Villa Romana—Fellows 2019/2020/2021

Kunstverein Braunschweig is kicking off the new exhibition year with a presentation featuring the Villa Romana prizewinners from the past three years (2019, 2020, 2021) as well as a 2020 Artist Research Fellowship guest artist (in partnership with the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz). The annual Villa Romana Fellowship in Florence awards four outstanding, young artistic positions living in Germany.

During their residency, they build relationships with international guest artists as well as with the local and Italian art scenes. In this way, Villa Romana works as a vibrant interface of artistic production and discussion between Germany, Italy, and the Mediterranean region. Villa Romana collaborates with Italian and international partners to a degree rarely paralleled by any other foreign cultural institute. Villa Romana’s Italian base works as the starting point for a transcontinental dialogue between Europe and Africa. Through collaborations with the surrounding community (museums, art academies, universities and partners in other disciplines), the Villa Romana combines different skills, cultural diversity and individual biographies.

Each year, a different jury of renowned artists and curators selects the recipients of the prize. The Villa Romana Prize is the longest-running German art award. Quite a few artists who have been showcased in group or solo exhibitions at Kunstverein Braunschweig were also awarded the Villa Romana Prize —including Clemens von Wedemeyer (2008), Nora Schultz (2011), Shannon Bool (2013), Natalie Czech (2014), Jonas Weichsel (2016), and Kasia Fudakowski (2017).

Similar to the Villa Romana Prize, the Kunstverein Braunschweig aims to promote the careers of young artists and contribute to the history of contemporary art. Both institutions see themselves as places of contemporary artistic production and (international) exchange. These shared values provide a vital foundation for the collaboration between the two institutions. Furthermore, the particular character of the Villa Salve Hospes architectural setting at the Kunstverein Braunschweig and a large number of exhibition rooms provide the thirteen artists with the necessary space to present their projects. By combining the last three years of the prize, this exhibition displays a particularly impressive density of outstanding contemporary art practices.

Artists: Özlem Altın, Pauline Curnier Jardin, Lydia Hamann and Kaj Osteroth, KAYA, Rajkamal Kahlon, Lene Markusen, muSa Michelle Mattiuzzi, Marcela Moraga, Christian Naujoks, Alice Peragine, Esper Postma, Giuseppe Stampone, Amelia Umuhire

Initiated by Jule Hillgärtner and Angelika Stepken
Curated by Nuno de Brito Rocha and Angelika Stepken
Assistant curator: Klara Hülskamp
Assistance: Merivan Kilic