We are at Work
Three short lectures provide insight into international and transcultural perspectives on artistic residencies. The speakers talk about how residencies can be laid out, which structures they require, and how the term itself has shifted over time. There will be time and space for questions and exchange following each input.
Duration: 15 Min each talk + discussion
Language: English, German
Kulturakademie Tarabya (Dr. Jeannette Neustadt)
Dr Jeannette Neustadt provides insight into the work done by Kulturakademie Tarabaya as a space for artist residencies as well as into the development of cultural relations between Turkey and Germany. Since documentary filmmaker Martina Priessner and theatre author Marianna Salzmann, the first stipendiaries, moved into the German ambassador’s historic summer residence in Istanbul’s Tarabya district in September of 2012, more than 200 art creators have lived and worked there, shaping the space into a living laboratory of artistic exchange.
Jeannette Neustadt has been working at the Goethe Institute for almost 15 years now, most recently as consultant to the board. Among her duties is the development of the German-French Cultural Institutes and the cooperation with EUNIC, the network of European cultural institutes. She has been serving as Kulturakademie Tarabaya’s artistic director since November of 2025.
Artists at Risk (Ivor Stodolsky und Marita Muukkonen)
In their input, the Artists at Risk (AR) team reflects on the connections between artist residencies, artistic freedom, and human rights. Drawing on their international work with artists at risk, they share their perspective on residencies as spaces of protection, mobility, and continuity of artistic practice. The contribution highlights how residency structures can function as critical support systems in times of political repression and crisis.
Ivor Stodolsky is a curator, writer, and theorist. He is the co-founder and co-director of Perpetuum Mobile and Artists at Risk (AR), an international NGO that has so far supported and relocated over 850 artists worldwide through a global network of more than 300 host institutions. His work combines curatorial practice, institutional building, and critical writing at the intersection of art and politics.
Marita Muukkonen is the co-founder and co-director of Artists at Risk (AR), Ecologists at Risk, and Perpetuum Mobile. She held key roles at various institutions including FRAME Contemporary Art Finland, HIAP, and NIFCA while also having curated exhibitions and programmes at major museums and international biennials. Her practice focuses on long-term, research-based projects linking contemporary art, social justice, and institutional collaboration.
Irmeli Kokko
Helsinki-based cultural producer and residency expert Irmeli Kokko contributed greatly to the field’s development in her role as initiator and curator of international residency programmes. In this digital input, she offers insights into the history of artist residencies and their evolving role in contemporary cultural practice. With the edited volume Contemporary Artist Residencies – Reclaiming Time and Space (2019), she offered a significant contribution to the critical discourse on artist residencies.
Irmeli Kokko is a Helsinki-based cultural producer whose work focuses on international cultural exchange, artist mobility, and the structural conditions of artistic practice. She has collaborated with a wide range of cultural institutions and networks, contributing to the development and professionalisation of artist residency models in Europe and beyond. Her research-based approach connects curatorial practice, cultural policy, and critical writing on contemporary art and residencies.
