Because Kasterlee is small, most of the artistic community you’ll meet is your residency cohort plus the MASEREEL team. The social and professional structure usually revolves around:

Shared studio time: you see how others work, share tools, and swap technical tricks in real time.
Crit sessions or talks with visiting tutors or the artistic staff.
Informal showings: group presentations, open studios, or end-of-residency sharing, depending on the cycle.
Kitchen conversations that evolve into collaborations, future projects, or invitations.

Instead of a city-wide calendar of gallery openings, you get a concentrated, small community that often stays in touch long after the residency ends.

Getting to Kasterlee and getting around

Arriving from abroad

Most artists arrive in Belgium via:

Brussels Airport (BRU): main international hub with rail connections to many Belgian cities.
Antwerp Airport (ANR): smaller, with limited international routes, but convenient if it fits your itinerary.
Eindhoven Airport (EIN) in the Netherlands: sometimes the best option depending on where you’re coming from.

From there, the general pattern is:

Train to a regional station (often Turnhout or another nearby town).
Bus or taxi to Kasterlee.

MASEREEL often provides basic arrival information; it’s a good idea to confirm routes and ask if there are any local tips or recommended connections before you book tickets.

Local transport and bikes

Once in Kasterlee, your mobility is likely to be a mix of:

Walking between your housing and the studios if you’re on site.
Bike for groceries, small trips, and exploring the woods and surrounding area.
Bus for trips to neighboring towns or connecting to trains.

A bike can make a big difference to your day-to-day life, especially if your schedule includes early studio mornings and quick runs to the supermarket. Check with your residency host about bike availability or rental options.

Visas, timing, and who Kasterlee suits

Visa basics

If you’re from the EU/EEA or Switzerland, you can generally enter Belgium without a visa, though you may need to handle local registration depending on the length of stay and residency conditions.

If you’re from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland, your situation depends on your nationality and how long you’re staying. For a six-week residency, many artists fall under short-stay rules and may need a Schengen type C visa if their passport requires it. Residency hosts usually provide an invitation letter, proof of accommodation, and other documents, but you are responsible for the visa application itself.

Always check with the Belgian consulate or embassy that covers your country and give yourself enough time. Visas, funding applications, and travel bookings all stack up, and it’s easier if you start months ahead.

When to be in Kasterlee

The “best” time of year for Kasterlee depends on how you work:

Spring–early autumn: nicer weather, easier to bike and walk, and the surrounding nature is at its best.
Late autumn–winter: shorter days and colder weather, but often extremely productive studio time with fewer distractions.

Because Kasterlee isn’t tied to big festivals or art fairs, you’re free to choose a period based on your working rhythm rather than a social calendar.

Who should seriously consider Kasterlee

Kasterlee is a strong fit if you:

Work with printmaking, publishing, or printed matter and want deep access to equipment and expertise.
Enjoy quiet, rural surroundings where studio work is the main event.
Value focused time and international peers more than constant openings.
Are ready to bring a clear project proposal that can unfold over six weeks.

It may be less ideal if you:

Need a dense gallery circuit and nightlife right outside your door.
Prefer an open-ended, social-city residency over a structured studio center.
Want to work in a discipline with no link to print, text, or material experimentation.

How to use Kasterlee in your wider practice

If you decide to apply for a residency in Kasterlee, especially MASEREEL, think of it as one chapter in a longer project arc. The six weeks can be:

A prototype phase for a new print-based body of work.
A production window for a series of editions, books, or multiples.
A research residency tied to archives, text, or image-based investigations.
A reset period if your practice has been fragmented by teaching, jobs, or city life.

Many artists use Kasterlee to build material, tests, and networks that later feed into exhibitions in Antwerp, Brussels, or elsewhere. If you approach it as a focused experiment rather than a one-off “trip”, it integrates more naturally into your long-term practice.

For detailed reviews and first-hand accounts of residencies in Kasterlee and across Belgium, you can also browse artist residency listings and reviews in Belgium and compare experiences across programs.