Odie Lap Chun Chow and Merle Rahkema from Embassy of Austria in Tallinn
Photos: Odie Lap Chun Chow, Kay Shek, Brigitta Tamsar, Kati Saarits
EKA and PART International Art Residency Austria have announced Odie Lap Chun Chow as the first recipient of the EKA x PART Horizon Residency Award.
Odie Lap Chun Chow is an EKA Craft Studies graduate whose practice moves through ceramics slipcasting, mould making, photography and installation, reflecting on questions of identity, urban space and the possibility of creating one’s own “wilderness” — a space without borders. The jury highlighted the artist’s “fragile and innovative handling of clay” and praised the sensitivity and precision of his interdisciplinary approach. The jury also noted that Vienna, with its strong traditions of social housing, ceramics and porcelain heritage, offers a particularly meaningful context for the further development of the artist’s work.
The residency will take place in Vienna from August to September 2026. The initiative marks the beginning of a new collaboration between EKA and PART International Art Residency Austria, creating international residency opportunities for emerging artists working across sculptural and material practices. Located in the historic South Pavilion of the Vienna Prater, PART International Art Residency Austria hosts artists, curators and researchers from around the world, supporting interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary art and spatial practices.
Odie Lap Chun Chow is graduating from the Craft Studies MA programme at the Estonian Academy of Arts, led by Juss Heinsalu and Kärt Ojavee. The programme combines different craft disciplines through a research-based and material-oriented approach to contemporary making practices.
Thank you: Alexandra Grausam (PART Residency, Director), Barbara Horvath (PART Residency, Curator & Head of Operations), Peter Mikl (Embassy of Austria in Tallinn), Merle Rahkema (Embassy of Austria in Tallinn).
