News
April 2024
Live Radio from Schwanenwerder
“CGYNET Radio” Live from Schwanenwerder
24 April 2024, 1‑6 pm
on FR-BB
Berlin UKW 88,4 MHz | Potsdam 90,7 MHz | DAB channel 7E
http://fr-bb.org
Niki Matita, our artist-in-residence, has been living in our studio house on Schwanenwerder since February. The sound and radio artist listens to the place Schwanenwerder. She listens and captures what people, animals and the landscape have to say. On Wednesday, 24.04.2024 she will share this with you.
As a final presentation, she will broadcast live from Schwanenwerder with Berlin and Brandenburg radio colleagues and guests. A place that is being rediscovered and revitalised. There will be exciting conversations on the topic of sound; the island, as well as completely new sound pieces and audio pieces submitted via the OpenCall.
Follow Niki Matita's final presentation and be part of this listening experience, live at:
“CGYNET Radio” Live from Schwanenwerder
24 April 2024, 1‑6 pm
on FR-BB
Berlin UKW 88,4 MHz | Potsdam 90,7 MHz | DAB channel 7E
http://fr-bb.org
We are very much looking forward to a fantastic radio day, which you can experience by listening to the radio.
Invitation to the Opening
Balloons are rolling towards us!
The artist Gabriele Ludewig is showing her new series “Balloons” for the first time.
Duration of the exhibition: 04.05.‑27.07.2024
Artist talk:
Gabriele Ludewig with Mark Gisbourne
30 May 2024, 7‑8 pm
The Berlin artist artfully combines fine curves and vibrant colour nuances. This results in sculptures that evoke the desire for intense contemplation and create a joyful atmosphere.
In her artistic works, Gabriele Ludewig is less concerned with representationalism than with the atmosphere that is conveyed in the objects. Paintings and sculptures alike thrive on an intense energy that is not visible, but can only be felt.
By creating new spaces of energetic concentration with shapes and colours, the artist succeeds in transcending the everyday.
“With her new series of works Balloons, Gabriele Ludewig creates sculptures of condensed energy. Finely balanced curves of intense colour combine to form comic-like figures that radiate joy and vitality. The piled forms and colours transfer the principle of formulation and response in the painterly process to the sculpture. The Balloons are both concrete and an inspiration for imaginations that turn them into a society of quirky characters.” Lars Mextorf
Further information can be found on the artist's websites:
Website gabrieleludewig.de
Instagram gabriele.ludewig
We look forward to seeing you there and to a wonderful evening of drinks and dialogue with you and the artist.
For our logistics: Please let us know if you would like to come on the evening.
Contact: contact[at]cordts-stiftung.de
Duration of the exhibition: 04.05.‑27.07.2024
Opening hours: Thurs‑Fri 1‑7 pm, Sat 12‑6 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße 10, Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Website www.women-artists-in-residence.berlin
Instagram cordts_art_foundation
March 2024
Experience Diversity, Overcome Prejudices
It is a special pleasure for us to invite you to our next event. The Blue Salon is a place of encounter, exchange and intellectual development for inspiring conversations and stimulating discussions about art, culture and feminism.
The German educator and bestselling author Florence Brokowski-Shekete is committed to overcoming stereotypical thought patterns and recognising the diversity in people's lives with her motto “Raus aus den Schubladen!”. Her aim is to raise awareness of everyday racism and make the experiences of Black people in Germany visible. The aim is to break down prejudices and promote a deeper understanding of the diversity of life realities.
The empowerment of people with other roots in Germany is at the centre of her commitment. In doing so, she emphasises her goal of strengthening and empowering this group. This helps to promote self-confidence and self-determination in order to better face the challenges of everyday racism.
The aim is to break down prejudices and create a more inclusive society by broadening people's horizons. Florence Brokowski-Shekete attaches great importance to promoting dialogue between different population groups in order to reduce misunderstandings and emphasise shared values. She makes an important contribution to raising awareness of issues such as racism, diversity and empowerment in order to promote positive change in society.
For our logistics: Please let us know if you would like to come on the evening.
Contact: contact[at]cordts-stiftung.de
Opening hours outside the events: Thurs‑Fri 1‑7 pm, Sat 12‑6 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße 10, Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Website www.women-artists-in-residence.berlin
Instagram cordts_art_foundation
February 2024
Invitation to the Opening
Kaj Osteroth “Und raus bist du”
8 March 2024, 6 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße 10, Berlin-Wilmersdorf
In keeping with International Women's Day, we have the opportunity to experience the art of the revolting female artist together. Especially on this day, it is important to us, the Cordts Art Foundation, to offer space and draw attention to the role of female artists in society.
Duration of the exhibition: 09.03.‑27.04.2024
Kaj Osteroth rigorously points out grievances, confronts society as an artist and lets her pictures tell stories and enter into discourse; her pictures are the reflection of a merciless and harsh reality.
2022 | oil on canvas | 115 cm × 100 cm
Her art oscillates boldly between naivety and revolt, approaching the relationships of the world without distance and confronting the constructs of inside and outside, right and good. Kaj Osteroth conducts a dialogue in critical, unpretentious images and creates a rebellious practice with bright colours and piercing visual structures.
The title “Und raus bist du” refers to a children's counting rhyme, but the pictures are appeals for change that powerfully call out to the viewer.
Kaj Osteroth studied at the UdK Berlin under Prof. Stan Douglas and graduated as a master student in Fine Arts in 2006, followed by a Master's degree in Ethnology and Art History at the FU Berlin in 2008.
With her way of working, she appeals to feminist organisations. She also gained international recognition through her collaboration with Lydia Hamann as the feminist duo “Hamann & Osteroth”. She has participated in exhibitions worldwide, including at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo in 2019 and at the 10th Berlin Biennale in 2018. She was awarded the Villa Romana Prize in 2020.
Further information can be found on the artist's website:
www.kaj-osteroth.com
2021 | oil on canvas | 140 cm × 130 cm
2023 | oil on canvas | 120 cm × 140 cm
We look forward to seeing you there and to a wonderful evening of drinks and dialogue with the artist and you.
For our logistics: Feel free to let us know if you'll be attending the opening.
Contact: contact[at]cordts-stiftung.de
Duration of the exhibition: 09.03.‑27.04.2024
Opening hours: Thurs‑Fri 1‑7 pm, Sat 12‑6 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße 10, Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Website www.women-artists-in-residence.berlin
Instagram cordts_art_foundation
January 2024
A New Scholarship Begins …
Niki Matita is a Berlin-based artist, researcher and cultural worker.
Radio and sound art in particular offer her a wide range of expressive possibilities and formats. In order to discover these, she also connects the medium with other people and their concerns and art forms.
For her, being on an island surrounded by water means coming into contact with two essential carriers of her ephemeral working material:
“Air and water are alike in one regard, because they transport waves. We perceive those of air as sound, tones, noises, words, music and turbulence. They surround us wherever we are. Waves bridge distances that we could not physically reach without aids.
What we perceive aurally and physically can carry us to infinite distances. Radio waves surround us even if we do not use them for our benefit. They are omnipresent and eternal.” Niki Matita
The scholarship holder will live on Schwanenwerder from February to April 2024.
December 2023
Exhibition Extended
The wood sculptor and poet Monika Müller-Klug, the first Cordts Art Foundation scholarship holder, has dedicated herself to the complex relationship between man and nature in the studio house on Schwanenwerder. In her sculptures and poetry, this artistic exploration becomes clear and tangible.
Since the opening, a bronze sculpture has been added to the exhibition, which you should definitely take a look at.
Opening hours: Thurs‑Fri 1‑7 pm, Sat 12‑6 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße 10, Berlin-Wilmersdorf
We look forward to your visit to the “nogallery”.
The “nogallery” will be closed from 23 December 2023 to 3 January 2024!
We wish you happy holidays and a relaxing new year and hope to see you soon in our gallery.
Sonya Schönberger Has Moved Into the Künstlerhaus on Schwanenwerder
Sonya Schönberger is a Berlin-based artist whose practice deals with biographical ruptures against the backdrop of political or social upheaval. The source of her artistic exploration are the people themselves, who tell about it in biographical conversations. This is how some archives were created, but also already existing, partly found archives flow into her work. Five years ago, she created the “Berliner Zimmer”, a long-term video archive based on the stories of people in Berlin.
Sonya Schönberger will move into the residence on Schwanenwerder from the end of December 2023 to the end of January 2024 in order to work away from the hustle and bustle of Berlin and to use the peaceful place for artistic projects and her writing.
What is special about her way of working is the skillful and performative use of various media that simultaneously reconstruct and deconstruct narratives. We are excited to see what the location will offer her in return.
Further information can be found on the artist's websites:
www.sonyaschoenberger.de
berliner-zimmer.net
October 2023
Invitation to the Opening
Already four years ago our first scholarship holder, the sculptor and poet Monika Müller-Klug started her residency at the studio house on Schwanenwerder where she dedicated herself to the multi-layered relationship between man and nature. Her exploration finds expression in the sculptures and poetry she created. Now, finally, we look forward to a wonderful evening of reading, drinking and exchange with the artist.
For our logistics: Feel free to let us know if you'll be attending the opening.
Contact: benedix[at]cordts-stiftung.de
Duration of the exhibition: 28.10.‑31.12.2023
Opening hours: Thurs‑Fri 1‑7 pm, Sat 12‑6 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße 10, Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Website www.women-artists-in-residence.berlin
Instagram cordts_art_foundation
August 2023
Please confirm your attendance by 22.08.2023 at the latest by emailing art[at]cordts-stiftung.de or calling 0152 34115987. We would be delighted to welcome you to this inspiring evening.
The exhibition “Hey … Du rosa Drehmoment!” by the sculptor Franziska Seifert is on show until the end of October.
The next Blue Salon with Mithu Sanyal on the topic of “Language and identity” will take place on Friday, 15 September 2023.
Opening hours outside the events:
Thurs‑Fri 1‑7 pm, Sat 12‑6 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße 10, Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Website www.women-artists-in-residence.berlin
Instagram cordts_art_foundation
July 2023
Invitation to the Opening of the Blue Salon
After our first successful year at the “nogallery” in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, we are now looking forward to a new, intimate series: the Blue Salon. We cordially invite you to the kick-off.
Changing the Eurocentric View of Art
Soft opening on Friday, 4 August 2023, 5‑8 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße 10, Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Two installations made of Asian materials by sculptor Franziska Seifert mark the start of the planned series at the “nogallery”. Putu Sridiniari, Balinese artist and current Cordts Art Foundation fellow, will be present and report on the visibility of Asian women artists in today's and historically colonial contexts.
An exciting prelude to the question of the Eurocentric view of art.
The exhibition continues with a discussion series, readings and lectures as part of the Blue Salon.
Duration: August until the end of October 2023
Opening hours outside the events:
Thurs‑Fri 1‑7 pm, Sat 12‑6 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße 10, Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Website www.women-artists-in-residence.berlin
Instagram cordts_art_foundation
Website www.bildhauerin-franziska-seifert.de
Instagram franziskaseifert_sculpture
We look forward to you and our lively exchange!
Artist and Researcher Putu Sridiniari From Bali Moves to Schwanenwerder
Putu Sridiniari travels as a visual culture researcher from the south of the globe to the north, more precisely to Schwanenwerder, Berlin. At home in Bali, the north is a sacred place where the mountains stand.
She asks herself: “What will become of me if I travel further north? A scattered being: what are the things I can find and make to connect again to my rituals? Are there objects, people, and places around Schwanenwerder that I can give meaning and function as a tool for spiritual practice? What changes and what is added to my practice? What are the commonalities between us?”
We are curious to see what Putu Sridiniari will find in this historical place with a fresh eye and how she will translate her observations into artistic practice.
Putu Sridiniari will be on Schwanenwerder until September 2023. We will inform you about public events soon.
June 2023
Invitation to the Work Show
Living structures with highly complex subterranean networks such as roots and mycelia inspire the collaboration of Olga Ulmann and May Hands. The trigger for their research is the tinder fungus, a type of fungus that proliferates in the garden of the Atelierhaus Schwanenwerder and forms the starting point for their joint textile sculpture “secured entanglements” bildet. On Schwanenwerder and in the “nogallery” in Wilmersdorf, Ulmann and Hands present forms and interweavings that they bring to the surface from the dark undergrowth.
Followed by an exhibition at the “nogallery”
29 June to 22 July 2023
Thurs‑Fri 1‑7 pm, Sat 12‑6 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße, Wilmersdorf
Hania Luthufi and Samantha Wright in the Damnatz Sculpture Garden
Our scholarship holder Hania Mariam Luthufi was able to get another visa to continue her scholarship from 2022 in 2023. She continues her composition work with Samantha Wright from Hamburg and will present this in three events:
As part of the Open Studio at Franziska Seifert's in Hamburg 9.‑11.06.2023, at “Hammer Weine” in Hamburg on 21.06.2023 und as her own concert.
Hania Luthufi (voc) and Samantha Wright (cl)
with Niklas Werk (egit) and Alex Petratos (dr, perc)
18 June 2023, 5 pm
Damnatz Sculpture Garden, Am Elbdeich 19, 29472 Damnatz
Hania and Samantha already met and fell in love musically last year. Now their musical journey continues.
In the first half of the evening, they will present joint compositions for the first time. The traditions and stories from Hania's eastern world (especially Sri Lanka and North Bengal) underpin Samantha's personal jazz history, interwoven with melody-rich songs.
In the second half, the musicians perform songs inspired by Nina Simone, the great singer and pianist who blurred the boundaries of musical genres and made songs her own.
Admission is free, donations to the arts welcome, your registration will facilitate our planning (seating limited).
Contact:
Gabriele Benedix, benedix[at]cordts-stiftung.de
Organised by the Cordts Art Foundation in cooperation with the Franziska & Tim Cordts Foundation
April 2023
Two Artists From Frankfurt and From London Have Taken up Their Fellowships
For the first time we have a duo of female artists as fellows in our residency program. While Olga Ulmann has already moved into the house on Schwanenwerder, May Hands is working digitally for the time being. They met during their studies. Since then, the two artists have been connected by their work with textiles, from small sculptures to expansive installations, as well as their joint exhibitions.
“We are curious about each other's work, about the art that we can now really work on together for the first time. Until now, we have exhibited together, but each with our own works. Now to develop and create something together in this extraordinary place is a special opportunity we are looking forward to!” Olga Ulmann
May Hands uses traditional textile-based techniques such as dyeing, spinning and weaving in her work and places them within the framework of contemporary visual art.
Olga Ulmann is a practice-based, artistic researcher who explores the visual and material world of “high and pop culture” and translates her findings into sculptures, installations, and video performances.
During their residency, May and Olga hope to learn not only from each other, but also from the environment around Wannsee. The site itself will not only become their geographical meeting point, but also the third participant in their collaboration, simultaneously influencing and shaping the process as well as the outcome of their residency.
The two fellows will be on Schwanenwerder until June 2023.
From June 2023, the two will exhibit their created works in the rooms of the “nogallery” in Ludwigkirchstraße in Wilmersdorf. The exact date will be announced.
Invitation to the Opening
Alice Pedroletti “Her ship was so small”
27 April 2023, 4 pm
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße
At 5 pm there will be a moderated round of talks as part of the opening:
“Toward the Archipelago”
Presentation of the publication “The city, the island. ATRII/Berlin” by Alice Pedroletti, published by ZK/U Press.
A round of critical reflections between Alice Pedroletti, Alessandra Saviotti (cultural activist and researcher), Derek MF Di Fabio (artist) and the audience. Dalia Maini moderates the conversation (in English).
Alice Pedroletti's works will be on display at the “nogallery” from 1 April 2023.
Opening hours: Thursday and Friday 1‑7 pm, Saturday 12‑6 pm
Duration of the exhibition: until the end of May 2023
March 2023
Alice Pedroletti on Schwanenwerder
February 2023
January 2023
Invitation to the Exhibition
Ellen Sturm “Lost File”
Vernissage 27 January 2023
Midissage 9 March 2023
nogallery, Ludwigkirchstraße
Our artist Ellen Sturm is showing her unusual installations and wood works in the “nogallery” until 26 March 2023: Sculptural bodies in digital form thanks to VR glasses, her coloured woodcuts on the walls offer the medial counterpart.
Opening hours: Thursday and Friday 1‑7 pm, Saturday 12‑6 pm
Duration of the exhibition: 28.01.‑26.03.2023
December 2022
New Scholarship Holder From Italy Moves Into the House
Islands have taken a liking to artist Alice Pedroletti, who has lived for many years between Milan and Berlin. As a visual artist, she explores the relationship between artwork and viewer, the aspects of being and vision. During her fellowship, she will explore the history of Schwanenwerder, geographically and historically. Her work will be photographic and sculptural, using archival material and models. She will live on Schwanenwerder until mid-February 2023.
“I consider islands as monuments, pre-existent architectures, hourglasses: random, drifting, floating stones. Every island I examine harbors a second possible island underwater. It is seemingly unknown, mysterious, unreachable.” Alice Pedroletti
Alice Pedroletti has been researching floating islands for ten years. Currently, boats – the objects we use to reach islands, regardless of geographic and urban locations or social conditions – are the focus of her research. She is working on a prototype of a foldable and portable sculpture boat: a metaphorical, body-sized “object” that can be used to reach the real and imagined places she is exploring.
From April 2023, the scholarship holder will then exhibit in the new spaces of the “nogallery” in Ludwigkirchstraße in Wilmersdorf. The exact date is yet to be announced.
November 2022
Invitation to the Performance “Bluebottle Flies”
“An exploration of perceptions and experiences of psychosocial behavior”
A common illness, yet mostly underestimated: bipolar disorder.
Our scholarship holder this year Amany Atef from Egypt wants to create awareness for a life between elation and depression – realised in an unusual performance.
Choreographer: Amany Atef
Sound art: Makoto Sakamoto
23 November 2022, admission 8:30 pm
Taborkirche, Taborstraße 17, Berlin (near U‑Bahn station Schlesisches Tor)
October 2022
Invitation to the Opening
Our scholarship holder Hau Chun Kwong opens her exhibition on 27 October in our new rooms in Ludwigkirchstraße in the colorful district of Wilmersdorf. The artist had ended her fellowship on Schwanenwerder in spring 2022, due to the pandemic on a small scale. We are pleased to be able to show her art once again to a wider audience in the center of Berlin. Hau Chun Kwong will exhibit works that were created on Schwanenwerder, but also new works from her inspiring oeuvre with which she brings the simplest beauty of nature to life.
We look forward to seeing you, to our exchange. Registrations under: benedix[at]cordts-stiftung.de, Tel. 040 75666122.
nogallery – Even More Space for Woman
The Cordts Art Foundation is a non-profit foundation active mainly in Berlin – explicitly for women in the arts. It runs the house from the 1930s in Berlin-Schwanenwerder, which was remodelled in 2018, where the female fellows can work and live for free, depending on their wishes and arrangements between two and ten months.
Accompanying the fellowship, a public event – reading, concert, exhibition, performance etc. – also takes place in the Künstlerhaus.
Since August 2022, the Foundation has rented the wonderful gallery space in Ludwigkirchstraße in addition in the colorful district of Wilmersdorf to provide the artists with another showroom in the heart of Berlin. The new exhibition spaces are exclusively for the artists of the Cordts Art Foundation – for former and future scholarship holders.
It is important for us to emphasize once again that we do not want to and will not engage in gallery activities. The artists can offer and sell their works shown there, the foundation does not take any percentages or other commissions, but requests a temporal presence on some opening days. We focus on collaboration and initiative and are committed to the community for as many women artists as possible. Hence the programmatic name “nogallery” or loosely based on Magritte, “This is not a gallery”.
We look forward to interactions of many kinds!
Find out more about the program and upcoming fellows, and follow us:
Instagram cordts_art_foundation
Website www.women-artists-in-residence.berlin
September 2022
Dancer and Choreographer From Egypt Has Started Her Scholarship
The dancer and educator Amany Atef moved into the Künstlerhaus on 1 September 2022. She will use her fellowship to continue working on her research project “Bluebottle Flies” – a project about the perceptions and experiences of psychological-social behaviour. Amany Atef aims to create awareness about one of the most underrated mental disorders, bipolar disorder, which affects millions of people worldwide; a life lived between elation and depression.
During her artistic residency, Amany Atef will develop a choreography that translates her work on the social and individual psychological imbalance into a dance performance.
“I continue to assert that our understanding of mental disorders remains limited, especially in Middle Eastern, Arab, and African countries. Therefore, my work focuses on making connections between art and psychology.” Amany Atef
Amany Atef studied contemporary dance at the Faculty of Arts, Helwan University in Cairo. She works as a contemporary performer, theater actress, choreographer and teacher of contemporary dance and ballet. She strongly believes that art can be used as a tool for human development, bringing people and communities together.
In her work, she also uses participatory theater, therapeutic drama, and other arts-based processes for healing, dialogue, and social commonality.
The artist will conclude her fellowship at the end of November with the presentation of her dance performance.
August 2022
Sankhara
Concert in the Damnatz Sculpture Garden
A world musical journey, exclusively for the performance in Damnatz:
Hania Luthufi (vocals, sitar), Eleftheria Daoultzi (Persian harp), Ravi Srinivasan (tablas)
4 September 2022, 4 pm
Damnatz Sculpture Garden, Am Elbdeich 19, 29472 Damnatz
There are those voices that grab you immediately. Hania Luthufi definitely belongs to them. This exceptional singer from Sri Lanka has explored classical Indian traditions as well as jazz standards à la Billie Holiday and Chet Baker.
For her performance in Wendland, she has brought in two special musicians: the Greek Eleftheria Daoultzi, who plays the Turkish kanun – a kind of Persian harp –, and Ravi Srinivasan, percussionist and composer now living in Berlin, who unpacks his tablas especially for the occasion.
Together, in the special setting of the Damnatz Sculpture Garden, they take us into the world of the Orient, with a selection of world music that combines classical Indian and folk melodies from different regions of Southeast Asia, and reinterprets these melodies with their own aesthetics.
A unique sound picture that holds many stories for the listener. And a little bit Nina Simone and Billie Holiday will also look around the corner.
Contact:
Gabriele Benedix, benedix[at]cordts-stiftung.de
Organised by the Cordts Art Foundation in cooperation with the Franziska & Tim Cordts Foundation
Singer From Sri Lanka in Berlin
One passion, many cultures: Singer and composer Hania Mariam Luthufi combines in her music the musical traditions of her native Sri Lanka with the free improvisation of jazz. She considers herself particularly rooted in the traditional music of India, where she studied music intensively for 10 years. She has already composed numerous film scores, led master classes and founded her own school in Sri Lanka to strengthen the importance of music despite or especially in all the turmoil.
“I discovered my fascination with jazz as a child. But I wanted to go further. I love to deal with the roots of music, to interweave them. I'm especially helped by the ancient Sanskrit languages I learn through singing.” Hania Mariam Luthufi
In doing so, she sensitively senses situations and emotions that unfold in her compositions in an opening tapestry of sound. The singer will continue to explore European musical traditions during her fellowship. She is especially curious about the connection with European cultures, which she wants to combine with the Indian singing tradition. To this end, she will visit Greece as part of the scholarship to study their musical tradition, then in Berlin she will continue this together with the British clarinetist Samantha Wright, who teaches jazz in Hamburg. The result will be a composition of her own that unites everything. And who knows, maybe some grooves from her time with her Afro-Cuban band from Sri Lanka will flow into it.
Hania Luthufi will present her music in different showcases.
On 04.08. and 07.08. in Berlin at the opening of the vernissage of the founder and sculptor Franziska Seifert, on 27.08. at the music festival of the Cordts Foundation (private event), on 31.08. at “Hammer Weine” in Hamburg and on 04.09.2022 in the Damnatz Sculpture Garden.
The artist will finish her scholarship in mid-September.
July 2022
Invitation to Two Openings
The Cordts Art Foundation now has an exhibition space in the center of Berlin. Here our female fellows and other artists can show their works for a longer period of time without disturbing the fellows in the foundation house on Schwanenwerder. We are very happy about “Even more space for women”, with which we can easily pursue our vision of bringing women in the arts confidently to the forefront. Another step for the formation of the international network for women in the arts.
We invite you to the grand opening with installations and works by the founder and sculptor Franziska Seifert, with two vernissages: on 4 August in the new rooms, on 7 August in the foundation house on Schwanenwerder. Afterwards you can visit the exhibitions on all weekends in August.
Litfaßsäule infernal
Installation by Franziska Seifert 2022
Please register with mail to benedix[at]cordts-stiftung.de.
Tulip Tulpe
Our 2020 scholarship recipient Chun Sue has published a new poetry book – with Chinese, English and German poems, translated by Martin Winter and with drawings by An Qi.
The collection of these poems, her heart's desire, has been published by fabrik.transit in February 2022.
We wish all the best!
May 2022
Invitation to the Work Show
“Keine Enten in Sicht, Wind”
Work show and lecture performance with Sonja Knecht
18/19 June 2022
We cordially invite you to the lecture performance with text artist Sonja Knecht. We are so happy that the events open again and that we can also welcome you indoors that we invite you twice: either for Saturday afternoon (3 pm) or at our usual Sunday time from 12 noon.
For our planning, please let us know if you are coming and with whom, gladly with mail to benedix[at]cordts-stiftung.de.
We are looking forward to seeing you!
April 2022
Invitation to the Open Studio
“Endemic Forest”
Open studio with Hau Chun Kwong
1 May 2022
At the end of her residency, we invite you to the open studio of our scholarship holder Hau Chun Kwong on 01.05.2022 at the Künstlerhaus on Schwanenwerder. We ask for registration: benedix[at]cordts-stiftung.de
Impressions
Images from the lecture performance “Fenchel auf Inseln” by Sonja Knecht on 31 March 2022
© Cordts Art Foundation
© Cordts Art Foundation
© Cordts Art Foundation
© Cordts Art Foundation
© Cordts Art Foundation
© Cordts Art Foundation
© Cordts Art Foundation
March 2022
Hau Chun Kwong From Munich / Hong Kong on Schwanenwerder
The project “China's Female Artists Reside in Berlin-Schwanenwerder” welcomes its fourth scholarship holder: The visual artist Hau Chun Kwong has moved into the Künstlerhaus. She will use the time of rest on Schwanenwerder to artistically feel the effects of people's memories and injuries.
I Am Listening Where the Wind Blows …
“Nature's life is endless, full of power and freedom.” In life and death, Hau Chun Kwong searches for inner feelings and voices, wants to bring alive the simplest beauty of nature. To do this, she uses various techniques such as words, works on paper, woodcuts, still images or videos – an emotional dialogue.
“The tranquility on Schwanenwerder finally gives me the opportunity to trace the subtle voices. At the same time as me, many refugees from Ukraine have arrived in Berlin, an old city with traumas and history. The inner contradictions, like the ups and downs of the ocean waves – maybe it's this sense of the end that makes me look seriously at Berlin again, a passerby that doesn't belong here.”
Hau Chun Kwong has been exhibiting worldwide since 1988, among others in her hometown Hong Kong, Munich, Italy or Bolzano. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Canton and Munich, was a master student of Prof. Cristina Iglesias, among others, and won the 1st prize of the StadtAcker Art Project 2018.
Invitation to the Reading in Hamburg
“Fenchel auf Inseln”
Lecture performance by Sonja Knecht
31 March 2022
These are very turbulent times that affect us all very much. Nevertheless, and all the more so, we would like to set a point of joy. Our scholarship holder from Berlin – the text artist Sonja Knecht – will read and perform on 31.03.2022 at the Erste Etage in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg. In addition to her poetry, she has a tangible insight into her letter beauties in her bag.
A wonderful cooperation between the Cordts Art Foundation and the Erste Etage Wilhelmsburg, a wonderful occasion to present the work and vision of the Cordts Art Foundation for women in art in Hamburg as well.
As things stand, we are indeed allowed to invite up to 200 people indoors again – the only condition being the wearing of the FPP2 mask (the medical mask is not sufficient in this case). As we will also be offering drinks and nibbles, we would like to encourage you for your own protection to still pay additional attention to the 3G rule, subject to the situation on the day.
Please register for our planning at art[at]die-erste-etage.de.
February 2022
Review: Anja Asche
November 2021
Berlin-based Sonja Knecht has started her residency time
Text artist Sonja Knecht is using the island house as a writing studio over the winter. She will stay from November 2021 to February 2022. At the end of her residency on Schwanenwerder, she plans to present a visual-verbal show of her work, provide insight into her writing processes and read from her experimental poetry.
Update
Safe the date: Due to the pandemic, the closing event will take place on 18 and 19 June 2022 – reading and more with Sonja Knecht.
In advance, we look forward to seeing her on 31 March 2022 at Erste Etage, Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg. Detailed information: Invitation to the lecture performance
October 2021
Impressions
Images from the work show “Verdichtung und Prägung” – installations, collages and drawings by Anja Asche on 3 October 2021
September 2021
Visit to Hamburg
Invitation to the Work Show
“Verdichtung und Prägung”
Installations, collages and drawings by Anja Asche
3 October 2021
Of course, we adhere to the then valid hygiene rules. Adherence to the 3G rule is a matter of course for us, we hope for you as well. Therefore, we ask you to notify us in advance at benedix[at]cordts-stiftung.de so that we can plan accordingly.
Review: Lisa Chang Lee
August 2021
Review: “Flügelschlag Fernost” – Female Artists on Schwanenwerder
July 2021
Berlin-based Anja Asche moved in
In her work, experimental artist Anja Asche subtly explores the fragility and transience of identity. In doing so, she also explores the question of the extent to which the individual is influenced by the environment and by social norms:
“I am particularly interested in the limitations and stereotypes to which women are subjected. My personal life path is … the starting point for my artistic investigations. This is where the Cordts Art Foundation program comes in.”
During her residency, Anja Asche will work with unusual materials such as gel wax, petri dishes and natural found objects – for example, seeds, branches, grasses. In doing so, she aims for large-scale yet delicate works and installations.
She will remain at the Atelierhaus until 31 October 2021. On 3 October 2021 a work show is planned in the house.
June 2021
Opening speech 20.06.2021 Berlin-Schwanenwerder, Cordts Art Foundation
Dear Guests, Dear Art Lovers,
We established this project for women and art less than two years ago in order to provide female artists from different parts of the world with the opportunity to come and live here in Berlin, and to present their art to the public at the end of their stay.
Covid-19 has made things difficult in that it has blocked travel from Asia and other parts of the world, but we are used to overcome obstacles. Our close relationship with the Gesellschaft für Deutsch-Chinesischen kulturellen Austausch and with Prof. Yu Zhang who is in the audience today, we were able to invite three Chinese female artists into our house in Schwanenwerder since November 2020.
© Cordts Art Foundation / GeKA e. V.
© Cordts Art Foundation / GeKA e. V.
They currently all live in Germany or England, and I am delighted that for this reason we were able to make this exchange happen.
wo of these female artists are also here with us today; and I would like to welcome both paintresses, one the famous feminist paintress Jiny Lan from Düsseldorf and two Lisa Chang Lee from London, who is focussing on landscapes, urban growth, and the relationship of humans and nature. Both women will present a small selection of their work.
We are looking forward to welcoming a new guest in our house from July 1st, Ms Anja Asche. Asche is born near Kassel and is now based in Berlin, and we are looking forward to her residency. We receive numerous applications from all over the world which tells us that we fill a gap with our project. Our house is already fully booked for the next two years and we expect to get to know new exciting women.
The struggle for recognition of female artists is real and it is unfortunately continuing to exist. There is a current exhibition on this topic here in the Berlin National Gallery, “Kampf um Sichtbarkeit”. Two organisations – the non-profit organisation AWARE, founded by Camille Morineau, and the Florence-based AWA – are supporting projects on a particular phenomenon.
Over the past 100 to 150 years, not only private people, but also museums and collections bought artwork from successful female artists – women who were as successful as their male colleagues. Hundreds of these artworks are currently stored in depots but were never shown to the public. They are forgotten, were never restored, and are not part of the discourse in art history.
© Cordts Art Foundation / GeKA e. V.
© Cordts Art Foundation / GeKA e. V.
AWARE and AWA intend to lift these treasures, restore the art, make it public, and foremost, increase the visibility of female artists in art history, which will be the most difficult part.
I would like to emphasise again that curators, gallery owners, publishers, publicists and collectors are predominantly male, resulting in a male point of view. We have a charged discourse ahead of us but there is also the opportunity for change.
Female art must be shown, seen, talked about, discussed, collected and conserved – but always with a keen heart and with full commitment.
This is what I wish most.
Yours, Franziska Cordts
© Cordts Art Foundation / GeKA e. V.
Review: Jiny Lan – A Visit to Schwanenwerder
May 2021
The Third Chinese Woman on Schwanenwerder
The project “China's Female Artists Reside in Berlin-Schwanenwerder” welcomes its third scholarship holder: the young artist Lisa Chang Lee moved into the Künstlerhaus in May. She will work with the history of the Grunewald in a special way. For this “green forest” in Berlin, so well known today for local recreation, is full of history.
Imprint of the Past In Nature on Our Perception Today
Lisa Chang Lee (b. 1986, lives and works in Beijing and London) works with a range of media including moving image, installation, sound, prints and photography. During her residency, she will explore Berlin's Grunewald forest for traces from its complex history: from the refuge of the wealthy during the Industrial Revolution to the resting place of nameless workers; from the green shield of the listening station during the Cold War to the keeper of hundreds of unexploded bombs from World War II.
“I'm especially excited to come to this place because my father taught as a visiting professor at the University of the Arts in Berlin for a month just before the fall of the Wall. About that, I feel very connected to the city's special history and want to trace its imprint to this day.” Lisa Chang Lee
Lisa Chang Lee has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at York Art Gallery, Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (South Korea), Ashmolean Museum (UK).
March 2021
The Second Chinese Woman Has Moved Into the Künstlerhaus on Schwanenwerder
For three years, two non-profit institutions support Chinese women artists in their joint project as artist-in-residence “China's Female Artists Reside in Berlin-Schwanenwerder”:
The Gesellschaft für Deutsch-Chinesischen kulturellen Austausch e. V. (GeKA, Berlin) und the Cordts Art Foundation (Hamburg). The starting signal was given in November 2020, and in February 2021 the second Chinese artist moved into the house on Berlin's Schwanenwerder Island to pursue her art undisturbed.
International Concept Artist
Jiny Lan, an internationally renowned Chinese concept artist, addresses urban life in the world's big cities in her large-scale works. Trained at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Zhejiang, China, the painter has lived in Germany since 1995 and combines artistic traditions of Asia and Europe to create her own visual language. In paintings of aesthetic conciseness, she questions the moral and traditional images of women in China in comprehensive series.
On Schwanenwerder, Jiny Lan is particularly happy about the proximity to the water. “I owe a lot to the water. The artists' house on Schwanenwerder inspired me immediately.” Today she lives in the Ruhr region and works as a freelance artist in Düsseldorf.
January 2021
Almost three months ago our cooperation project “China's Female Artists Reside in Berlin-Schwanenwerder” with the Gesellschaft für Deutsch-Chinesischen kulturellen Austausch e. V. (GeKA) started. We are pleased that this project is also recorded and documented on film and would like to introduce the director.
Claudia Dejá works as a writer, director and producer. She creates documentaries and reports for the public broadcasters ARD, ZDF and ARTE. In her productions she looks for extraordinary, touching stories taken from real life. On the road in Germany and abroad, she wants to show what moves people, what they have to struggle with and what makes them tick.
November 2020
Chinese Writer Chun Sue Starts Her Residency on Schwanenwerder
Two private non-profit funding institutions – Gesellschaft für Deutsch-Chinesischen kulturellen Austausch e. V. (GeKA, Berlin) and Cordts Art Foundation (Hamburg) – will jointly launch their three-year artist-in-residence project “China's Female Artists Reside in Berlin-Schwanenwerder”.
The first participating artist is Chun Sue, well-known poet and writer from Beijing.
Chun Sue was born in northern China in 1983 and is considered a representative of China's transformation generation. She has published five novels, three essay collections and two poetry collections. Her first two novels – including “Beijing Doll” (2002) – were temporarily banned by Chinese authorities, but are now back in print. Some of her works have already been translated into English.
According to Chun Sue, she was immediately relaxed on the first day on what is probably the most exclusive island in Berlin. She will now live and work there for two months.
“The energy is just right. I feel inspiration and have a very good feeling that I can create something new here during the residency.”
October 2020
Der Texte Töne
The Second Scholarship Holder Gabriele Stötzer Stayed for Four Months on Schwanenwerder
From somewhere fine trumpet sounds blew across the Havel, mixed with sounds from a harmonium that had travelled far from South Africa – and again and again a quiet voice that interjected a text that was not at all soothing. The visitors of the final exhibition of Gabriele Stötzer on 4 October 2020 were amazed, delighted and irritated. After a summer full of cancellations now a joyfully executed event with sketches, portrait series and live music interwoven with hard history – tangibly close and yet with appropriate distance.
Gabriele Stötzer was the second artist-in-residence of the Cordts Art Foundation. She stepped in when it became clear that, due to international travel restrictions, Indonesian Putu Sridiniari would not be able to attend her residency.
“A stroke of luck for both sides. Gabriele Stötzer's art is closely connected with the history of Berlin and Germany. And it is important to me that the women artists residence is also used during the coronavirus period.” Founder Franziska Seifert
The Art Was Stronger
Gabriele Stötzer's art is closely entangled with her confrontation with her history in the former East Germany. Prison and persecution by the Stasi with the aim of isolating her, and perhaps even trying to drive her to suicide. Her crime? Collecting signatures against the expatriation of Wolf Biermann, an East German dissident. At first. Later, her exploration of the role of women in the male-dominated domain, through writing texts, in the search for female language, in female art through nude painting and performances, Super 8 films and photo series.
“It was my dream. It saved me when I woke up in 1977 in the women's prison hospital after a botched surgery and realised – I lost everything out there.” She could have crawled into depression. But for the Erfurt native, it unleashed a true creative process. Her theme to this day: women in prison, women in suffering – a tearful process. “Overcoming the shame and bringing the inside out, not keeping your mouth shut,” she explains. “And crossing boundaries again and again. The boundaries on the inside, real and fictional – that's what keeps me busy today.”
Finally Doing Something Beautiful
And so when she first arrived at the Künstlerhaus on Schwanenwerder. “It's a truly extraordinary inspiring place. I couldn't believe my luck,” says the scholarship holder. From deep inside came the movement, flushed, churned. All the old memories wanted to be worked through in a state of flux. And were. The morning swim in the Havel river, the active exchange with old companions from her underground days who now live in Berlin, the house – all this started an almost inexhaustible creative process.
Thus, during the four months on Schwanenwerder, sketches with water, sketches with boats, and new portrait series were created. Once again, her time in the women's prison is her inspiration. Just as prisoners are photographed from three sides, she creates three images: the first a photo, the second the painted-over photo, the third reduced to a drawing. The reflection to the self. Motifs were the faces of her many visitors during the four months.
With “Die Abwicklung neu 2020” she took up a work from the East German era. She rolled her body, painted with ketchup, along a paper wall. A visualisation of the inner injury on the outside, which even today after almost 40 years shows: “I am there. Always. Everywhere.”
Final Exhibition, 4 October 2020
The date for her final exhibition thus also fits her story – one day after German unification, on Schwanenwerder not far from the former border. In addition to the exhibition, Gabriele Stötzer led a performance with the duo “Klang-Zeichen” (trumpeter: Daniel Hoffmann; harmonium: Michael von Hintzenstein) with her road lyric “Deutschland von innen” (Germany from the inside), which was created on Schwanenwerder – a performance with a slightly Dadaist touch, in which the music repeatedly condensed percussively with Gabriele Stötzer's questions and the search for the innermost, also and especially in these times of the virus.
Almost 200 visitors came throughout the day. And confirmed what the founder Franziska Seifert and her husband Tim Cordts reaffirmed in their opening remarks: how important they consider the promotion of women in art and especially the understanding of women's roles in contemporary art.
In conclusion, Franziska Seifert sums up: “Gabriele Stötzer has followed my wish that a new kind of network for women in art be created here in a wonderfully unconscious way. By opening the house to many women artists, by bringing the discussion of the role of women in the former East Germany, which still shapes us today, into our present through the processing of her past. We are glad that she has implemented her time here in such a fresh and inspiring way, despite the current restrictions.”
June 2020
The Next Scholarship Holder Has Moved In
The German writer and artist Gabriele Stötzer moved into the studio house on Schwanenwerder Island in Berlin on 1 June 2020 as the next artist-in-residence. She will continue her exploration of the female self-image in figures and text on canvas until the end of September.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the originally intended scholarship holder, the young Indonesian Putu Sridiani, was unable to start her journey. She will come to Berlin at a later date – as soon as international travel is possible again. Gabriele Stötzer therefore preponed her scholarship.
April 2020
Dear Friends of the Arts
Since October our first scholarship recipient Monika Müller-Klug stayed in the house on the island Schwanenwerder. Inspired she enjoyed the time and brought sculpture and poetry to life.
The beaver was always at her side. Now it has to continue working on its own.
But we have to wait – because of course we cannot, as we hoped a few weeks ago, show her works to the public in Berlin on 19 April 2020.
When we will catch up on the exhibition is still uncertain, but we will keep you informed with the absolute will to make art.
Get through this time well!
October 2019
Opening Exhibition Schwanenwerder – A Review
After months of preparation and renovation, the Cordts Art Foundation finally celebrated its establishment on 3 October 2019. The location was of course the house on Schwanenwerder which represents the center of the foundation's work.
The event kicked off with an exhibition of works by the sculptor and founder Franziska Seifert through which it became apparent how wonderfully the space within the house harmonises with the works of art.
As you enter the house, the view falls on the opposite window front. Behind it, the view extends over the garden and the adjacent Wannsee. A certain calmness descends on the viewer, one looks forward to discovering more.
The ground floor is full of light and minimalistically furnished, which gives it a very spacious appearance. The upper floor, on the other hand, appears rustic and cosy due to the sloping roofs and a preference for wood – a contrast and yet ideal. The items of the exhibition are arranged in a seemingly random pattern in the house as well as in the garden and each one is beautifully displayed in its surroundings.
When the doors opened at noon, the guests flocked into the house. As it filled, guests moved into the garden until it was also fairly full. More than 200 visitors walked across the grounds, enjoyed champagne and other drinks, marveled at the works of art and talked to each other.
The visitors of this exhibition were encouraged to touch the sculptures as this allows another impression of the works. Again and again one could observe how individuals walked away from their group to discover another corner of the premises or to step onto the adjoining jetty to take in the surroundings and the special atmosphere in peace.
One quickly realises that this is an ideal place to calm down, to let one's creativity run free and to devote oneself to art.
Then the founder and exhibiting artist Franziska Seifert welcomed her guests and told them how the project “Women Artists in Residence” came about, what motivated her, and that her focus is primarily on art, beyond monetary issues.
She talked about the role of women in art, her own experiences and why it is so important to stimulate a discourse on this topic and to provide support that she herself had been denied.
She told her guests that it was actually her husband Tim Cordts who gave her the idea to realise a project exclusively for women. This then led her to question the art scene and the gender roles anchored within.
Franziska provided a nice insight into the background of her project and it became clear that there is authentic commitment behind it.
Finally, the first scholarship recipient, Monika Müller-Klug, was introduced.
The 82-year-old is a lyricist and sculptor and will devote herself to her poetry and the design of an oak tree trunk during her stay on Schwanenwerder. She will focus on the multi-layered relationship between man and nature and will present her works at an exhibition in April – we are already looking forward to the results!
August 2019
On 3 October 2019, the sculptor and founder Franziska Seifert will open the international project “Women Artists in Residence” This is also the kick-off event for the introduction of the first scholarship recipient of the Cordts Art Foundation artist residency on Schwanenwerder, lyricist and sculptor Monika Müller-Klug.
The vernissage begins on 3 October 2019 at 12 o'clock with music, champagne and water
Inselstraße 2a, 14129 Berlin-Nikolassee, Germany
A shuttle service to the S-Bahn will be provided.
The exhibition will also be open on Saturday and Sunday, 5 und 6 October 2019 from 12 noon to 4 pm.
E-mail: benedix[at]cordts-stiftung.de
Phone: +49 (0)172 4128087
