History of the GCAC Dresden Artist Exchange
In 1994, three inquisitive German artists traveled to Columbus, Ohio as part of a residency pilot. With this visit, Veit Hoffman, Stefan Plenkers and Rainer Zille set into motion an enduring artist exchange between Columbus and its sister city Dresden, Germany. In 1995, the Greater Columbus Arts Council (Arts Council) solidified its partnership with the State of Saxony (Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen ) and sponsored Columbus artists Richard Harned and Linda Fowler to participate in a residency in Dresden.
Twenty-five years later, the Columbus-Dresden artist exchange program continues to open the world to artists in their discovery of new scenery, cultures and history. Our artists serve as Columbus ambassadors, raising Columbus’ international profile as a thriving art community, and our German guests bring to Columbus new cultural and artistic practices. During these residencies, the artists tap into patience, awe and humor, and they leave with inspiration.
Richard Harned, one of the first artists to travel to Dresden noted:
“They were not ready for us, so we trailblazers were sent to Leipzig, with a weekend overnight to a Dresden worker’s hotel…The local artists were fantastic. The acoustics in the Thomaskirche where Bach was music director sounds like one of his compositions when you drop a pin. The Battle of the Nation’s monument is like walking into the Lord of the Rings. I still have a poster hanging of a mind-blowing production of Carmina Burana and I dream of the creature costumes. There was an abandoned Gasometer that I documented inch by inch.”
The program continued to improve each year thereafter and is now a coveted opportunity. By the end of 2019, GCAC will have hosted 52 German artists and sent 47 Columbus artists to Dresden.*
*Columbus did not have artists travel to Dresden in 1996, 1997 or 2020.
Current Program
Every year the Greater Columbus Arts Council (Arts Council), in partnership with the State of Saxony, offers two Columbus artists the opportunity to undertake a residency in Dresden, Germany. The artist exchange is intended to provide dedicated time for artistic research and production. The Arts Council covers travel expenses and awards a modest living stipend to support a residency of up to three months. Housing and access to working facilities/studio is coordinated by the State of Saxony. Likewise, the State of Saxony sponsors two German artists to travel to Columbus and GCAC provides housing, studio space and connections to resources.
The Arts Council extends an invitation to apply for this artist exchange only to recipients or finalists of the GCAC Visual Arts Fellowship, Media Arts Fellowship, Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Fellowship, Artist Elevated Award, Film it in Cbus Award or #ArtUnitesCbus Film & Photography Award. Artists who have previously participated in GCAC’s Artist Exchange are not eligible to apply again.
Participants
YEAR
COLUMBUS ARTISTS
DRESDEN ARTISTS
1994
none
Veit Hofmann
Stefan Plenkers
Rainer Zille
1995
Linda Fowler
Richard Harned
Axel Krause
Tobias Stengel
1996
none
Petra Kasten
Stefan Schröder
1997
none
Stella Pfeiffer
Olaf Rauh
1998
Laura Bidwa
Nicholas Hill
Andrew Scott
Torsten Waak
1999
Larry Collins
Rebecca Harvey
Thomas Scheibitz
Jan Wawrzyniak
2000
Alan Crockett
Lynn Holbrook
Sven Braun
Stefan Stößel
2001
Carol Boram-Hays
David McBride
Antje Blumenstein
Tilo Schulz
2002
Leni Anderson
Frederik Marsh
Henrik Mayer
Inga Paas
2003
Scott Bowe
Beverly Whiteside
Silke Koch
Silke Riechert
2004
Mary Jo Bole
Dallas Sells
Brita Hofmann
Marion Porten
2005
Mark Fohl
Kathy McGhee
Aris Kalaizis
Miriam Vlaming
2006
Jenita Landrum- Bittles
Nancy Wride
Eiko Grimberg
Daniel Rode
2007
Jill Gallenstein
Steven Thurston
David Buob
Martina Wolf
2008
Tim Rietenbach
Melissa Vogley-Woods
Juliane Köhler
Dirk Lange
2009
Anne Keener
Kelly Malec-Kosak
Stefanie Busch
Stefan Fischer
2010
Elizabeth Gerdeman
Shauna Merriman
Tina Beifuss
Stefan Lenke
2011
Danielle Julian Norton
Michael Hays
Paul Elsner
Sylvia Doebelt
2012
Jenny Fine
Sue Cavanaugh
Franziska Holstein
Katja Hoffman Wildner
2013
Mariana Smith
Susan Li O’Connor
Anke Dyes
Silke Wobst
2014
Laura Alexander
Kaveri Raina
Cindy Schmiedichen
Johannes Makolies
2015
Andrew McCauley
Robert Metzger
Stefan Hurtig
Ronny Szillo
2016
Janis Wunderlich
Jill Raymundo
Carsten Tabel
Christoph David
2017
Carol Snyder
Melinda Rosenberg
Andreas Kempe
Kerstin Flake
2018
Cody Heichel
Andrea Meyers
Anna Alexandra Neroslavsky
Anna Baranowski
2019
Daric Gill
Chaz O’Neil
Irma Blumstock
Michael Hahn
2020
No Exchange due to COVID19 pandemic
No Exchange due to COVID19 pandemic
2021
No Travel to Columbus in 2021 because of
U.S. entry restrictions due to pandemic
Joshua Penrose
George Rush
(Both were selected for 2020,
but couldn’t travel due to pandemic.)
2022
Don Coulter
Christopher Burk
Geeske Jansen
Alexander Endrullat
2023
Noah Dixon
Benedict Scheurer
Tony Franz
Jonathan McNaughton