designers in residence 2025

Every year from April to June the city of Pforzheim togehter with Pforzheim University and Design Center Baden-Württemberg invites international young designers as part of the scholarship program “Designers in Residence” to Pforzheim. “Designers in Residence” addresses to young designers working in the fields of jewellery, fashion, accessory, industrial and communication design as well as other design disciplines. Interdisciplinary project proposals are welcome. Three scholarship holders will be invited to the EMMA – Creative Center Pforzheim for a three – month working phase.

“Designers in Residence” is directed to designers in the areas of jewelry, fashion, accessory, industrial and communication design as well as other design disciplines. Interdisciplinary project proposals are welcome. In total, there will be three scholarships, the three best applications will be considered. To apply, a proposal for a project that can be implemented during the scholarship must be submitted. Interdisciplinary project proposals are welcome.

About the town: Pforzheim is located in the Black Forest in the south of Germany, the region where the Black Forest Cake comes from ;-). It is a very green city with three rivers flowing through the middle of the city. It also has a long tradition of jewelry making, still the majority of German jewelry is produced here. In Pforzheim, you will also find Germanys only school for goldsmithing and watchmaking as well as Pforzheim University with its renowned Faculty of Design. Together with EMMA Creative Center, this makes Pforzheim a great place for creative people, as you will find lots of creatives in a relatively small area. This makes it very easy to get in touch with students, professors and other creative people in Pforzheim, share your work, find people to support you with your project or invite you to the next party. The city also offers a good infrastructure for designers, like EMMA, the Faculty of design or lots of small specialized companies. In your free time, Pforzheim offers a lot of activities, like hiking in the Black Forest, visiting the famous jewelry museum or art exhibitions, relaxing in nice cafés, trying food from different cultures as Pforzheim is a very multicultural city, or drinking German Beer.