Maïa Kleinknecht, a Master’s student at the weißensee school of art and design berlin, receives the DAAD prize for outstanding academic achievement and social commitment.
Image above: Buchabbildung „Ich bin ich“: © Maïa Kleinknecht
Maïa Kleinknecht, born in Paris in 1994, began her studies in visual communication at the weißensee school of art and design berlin in 2018. At the age of 17, she received the prestigious Zellidja travel grant, which enabled her to travel to Mexico to research Frida Kahlo’s influence on contemporary artists. The resulting diary and her study journal are now archived in the French National Library. For her bachelor’s thesis, Maïa Kleinknecht produced a watercolor book about Ceija Stojka, an Austrian Roma artist and concentration camp survivor who processed her childhood experiences in painting and poetry.
After her bachelor’s degree, Kleinknecht continued her research on Stojka in Vienna, conducting interviews with her family and collecting photographic material. The resulting children’s book “Ich bin ich, was willst du von mir?” was presented in July 2024 as part of the exhibition “Ceija Stojka -Hoffnung, das war was was uns stärkte” at Museum Ebensee. Nuna Stojka, the artist’s daughter-in-law, supports the project, which aims to contribute to political education about the Nazi crimes against Sinti and Roma.
Maïa Kleinknecht is currently working on her master’s project on the subject of “color” and plans to create an open painting space for children and adults. Her social commitment is a central aspect of her artistic work.
Maïa Kleinknecht: “In my work, I try to give space to the multitude of narratives – personal and collective. I am interested in the life stories of each and every individual, as they say a lot about the world we live in and the emotions that unite or sometimes divide us. I always want to have an open perspective on people or topics that you don’t hear enough about and appreciate their many facets. I am delighted to receive this award, which encourages me to continue on this path.”
