Namibia-Baden-Württemberg Residencies

Together with the National Art Gallery of Namibia and Goethe Institut Namibia, Akademie Schloss Solitude has been organizing the Namibia fellowship since 2020 as part of the Namibia Initiative of the State of Baden-Württemberg. The residencies are aimed at artists from Namibia and artists from Baden-Württemberg who work across the fields of visual and performing arts, music/sound, design, literature, and art education. Artists from Namibia may apply for a six-month residency at the Akademie in Stuttgart, while artists based in Baden-Württemberg may apply for a six-month residency in Windhoek.

The aim of the residencies is to connect fellows with local cultural scenes and to strengthen the exchange of knowledge within the artistic communities of both contexts. The program forms part of the Namibia Initiative, through which the State of Baden-Württemberg engages with the examination of its colonial legacy and its ongoing impacts.

The first project phase (2020–2023) included residencies for twelve fellows working in the fields of visual arts, literature, performance, textile and web design, and digital music production. The residencies took place in Stuttgart and Windhoek between 2021 and 2023.
The program was thematically embedded in the project P(r)ossession Pedagogies, a two-part workshop series curated by Namibian sound artist and historian Memory Biwa. Conceived as a journey to sites of memory, the series began in Namibia in July 2023 and concluded in Stuttgart in October 2023. It invited participants to engage with the history of colonial relations between Namibia and Germany and to present new artistic narratives addressing this shared past.

The project was further supported and accompanied by the Berlin-based Namibian artist Lahya Aukongo, whose practice focuses on the creation of power-critical and anti-discriminatory learning spaces.

The Namibia–Baden-Württemberg Residencies are planned to run until 2026 and are funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg as part of the Namibia Initiative of the State of Baden-Württemberg .

Selection procedure

Artists working across the fields of visual and performing arts, music/sound, design, literature, and art education may apply for a six-month fellowship. The fellowships offer in particular the opportunity to connect one’s own artistic practice with diverse cultural communities in Namibia and Baden-Württemberg, to exchange interdisciplinary methods of production, and to increase the visibility of artistic outcomes.

Applications must include a letter of motivation, a project proposal, a short curriculum vitae, and documentation of previous artistic work. Selection is made by an independent jury.

The selection process for the second project phase (2025–2026) has already been completed.

Questions regarding the Namibia-Baden-Württemberg Residencies can be sent via e-mail to Sophie-Charlotte Thieroff, s.thieroff@akademie-solitude.de

Fellows

2021

Hage Mukwendje, painter, illustrator, and graphic designer, Windhoek/Namibia
Nesindano »Khoes« Namises, poet and performance artist, Windhoek/Namibia
Vitjitua Ndjiharine, visual artist, Windhoek/Namibia

2022

Miriam Chebaibai Koch, artist and consultant, Berlin/Germany
Banu Çiçek Tülü, artist, researcher, and DJ, Berlin/Germany
Chantal Magano Kambrude, multidisciplinary artist, Windhoek/Namibia
Isabel Tueumuna Katjavivi, multimedia artist, Windhoek/Namibia
Keith Vries, poet, author and performer, Windhoek/Namibia

2023

Gifty Amoateng, surface and structure designer, Berlin/Germany
Abiye Ifeoma Okujagu, multidisciplinary artist, Berlin/Germany
Shaheen Wacker, photographer, Berlin/Germany
Corinne Nsimba-Lutonadio, textile designer, Berlin/Germany

2026

Tweyapewa Ndapandula Mbendeka, visual artist, Windhoek/Namibia
Tjijandjeua »Gift« Uzera, performer and interdisciplinary artist, Windhoek/Namibia
Joscha Steffens, media artist, Mannheim/Germany
Amela Hasani, artist, Stuttgart/Germany