International Exchange for Female Artists

2015 – 2019
head of International Exchange

Frauenkulturbüro NRW (FKB) facilitates two-months-residencies in Armenia and Georgia for women artists from Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany. In exchange female artists from Armenia and Georgia are given a two months residency scholarship in NRW, Germany. The residency partners are Museum Goch (Stadt Goch) and WELTKUNSTZIMMER Düsseldorf who offer the space for living and working during the residencies in Germany.

The selection of two countries in eastern europe bases on the fact that there are no other exchange programs in NRW of this kind. Especially those countries are interesting to the program, where social, political, ethnic or religious situations challenge the on site working situation for female aritsts.

frauenkulturbuero-nrw.de/index.php/projekte/internationaler-austausch/

FKB comitts to the support of such an exchange program to raise cultural networks and to create an international bound between our nations. Due to peculiar sensitivity and perception especially young artists can become a promoter for social, political and of course cultural changes within societies. They are contributing to a cultural interchange and deepen our knowledge about the other.

The artists have free choice how they want to fill their time during the International Artist Exchange Program, depending on personal artistic interests and objectives. FKB is happy to support in networking and assists to make contacts who lead to exhibitions, lectures, performances or other art related reflections and presentations. Still, it depends on the interests of the grant holders to find best way to support their individual artistic carrer. Thus, the worth of the International Artist Exchange Program for Female Artists lies in itself.

It lies upon our conviction that art can only grow in freedom. By providing the artists with the greatest possible freedom and still offering a wide range of possibilities, we hope to give the necessary freedom to develop the individual artistic carreer.

It is also a political statement for FKB to support this program. This is due to the idea that only by posessing a deepened knowledge of the Central European culture and its neighbour countries we can guarantee a connection within europe. Culture is the key to face major social changes on the continent.

http://www.frauenkulturbuero-nrw.de/index.php/projekte/internationaler-austausch/interview-mit-maria-wildeis/