With their project, RESIDENZPFLICHT [mandatory residence requirement], the artists’ group msk7 has, since 2019, offered ten grant awards of individual month-long residencies to international artists with the opportunity to work inside of refugee accommodation compounds in Berlin. Inviting temporary approaches and developments of contemporary art, the programme aims to bring a diverse spectrum of practitioners to these otherwise typically closed-off residence compounds. The selected artists live in a mobile studio that is installed at a different compound for each of the residencies, where it is placed in a central location of each of the ten nearly identical refugee compounds.
Image above: Photo Merle von Heyer, 2019
In 2019, the first five RESIDENZPFLICHT artists-in-residence were Manaf Halbouni (b. 1984, lives in Dresden), Andrea Chirica (b. 1978, lives in Bucharest), Simone Bailey (b. 1982, lives in San Francisco), Albrecht Fersch (b. 1970, lives in Berlin), and Sebastian Acker (b. 1981, lives in Berlin). Their artistic projects included temporary sculptural installations, recordings in graphic novel format, a poetic work of music, research on “nothingness”, and a green screen enabling participation through film and photo shootings. The artists described their four-week stays as intense experiences, shaped by concerns around issues such as strangeness, observation, and being observed.
After a two-years interruption due to the pandemic the second half of the project will now be realised this year.
6th Artist-in-Residence: Patrick Timm
6 May – 3 June 2022
MUF Rudolf-Leonhard-Straße 13 A-F, 12679 Berlin / Marzahn-Hellersdorf (Marzahn Mitte)
Patrick Timm (b. 1979, lives in Iden) often initiates his works in public space by starting from absurd displacements. His projects have a strong participatory component and are usually accompanied by extensive research. During his residency, the live-in studio will transform into a post office where he will offer his services.
7th Artist-in-Residence: Jorn Ebner
10 June – 8 July 2022
MUF Albert-Kuntz-Straße 61-73, 12627 Berlin / Marzahn-Hellersdorf (Hellersdorf)
Jorn Ebner’s (b. 1966, lives in Berlin) investigations of public space find their form in sound compositions, drawings and installations. During his residency he will depart on a sonic exploration of the live-in studio, the grounds of the residency compound, its immediate surroundings and existing social relationships.
8th Artist-in-Residence: Claudio Beorchia
15 July – 12 August 2022
MUF Leonorenstraße 33 B-H, 33 K-L, 12247 Berlin / Steglitz-Zehlendorf (Lankwitz)
Claudio Beorchia (b. 1979, lives in Treviso, Italy) employs a site-specific approach to explore the complexity and uniqueness of each environment and its social and societal structures. For RESIDENZPFLICHT he will investigate whether and how a monument could have an identity-forming effect for the people living in a residency compound.
9th Artist-in-Residence: Pascal Mayet
19 August – 16 September 2022
MUF Wolfgang-Heinz-Straße 45 A-G, 13125 Berlin / Buch (Karow)
Pascal Mayet (b. 1980, lives in Copenhagen) understands everyday spaces and situations as small glimpses of the world. He expresses his observations, encounters, stories and thoughts in drawings and texts. During his residency in the compound, he intends to spend a certain amount of daily time by sitting in the same place and making drawings.
10th Artist-in-Residence: Benedikt Stoll
23 September – 21 October
MUF Am Beelitzhof, 14129 Berlin / Steglitz-Zehlendorf (Nikolassee)
The artist and architect Benedikt Stoll (b. 1988, lives in Berlin) works in the fields of temporary architecture, participatory urban development and site-specific art in public space. During his month-long residency, he plans to initiate an “AGORA COMMITTEE” with the participation of his fellow residents, and aims to accompany them in the realization of projects they will propose themselves.
About RESIDENZPFLICHT
For the art project, ten of the so-called Modular Residency Compounds for Refugees (MUF) in Berlin will be extended by an additional mobile unit – a temporary construction trailer converted into a habitable studio. The trailer serves as a living and working space for the respective artist-in-residence and is connected to one of the regular housing units for access to its sanitary facilities and communal kitchen. Despite this specific context, which at first may appear unusual, msk7 understands the accessibility of contemporary art as a social invitation; meanwhile, the realisation of participatory art projects with refugees is not the main focus. The experience of each artist residency will be relayed publicly through a blog, an artist talk and a closing event on site. Each selected artist receives a fee of 2,000 euros and up to 1,000 euros to cover material and travel expenses. A mandatory residence requirement will apply.
From 205 international applications, an expert jury – consisting of Mona Babl (msk7), Lilian Engelmann (management ngbk Berlin), Kati Gausmann (msk7), Veronike Hinsberg (sculptor, Berlin), Ricarda Mieth (msk7), Sabine Sanio (UDK Berlin, sound studies), Anja Sonnenburg (msk7) – selected ten artists in an initially anonymous selection procedure.
RESIDENZPFLICHT is a project of msk7. The proposal received the second prize, along with an implementation recommendation, in the Berlin-wide art-in-architecture open competition for modular refugee housing, awarded by the State of Berlin under the aegis of the Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing (Department V) in coordination with the State Office for Refugee Affairs.
msk7 is Mona Babl, Kati Gausmann, Ricarda Mieth and Anja Sonnenburg.
