One of our studio residency spaces in Berlin 2026

Artist Residency Programme

The Burnt Sienna Artist Residency is a three-month, studio-based residency for painters and visual artists who are looking for time, space and serious artistic dialogue in Berlin.

The programme is non-residential and is designed for artists who can live independently in Berlin while using Burnt Sienna as their professional studio base. Residents become part of Burnt Sienna’s wider community of painters, students, tutors and exhibiting artists, with access to mentoring, critique, classes, workshops and opportunities to present their work.

Burnt Sienna offers two residency options:

Charlottenburg Residency — €450 per month
Based at Burnt Sienna’s Charlottenburg studio and gallery space, this option offers artists a more public-facing residency within the heart of the school’s exhibition and teaching programme. It is ideal for artists who want to work in close connection with the gallery, classes, events, visiting artists and exhibition programme.

Neukölln Residency — €220 per month
Based at Burnt Sienna’s Neukölln studio, this option offers a quieter, more intimate working environment within a shared artist studio. It is ideal for artists who want focused studio time, mentoring and access to the Burnt Sienna community at a more accessible monthly rate.

Both residency options include:

24-hour access to the studio
Inclusion in the Burnt Sienna artist community
One three-hour class per month
Inclusion in the monthly group critique
One one-hour individual tutorial per month

The residency is designed to support artists who want to deepen their painting practice, develop a coherent body of work, and work within an active, artist-led community. Artists are encouraged to use the residency period to experiment, research, make new work, and build confidence in the direction of their practice.

Who It’s For

The programme is suitable for painters and visual artists at different stages of their development, from emerging artists looking for structure and community to more experienced artists seeking focused studio time in Berlin.

Applicants should have an existing artistic practice and a clear interest in painting, drawing, material investigation or image-making. The residency is especially suited to artists who are open to dialogue, critique and working within a shared creative environment.

About Burnt Sienna

Burnt Sienna Art School Berlin was founded by painter Louise Lenz in 2016 and has grown into an independent painting institute with studios, classes, mentoring programmes and a gallery. The residency sits at the heart of Burnt Sienna’s long-term commitment to painting, technical development, critical conversation and sustained studio practice.

Practical Information

Minimum residency period: 3 months
Charlottenburg Residency: €450 per month
Neukölln Residency: €220 per month
Accommodation is not included
Artists must be able to live independently in Berlin during the residency period

Apply now Artist Residency

Current Resident Artists in Charlottenburg

Woman holding an empty framed canvas in a room with records and artwork.

Elaine Saulnier

Elaine Saulnier (b. 1987, Montreal, Canada; raised in Bangkok, Thailand) is a painter based in Berlin, Germany. Elaine’s aesthetic focus is the undercurrents of European Surrealism and the narratives of magical realism that motivate references within periods of classical sculpture and simultaneous visual mythology. Saulnier’s compositions reinterpret sculptural form, incorporating personal, symbolic iconography.

Thematically, Saulnier’s paintings explore the fragility of memory and the nature of personal relationships. Meaning in the work emerges through the context of collaged photographic imagery, which serves as the impetus and direction for the paintings’ engagement. Figures within recurring motifs, such as flowers, foliage, skulls, and ruins, create layered visual stories that combine histories and inclusive moods and feelings.

Elaine’s studio process is influenced by the artisanal practices of making materials by hand using traditional tools. She devotes a concerted effort to the entire process of creating her artworks, from scratch to the final work. Elaine applies the same process to the medium of silverpoint drawing, forging the stylus from melted pieces of jewelry with the assistance of a silversmith.

Elaine Saulnier has participated in exhibitions in Europe and Southeast Asia. Her thesis exhibition was presented at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center in 2011. In 2006, she traveled to Taipei, Taiwan, as a student delegate to present work at the IASAS Cultural Convention exhibition at Taipei American School and took part in a workshop under the Taiwanese ceramicist Ah Leon. Her work has also been included in group exhibitions in Berlin, including Das Giftraum and Artisan Gallery. Saulnier was recently an artist in residence at Burnt Sienna Art School in Berlin in 2026, where she worked under the mentorship of painter Louise Lenz.

A pink flower with a yellow center against a gradient blue background.

Inevitable. Elaine Saulnier. 2026.

A painting of a classical statue of a girl in a pink dress with her eyes closed, holding a bowl above her head, set in front of an ancient stone bridge over water with rocks, and a pink flower in the top left corner.

Serenity. Elaine Saulnier. 2026.

A detailed grayscale sculpture of a mythological scene with a reclining woman and an angelic boy, featuring a serpent wrapped around a staff, against a dark background.

Whimsy in Gloucester. Elaine Saulnier. 2026.

A painting of a person standing in a garden, looking at a waterfall with thatched roofs, flowers, and a green grassy area.

Death of Cleopatra. Elaine Saulnier. 2025.

Itchy. Elaine Saulnier. 2026.

Chris Talib

A man in a leather jacket and baseball cap sitting outdoors, reading or writing on paper, with a dog lying nearby.

Chris Talib lives in Berlin and began his art practice in 2020, when the world held its breath.
His work revolves around two main themes: brush strokes and soft moments. Brush strokes are the most important aspect of painting and its materiality. In a world where everything is seen through a screen, he believes it is important to reacknowledge our volumes and our physical existence.
Soft moments, meanwhile, represent a rebellious stance against the brutal instantaneity of daily life, which is increasingly digital. Through the exploration of mundane and everyday settings, he seeks traces of human existence that remain when people are not paying attention to them.
He is also part of Berlin’s vibrant artistic community and frequently participates in life drawing sessions, whose works can be found in the sketches category.

An oil painting of a woman sitting in a chair, wearing a red and black top, with dark hair and a serious expression, against a muted background.

A nude woman sitting on a chair, with her right arm resting on the back of the chair, looking pensively to her left. The artwork appears to be a realistic drawing or painting.

Madeline 2. Chris Talib. 2026.

A portrait of a woman with short dark hair, wearing a black top and a white open shirt, sitting against a dark background.

An oil painting of a woman sitting in a room with wooden shelves, flowers, vases, and framed pictures on the wall. She is wearing a yellow top and red skirt, with dark hair, and appears to be deep in thought.

Sophie. Chris Talib. 2026.

Madeline 3. Chris Talib. 2026.

Painting of a nude woman sitting on a chair with her eyes closed, against a blue and green background with a green object on the floor.

Oryx. Chris Talib. 2026.

Figure. Chris Talib. 2026.

Yvonne Mesterhazy

Yvonne Mesterhazy (Ymes) is a contemporary abstract artist whose practice explores the balance between movement and stillness, complexity and emerging order. Inspired by light, water and organic growth, she works primarily with acrylic on canvas, using transparent glazes, layered colour and bold contrasts to create fluid compositions in which depth and visual relationships gradually emerge.

Her recent series, Between Flow & Stillness, investigates transformation, rhythm and the quiet harmony that can arise from complexity. Rather than depicting nature directly, Ymes creates open abstract spaces that invite personal interpretation. Her work has been exhibited in group shows in Brussels, and she has further developed her understanding of contemporary art through studies in Art Gallery Management and Modern and Contemporary Art and Design at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.