Applications for residencies in 2026 are now open!
The due date for applications is Tuesday 30 September 2025.
[If you have applied for a residency at Rimbun Dahan previously, please note that the terms have changed, as highlighted below; so read all the details carefully.]
The Southeast Asian Arts Residencies at Rimbun Dahan are for artists in any discipline (including visual arts, performing artists, film and literature) who are both from AND based in ASEAN nations only (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) or Timor Leste. The residencies are intended to provide an opportunity to live and engage in artistic work at Rimbun Dahan in Malaysia, for 2 months between 1 March and 30 November 2026.
We provide workspace and accommodation in a serene garden setting, away from the bustle of the city. This residency is recommended for artists seeking solitude, quiet and/or space to focus on their work, or artists who have specific professional interests in our indigenous Southeast Asian garden and arboretum, Malay heritage textile collection, or contemporary and heritage architecture.
Artists from other countries are not eligible for this residency, and should refer to Open Residencies for International Artists.
What is provided:
- Accommodation, including private bathroom and kitchen, and electricity and water
- Private studio/workspace, including electricity and water [writers will have work space in their accommodation, but are also welcome to work in the shared office/artist lounge]
- Monthly allowance of MYR1000
- Orientation to the residency and limited on-site administrative support
- Access to office/artist lounge (WiFi equipped), library, tennis court, and swimming pool
- Weekly transport to nearby supermarket, if required
- One travel stipend, paid upon arrival for the second month of the residency only:
- MYR1200 for artists living in and flying from Timor Leste.
- MYR600 for artists living in and flying from Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Philippines or Indonesia (other than Jakarta).
- MYR500 for artists living in and flying from Thailand.
MYR400 for artists living in and flying from Jakarta.
MYR300 for artists living in and flying from East Malaysia.
What is NOT provided:
- Meals or groceries. All accommodation will include access to a self-catering, equipped kitchen. Residents can choose to eat at restaurants outside, or cook in their own kitchen. Transport to a nearby supermarket is provided once per week.
- Art materials or funding for art materials or artistic collaborators.
- Flights to Malaysia, or funding for airfares, other than the travel stipend stated above.
- Transfer to/from KL International Airport and Rimbun Dahan.
- Any other local transport costs.
- Travel visas, and any fees for procuring and maintaining travel visas.
Who are we looking for?
We prefer applicants who are:
- Mid-career artists, who have already committed at least a few years to their professional arts career, NOT within 5 years of graduation from their initial arts degree or training.
- Professionally trained in their discipline (especially for visual artists) and are undertaking a professional level of practice.
- Self-motivated and able to live and work independently.
- Proposing a project that can be feasibly carried out at Rimbun Dahan. Projects should further your own artistic curiosity and trajectory, and build on your artistic career so far.
- Able to communicate functionally in English.
What do we expect from our resident artists?
- Rimbun Dahan should be your primary home and full-time work place for the duration of your residency. This includes sleeping here at night, and being here on weekends. Occasional trips into the city are fine, but Malaysian artists especially should not be carrying on full-time or substantial part-time work in the city. Southeast Asian artists are encouraged to travel within Malaysia during their stay (and are required to travel overseas to renew their visas), but such trips should not be longer than a few days and should be discussed with the residency managers.
- Resident artist are expected to participate in 1 scheduled open studio day during their residency. Open Days invite the public to visit the studios of the artists to meet the artists and experience the art works being developed. On Open Days, the artist is expected to be on site and available to share in discussions about their art with visitors. The format depends on the genre of the artists: for example, performing artists may offer a workshop or studio performance, writers may give readings. An Open Day is NOT guaranteed, however. Other than Open Day, the residency does not offer any kind of exhibition or performance production.
- Visual artists are expected to leave 1 artwork that has been made at Rimbun Dahan for our permanent collection. Selection can be decided by the artist, or the artist may invite the residency managers to discuss the selection of the work. If you are planning to make only one single work during the course of your residency, then you should discuss this requirement in advance with the residency managers.
- Artists are expected to acknowledge the Rimbun Dahan residency as a source of support in their published material, eventual exhibition, eventual performance or other major outcome of the project they are working on during their residency.
- Non-Malaysian residents are responsible for their own immigration/visa status. We do not provide work visas for resident artists. ASEAN passport holders are usually given a Short Term Social Pass automatically on entry, which usually lasts only 30 days, and cannot be renewed. So the two months of your residency need to be non-sequential. For example, one month of your residency in March and one month in September, not sequentially from the beginning of March until end of April. Only Malaysian applicants may apply for consecutive months.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this residency, applicants must be BOTH citizens of AND residents of a Southeast Asian country: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and including Timor Leste. In case of confusion, please review these examples. If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact bhijjas@gmail.com before you apply.
Former resident artists under the Southeast Asian Arts Residency at Rimbun Dahan are not eligible to apply for this residency a second time.
Caveat on the Selection Process
Rimbun Dahan is a family-owned and -funded residency space, and the selection of resident artists is carried out by Rimbun Dahan family members. Selection depends on the strength of the applicant’s portfolio and compatibility with the aims and capacity of Rimbun Dahan.
While we respect the rights of everyone to their own beliefs, if your artistic practice is centered around your belief in alternative medicine and alternative healing practices, mystic spirituality, horoscopes and astrology, or the supernatural, we do not encourage you to apply. Thank you for your understanding.
Questions about the residency or the application process?
- Read other FAQs for Resident Artists.
- Browse a list of past resident artists from this program.
- Question still not answered? Email bhijjas@gmail.com.
Application Process
Please submit an application by email with the following attachments:
- The completed application form. Download the application form here: PDF format / Word format
- CV [PDF preferred, Word docs okay; please do not send .PAGES]
- Portfolio of previous work [PDF preferred, Word docs okay; please do not send .PAGES]. Performing artists should provide links to online video samples of your work in your portfolio. Writers should include extensive samples of previous published work.
Please send in complete applications only. The total size of your attachments should not be more than 10MB.
For residencies from the beginning of March to the end of November 2026, send applications by end of 30 September 2025 [midnight UTC+8:00 – Malaysia, Brunei, Central Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore time] by email to bhijjas@gmail.com.
Once you have submitted your application, you should receive a response by email from Rimbun Dahan within 3 days. Please email bhijjas@gmail.com if you have not received a response after 3 days.
Note on Use of AI
If your application form looks like it was written by ChatGPT, it may have a lower rate of success. We would like to hear your own voices in the application. As long as you can function using English, we do not penalize grammar and spelling mistakes in your application.
[Image in banner by Sabiq Hibatulbaqi, Rimbun Dahan resident artist in 2024.]