Free from the Daily Grind for the Arts Stories from Elsewhere

Since 2016, artists-in-residence have shared uncensored accounts of their personal experiences and characteristics of their residencies under the International Residency Program of the BMWKMS and provided future participants with hints for orienting on site upon invitation by Away Art Residencies. They have created colorful diaries that offer private insights and tell about experiences and artistic creation, about where their thoughts were traveling and how it felt to live in an unfamiliar environment. 

While some artists-in-residence deliberately decided not to take part, others reported that they were inspired by Away Art Residencies to sketch out their explorations. A steadily growing archive of personal chronicles is waiting to be discovered.

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AK Vilnius IMG 2347 v3
Vilnius, Lithuania06/25–07/25

Annja Krautgasser

My stay in Vilnius under the international residency program was characterized by intensive creative work, a few inspiring encounters, but also by structural challenges. The studio is located in a wooded area directly on the banks of the river Neris and offers a special atmosphere: There is a small beach by the river and every day hundreds of joggers and bikers come by – in this regard…
Paris Merklein 01
Paris, France05/25–08/25

Veronika Merklein

In the first weeks you want EVERYTHING: to get to know all the artists at the Cité, to discover the whole city, and to further develop your own art. At some point, however, the realization sets in that the fear of missing out is an…
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Hong Kong, China02/25–04/25

Hui Ye

My stay in Hong Kong was great and intense at the same time.

Since I come from Guangzhou – one of the major cities in South China closest to Hong Kong – the city was not unfamiliar to me. In fact, Hong Kong was an integral part of the…
Hotel Face
Accra,, Ghana01/25–03/25

Samuel Minegibe Ekeh

I honestly don’t have much to say as my experience in Accra wasn’t exactly a “wow” kind of experience. I encountered a few passive-aggressive situations that I’d rather not go into detail about here. That said, the overall experience was…
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Cairo, Egypt01/25–03/25

Darja Shatalova

At first, three months in Egypt seemed incredibly long to me. My flight to Cairo at the end of December was cancelled by the airline and I ended up landing in Hurghada for roughly the same price. I stood in the strong wind, looking out…
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Paris, Frankreich09/24–02/25

Daniela Zeilinger

Several months have already gone by since I returned from my stay in Paris. The memories remain a big, beautiful treasure. After the official residency period, I was able to extend my stay by another two months. Thus, I celebrated…
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New York, USA09/24–01/25

Ulrike Königshofer

My trip to New York starts in September. Almost ten years before, I already spent a month there so that I already know the city a bit and had even been a guest at the apartment that now waits for me. When I arrive there, the panoramic view…
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Helsinki, Finland08/24–11/24

Linus Riepler

HIAP (Helsinki International Artist Programme) was already launched in 1998, and the professionalism of the team reflects their long-standing experience. It is well established in Finland and offers really great studios, much exchange, a…
10fire festival fujiyoshida
Fujiyoshida & Itoshima, Japan08/24–10/24

Veronika Beringer

Hi, こんにちは, 🗻♨️💦

After my first night in Fujiyoshida at Saruya AiR, I woke up to an amazing view of Mt. Fuji. It was surreal, and the jet lag was also hitting hard, so it took me some time to realise that this dramatic scenery was, in…
1 Cable Factory Window VeronikaHOESCH
Helsinki, Finland08/24–11/24

Veronika Hösch

Dear HIAP studio two,

…a lid blink…two lids blink…a concert…accompanied in the rhythm of the snooze button…opening the gaze into the room from my otherworldly berth…getting up…getting down…opening the curtains…light enters the room…a…
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Rome & Naples, Italy05/24–09/24

Mathias Kessler

On my trip in Italy during my Away Residency, I aimed at photographing particulate matter at sunsets and process this as works of art. That idea already came up in 2014 when I read a scientific study by Christos Zerefos, a meteorologist…
Gross W1A6943
New York, USA05/24–09/24

Mathias Kessler

After a successful stay in Italy, I traveled to the Hudson Valley in New York. Thanks to an invitation extended by my friend Mark Dion, I also was at https://mildredslane.org/. Here I continued to work on my project of finding and taking…
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Accra, Ghana04/24–06/24

Georg Haberler

During my residency, I originally wanted to work with textiles from the Kantamanto Market in Accra. When I was there, however, I realized quickly that it did not feel right to take textiles from the market and bring them back to Europe…
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Helsinki, Finland01/24–04/24

Lena Violetta Leitner

Suomenlinna memories

I arrive at night, the ice creaks and groans, and I marvel at the breaking ice. Frozen sea, a first for me. Again and again, the ferry ride between the mainland and the island enchants me.

During my daily walks, my…
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Helsinki, Finland01/24–04/24

Ana Loureiro

Hello everyone!

My name is Ana Loureiro and I’m a visual artist.

I had the privilege to be selected by BMKOES to attend a residency program at the iconic Cable Factory in Helsinki, the biggest cultural center in Finland, from January…
Guertler Paris 1
Paris, France01/24–04/24

Katja Gürtler

Today is my last but one day at the Cité internationale des arts and, thus, the time has also come to look back a bit and perhaps draw some conclusions: This stay in Paris was my first residency and, for one year, I have been very much…
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Ilulissat, Greenland01/24–03/24

Sangam Sharma

Kalaallit Nunaat, the “Land of the People” (generally known as Greenland in English) and its population really have blown me away. For once, there are the icebergs that the world’s biggest glacier, Sermeq Kujalleq, hurls into the Disko Bay…
Accra 2024 Naa Teki M Lebar 01 v2
Accra, Ghana01/24–03/24

Naa Teki Lebar

Hot air and sticky skin. A fine layer of sand settles over everything in the studio. From the church next door, I hear Mariah Carey, while a child rocks on a squeaky swing at the kindergarten next to the studio. The weather is humid, the…
1.Gate
Tokyo, Japan01/24–03/24

Milan Loviška und Otto Krause

Just a few days after our arrival in Tokyo we already started working on our residency project. The idea was to develop a short, experimental, non-narrative film focusing on paranormal phenomena in Japan. The original title of the project…
CauleenSmith Ausstellung
New York, USA07/23–09/23

Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński

The summer I was able to spend in New York was great and I would not want to miss my time in this city. I was not only able to use the infrastructure on site (libraries and research centers explicitly dedicated to Black cultural history…
schwaighofer 1
Istanbul, Turkey04/23–06/23

Sabine Schwaighofer

After the “Corona years”, I finally embarked on my residency in Istanbul in April 2023 – instead of in 2021. Since my first stay there in 1997, I have been greatly attracted to Istanbul. During the past two decades, I was able to visit the…
01 Werner AWAY v2
London, Great Britain07/22–09/22

Christina Werner

Bow, the area in eastern London where the AIR accommodation is located in a townhouse of the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport, has won over my heart with its charm since the start of my residency in early…
Sedlak AWAY 1 v2
Paris, France01/22–03/22

Elisabeth Sedlak

My three-month stay at the Cité international des arts in Paris gave me the unique opportunity to live very close to the places where the surrealists used to move about and were the most important collections and museums focusing on this…
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Moscow, Russia01/22–02/22

Tatjana Hardikov

Already when I arrived at Moscow’s airport, I quickly realised that my stay in Russia would be emotional and nostalgic. I had been in Russia several times when I was a child – at that time still to visit my grandparents who lived a simple…
Sturm AWAY Istanbul1 v2
Istanbul, Turkey10/21–10/21

Barbara Sturm

Istanbul just happened to me – as a stopover in 2019. It was like crashing into a kind of beauty and intensity unlike the one that I had been used to and had liked to cultivate. It was not the beauty of calmness, distance and…
Raditsch 01
Washington, D.C., USA09/21–12/21

Florian Raditsch

A city unlike any other in the US. As the capital of the United States, Washington DC is a city full of contradictions and at first glance, a rather strange place. However, get past the bureaucrats and government buildings and constant…
Kopp Aschka NY 01
New York City, USA08/21–10/21

Larissa Kopp & Florian Aschka

First of all, we have to point out that our stay was still marked by the pandemic in spite of relatively high vaccination rates in the USA, which was reflected in the extremely complicated visa procedure and by slight restrictions in…
Delhougne London Away01
London, Great Britain07/21–09/21

Kathrin Delhougne

After my arrival, I still had to stay in quarantine for ten days which I spent on research for my project without any disturbances. The studio had been renovated recently and I felt at home instantly. There was more than enough space for…
Eichhorn Istanbul 01
Istanbul, Turkey06/21–09/21

Barbara Eichhorn

Istanbul is incredibly large, dense, noisy, full, hot, lively, variegated and difficult to grasp in all this complexity. Every corner is different, which makes it so interesting and fascinating. Sometimes this intensity also is too much…
Theodor Maier Tokyo01 v2
Tokyo, Japan06/21–09/21

Theodor Maier

Once I missed the last subway train and decided to walk home. For almost three hours, I rambled through the night. Once in a while I came across a guard on the edge of a park and I watched a group of young people wearing suits as they…
Werth Paris 001
Paris, France01/21–04/21

Letizia Werth

Who would think of Paris as a city with closed museums, no tourists and cafés only selling coffee to go. The COVID-19 pandemic shaped my stay and my original project had to be postponed. Everything turned out differently than I had planned…
Amina Handke AWAY Istanbul 01
Istanbul, Turkey10/19–12/19

Amina Handke

Istanbul is not only huge, but also offers unexpected things, inspiration, excitement and challenges on an apparently unlimited scale – not only for visitors. It is as if you were in three or four cities at the same time and not just…
Tonev Moskau 002
Moscow, Russia10/19–12/19

Kosta Tonev

Moscow exceeded my expectations. It is a huge, buzzing metropolis. It is not just big, but also impressive. You can easily see that it used to be the centre of an empire. Even thirty years after the Soviet Union broke up, its vestiges can…
Wolters Peking Away 002
Beijing, China04/19–06/19

Marit Wolters

A city that is being rebuilt as you watch. Jingwang in the middle. Surrounded by groves planted in orderly lines and a lot of building land, the small town with approximately 15,000 people is situated on the outskirts of a huge metropolis…
Schatzl Tel Aviv AWAY 001
Herzliya (Tel Aviv), Israel04/19–06/19

Heidi Schatzl

Did I speak English, he loved me, a stranger told me on the pavement and he also explained that he did not find it easy to tell me so. My teacher always used to stress how important it was in Hebrew to get to the point right away as you…
Van der Straeten Paris AWAY 001
Paris, France04/19–06/19

Andrea van der Straeten

When I exited the metro with my suitcase at Nôtre Dame and saw that I could visit it without having to wait in an endless queue in front of the cathedral, I could not foresee that this would have been my only chance to see its interior…
Herbert Hinteregger AWAY Paris 04
Paris, France01/19–04/19

Herbert Hinteregger

sainte-chapelle.paris-tickets.org
Silvia Ederer AWAY A
Beijing, China01/19–03/19

Silvia Robin Ederer

During the first month, I was out and about every minute to explore the city together with my colleagues. We went to each and every exhibition, each and every museum, to Tiananmen Square, to the Great Wall, had a beer in the centre in the…
Marion Kalter AWAY 01
London, Great Britain12/18–02/19

Marion Kalter

I did not have any specific project in London, but I have been inspired by the idea of "objective coincidence" as the surrealists loved to do: I am particularly attentive and inspired because as I am discovering a part of London that is…
Linda Reif NYC AWAY 001
New York City, USA11/18–01/19

Linda Reif

NEW YORK I LOVE YOU, YOU CRAZY DIAMOND!
Banff Patricia Reis AWAY 01
Banff, Canada08/18–09/18

Patrícia J. Reis

Banff has probably one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. The mountains resemble much of the Austrian Alps, however in a bigger and wilder scale. The Leighton studios colony is located in the peaceful woods but just within…
Mario Kiesenhofer AWAY 01
New York City, USA08/18–11/18

Mario Kiesenhofer

ISLAND, TO STRAY, FRAGMENT, BOOK, MATCH, GRID, MAPPING, SCAN, FIRE ISLAND, PANEL, OUTDOOR, EXPERIENCE, TOPOGRAPHY, QUEERNESS, MEDITATION, SHIFT, INDOOR, MEAT, NYC INFERNO, ENTERTAIN, CENTER, CARLOS, A HOUSE, MARBLE, ORNAMENT, RACK, BRENT…
AWAY Scheruebl Wilhelm 01
Herzliya (Tel Aviv), Israel07/18–09/18

Wilhelm Scherübl jr.

Designed as a labyrinth in which you can get lost, the world’s biggest bus station is situated in Tel Aviv. It was built for one million passengers per day, which roughly corresponded to one-third of Israel’s population at the time when…
AWAY Paris 01 JELINEK
Paris, France07/18–09/18

Sabine Jelinek

A Parisian friend of mine lends me her bicycle in August because she is away on holiday like all the other Parisians. Hence, I have the chance to explore the city by bike, which I was advised against beforehand but this turns out to be the…
Franz Kapfer Away 01
Istanbul, Turkey06/18–08/18

Franz Kapfer

1st month: Ramadan. Month of fasting mixed with political propaganda. Campaign event with Erdoğan in Yenikapi, a mass rally with 500,000 AKP members, the euphoric female supporters are striking. Second campaign event with Erdoğan in his…
Anna Reisenbichler AWAY 01
Beijing, China06/18–08/16

Anna Reisenbichler

My stay in China was fantastic. The country impressed me, in particular because of its rough and ambivalent nature. I felt very much at ease in my living and working environment and was able to enjoy as well as benefit from the time spent…
Lucas Horvath Paris AWAY 0
Paris, France05/18–08/18

Lucas Horvath

...I wanted to add that art has much more to do with WAITING as people generally think – another “finding” I made during my stay in Paris- You understand many things: only in hindsight. Here are authorised text snippets donated by a…
Emanuel Ehgartner Paris 1
Paris, France05/18–08/18

Emanuel Ehgartner

The sobriquet "city of love" is justified since you instantly fall in love with the city itself — at least that is what happened to me right on the first day. Even the public transport strikes could not change that. You just deal with it…
AWAY Swoboda 01 Gunung Tangkuban Parahu vulkan
Yogyakarta, Indonesia05/18–07/18

Katharina Swoboda

The flight from Vienna via Dubai to Jakarta was trouble-free. The onward trip to Yogyakarta with LionAir, a budget airline, was more problematic: after a delay of several hours, the flight disappeared from the departure board. I spent the…
Vasilena Gankovska AWAY diary Moskau 0
Moscow, Russia04/18–06/18

Vasilena Gankovska

Monumental is the word that first comes to my mind when I think of Moscow: wide avenues, huge buildings from different times, apparently endless residential areas (called 'microraions’) and, in the middle, a fairly compact, extremely clean…
Stefania Strouza Mexico 1
Mexico City, Mexico03/18–06/19

Stefania Strouza

Mexico City was a revelation with regard to its cultural complexity and the layers of tradition that the city embodies. Before my arrival I heard contradictory opinions about what it meant to live there. And I have to say that both sides…
johann schoiswohl away diary 0 garten
London, Great Britain03/18–05/18

Johann Schoiswohl

the last days of robin hood gardens. the garden is covered by a thin layer of snow: the blackberry bushes climb along the wooden fences and try to conquer the terrace. cats come to pay a visit. there is an old bicycle in the garden. I do a…
fanni futterknecht away diary 0
Tokyo, Japan02/18–04/18

Fanni Futterknecht

My time in Tokyo was one of the most beautiful stays abroad in a long time. At the beginning, it was not always easy as the cultural differences and the language barrier sometimes were challenges, especially if you live off the beaten…
Maria Hanl away diary 1
Paris, France01/18–03/18

Maria Hanl

...Can you remember the Paris sky? How unreliable, most of the time grey, often warm and damp, never quite perfect, indulging in clouds and shades; rain, breeze and sun sometimes managing to appear together..." schrieb Louise Bourgoise in…
AC OnDuty.performance
Moscow, Russia01/18–08/18

Anna Ceeh

Performance at Olivier, Fabrica CCI, Moscow. 2018 Feb. 23
AWAY Elisabeth kihlstrom 1 v2
Paris, France01/18–04/18

Elisabeth Kihlström

During my stay at Cité Internationale des Arts I have expanded my research on interior design and the modern psyche. Part of the research included the writing of Henri Lefebvre and his ideas of the construction of space and the political…
Philipp Leissing away paris 01
Paris, France01/18–04/18

Philipp Leissing

...Oh la la, oui oui oui. It all started with a lot of traffic, flooding and snow. Parisians are not really well-prepared for such things… nor for many other things either. However, they do not mind to stand in line anywhere – be it in…
Lotte Lyon away herzliya 1
Herzliya (Tel Aviv), Israel01/18–03/18

Lotte Lyon

The studio is in fact an apartment situated in an exclusive residential district of Herzliya, a city on the northern edge of Tel Aviv. It has two rooms plus ancillary rooms with a panoramic view of palms and a short strip of the sea. It…
Maurizio Cirillo Istanbul away 01
Istanbul, Turkey12/17–02/18

Maurizio Cirillo

Istanbul never ends, or so it seems. Buildings upon buildings upon buildings. When I wandered through the suburbs and the periphery I felt again and again as if I was at a kind of theatre, watching the stage, but not being able to act. I…
001 zita oberwalder away diary london
London, Great Britain12/17–02/18

Zita Oberwalder

William Shakespeare

The Winter’s Tale
Act 2
Scene 1
Stefan Malicky diary 01
Yogyakarta, Indonesia09/17–12/17

Stefan Malicky

Got up early, drank tea, took a shower, shaved and went to the ATM. I hope I didn’t happen to use the one that is said to be tampered with, but anyway, I got my money. Went to the Superindo. Once more, I wasn’t able to get postcards. The…
Pirmin Hagen Istanbul away 02
Istanbul, Turkey09/17–11/17

Pirmin Hagen

Istanbul is, of course, a very impressive city – both with regard to its dimensions and the diversity of the individual parts of the city. Thus, I spent much time outside the studio and explored the city. At the moment, I was interested in…
away diary lena rosa handle 01
New York City, USA08/17–10/17

Lena Rosa Händle

Studio of your dreams with a view of the skyline in the middle of New York City
The studio apartment is situated on the 20th floor of the Grand Chelsea, in a very central location in the middle of Manhattan. As a result, both the uptown…
Gerald Straub away mexico
Mexico City, Mexico06/17–07/17

Gerald Straub

Mexico City has many things in common with other ‘global cities’ all over the world – and still, the periphery/the ‘countryside’ is more omnipresent than in most other megacities. In spite of pervasive gentrification, ‘informal…
Tokyo Gruzei away 01
Tokyo, Japan05/17–07/17

Katharina Gruzei

Tokyo surprises because, in spite of having a population of 38.1 million, the city does not feel like the biggest urban area world-wide. It seems as if the city was one step ahead of other megacities. It is neither plagued by smog from…
Sherine Anis AWAY Istanbul 01
Istanbul, Turkey03/17–06/17

Sherine Anis

In the morning, depending on the time when the window is open, the scent entering the studio varies between çay, coffee, cigarette or the subtle Bosporus breeze of Istanbul. In an Oriental rhythm – an almost familiar rhythm – I sometimes…
Saskia te Nicklin away Tokio 01
Tokyo, Japan02/17–04/17

Saskia Te Nicklin

Tokyo is, at first, sight a megacity where it seems as if people are at least 15 years ahead of us concerning technology. But after not so long you also see that people are still bound to their, at times, out-dated traditions concerning…
Gregor Eldar away Brussels 00
Brussels, Belgium01/17–06/17

Gregor Eldarb

The studio is located at WIELS, a contemporary art centre that hosts temporary exhibitions of national and international artists. The building is an old brewery established in the 1930s and was adapted ten years ago. In total, there are…
Tina Ribarits away diary rom 1
Rome, Italy01/17–03/17

Tina Ribarits

There is always something going on in Rome. Anytime – day and night. When you set out heading for a certain place, this usually means that you will discover uncountable things on your way. The masses of tourists may get annoying, but you…
Franz Schubert Japan 01
Shanghai, China09/16–11/16

Franz Schubert

Shanghai is the richest, most Westernised and probably the most multifaceted Chinese metropolis. Everything is in motion here, you will never get bored. Super luxury shopping streets are in the vicinity of derelict quarters, and social…
Marlene Hausegger AWAY DIARY 1.jpeg
Mexico City, Mexico09/16–12/16

Marlene Hausegger

The city and its colours, celebrations, air pollution and ambiguities. The terrace on the premises of the embassy, books and lizards. The people are as short as me. My imagination is much greater. The underground publishing houses…
1 Kamen Stoyanov Istanbul 5 1
Istanbul, Turkey09/16–11/16

Kamen Stoyanov

I like this city very much. The apartment is at a very central location in a narrow street in the Cihangir neighbourhood. It is very tranquil so that you can recover from hectic city life. A good view would be desirable. Unfortunately, you…
1 Away Ines Hochgerner
Beijing, China09/16–11/16

Ines Hochgerner

The studio is situated in a village on the outskirts of the city; migrant workers and artists live here next to white fox kits in cages and a deer family in the front yard of a sculptor. Litter lies around all over the village, children…
Veronika Burger Yogyakarta 1
Yogyakarta, Indonesia08/16–11/16

Veronika Burger

(...) Different types of rain sounds. Rapid. Much. Even more. Torrential. Pinching. Rain that brings traffic to a halt. Rain that cannot be heard. Rain followed by heat. Rain that hangs in the sky and does not want to fall…
Away Tomicek London 1
London, Great Britain06/16–08/16

Timotheus Tomicek

In London you either learn to be patient or you go insane. Waiting in queues is a virtue here and any unnecessary haste is futile. You get used to planning at least one hour for the ride even if you only want to make a short trip. ‘Signal…
Away Salner Bejing 01
Beijing, China06/16–08/16

Georg Salner

At the atelier, three temporary, I developed partly processual installations that connected me with Beijing/China in different ways: one with industrial materials in line with the principle of my collecting-constructive idea of the E/O/S…
Away Schrenk Krumau 02
Krumlov, Czech Republic06/16–08/16

Anneliese Schrenk

..during my stay I mainly focused on my work … I withdrew very much … combed through old notes … developed new ideas … researched … made sketches … wrote … turned things over in my mind … and over again … sketched … wrote … re-wrote…
AWAY diary Natalia Zaluska 0807a
Paris, France06/16–08/16

Natalia Załuska

[...] Paris will always be Paris!

The most beautiful city in the world.

Even in deep darkness, its splendour cannot be dimmed […]
Away Stefan Osterider 1
Krumlov, Czech Republic12/14–02/15

Stefan Osterider

I was primarily interested in using the studio – a mighty, tower-like room; the essential cornerstones of my residency were a focused and intensive occupation with my work without any distractions as well as the financial security…
Kay Walkowiak AWAY diary Banff 1
Banff, Canada06/14–07/14

Kay Walkowiak

When I came to Banff National Park, it was obvious that I had to deal with the topic of nature and its cultural historical context. The concept for my video work is dealing with the theme of heterotopia. With this project, I’m hoping to…
Away Gregor Graf 01 v2
Rome, Italy10/13–12/13

Gregor Graf

As a visiting artist, you are in the middle of a very vibrant and noisy environment – not only an Italian one, but also a global, touristic one for whose excesses you develop a love-hate relationship during a three-month stay. It is often…