Artist Training - Course: Fine Arts
Artist Training / Access Art Schools Berlin
20 August to 5 September 2025 “Building New Horizons: Artistic Empowerment for Artists at Risk” by Ruba Adwan
Rooted in my own journey as a visual artist, lecturer, and advocate for displaced communities, this course offers a hands-on, supportive training program for artists at risk to build sustainable careers in Germany’s cultural sector. Participants will refine their artistic identities, strengthen their professional portfolios, gain practical skills in project and event management, and explore funding opportunities, with a special focus on collaborative working models and collective empowerment. The training will be deeply informed by the lived realities of migration and adaptation, aiming to bridge the gap between artistic practice and successful professional positioning.
Programm:
Wednesday, August 20 14:00-18:00: Artistic Identity & Positioning
Mapping artistic practice and narrative
Friday, August 22 14:00-18:00: Self-Presentation & Portfolio Building
CVs, documentation, artist bios, public speaking
Tuesday, August 26 14:00-18:00: Project and Event Planning
From idea to implementation (timelines, logistics, budgeting)
Friday, August 29 14:00-18:00: Funding Strategies & Grant Writing
Overview of funding structures, drafting proposals
Tuesday, September 2 14:00-18:00: Freelance Survival & Collaboration
Legal basics, invoicing, working collectively
Friday, September 5 14:00-18:00: Practice, Feedback & Next Steps
Presenting individual projects, peer feedback, wrap-up
+ Individual consultations August 28 and September 9
Venue: Universität der Künste Berlin, Berlin Career College / Zentralinstitut für Weiterbildung, Bundesallee 1-12, D-10719 Berlin, room 341.
Please apply with CV and portfolio until 13 August 2025.
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Profile
Multidisciplinary artist and educator with a background in sculpture, art consultation, and psychosocial support. Former lecturer at Damascus University, with a research focus on color in modern and contemporary European sculpture. Currently active in Berlin’s art & cultural scene, coordinating initiatives and supporting collectives. Combining artistic practice with social impact, mental health awareness, and care-centered pedagogy. Committed to creating empowering spaces for artists at risk and building sustainable, inclusive creative paths.
ARTIST TRAINING is a consulting and further education program at the Berlin University of the Arts for artists at risk. The aims are to network in the cultural and creative industries as well as in the UdK Berlin, to qualify for strategic positioning in the respective artistic field and to provide advice on further professional development. Since 2016, a total of 54 basic and in-depth courses have offered information and contacts to over 800 participants from the following sectors Music, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Film and initially also Cultural Journalism. 2020 - 21 Educational films, workshops, excursions and advice on basic topics were offered at three other locations (Babelsberg, Hamburg, Hanover). Parallel to this, series of events and podcasts on institutional transformation processes were created.
The project Access Art Schools Berlin in cooperation with the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch is funded from April to December 2025 by special funds for participation for refugees, Senate Department Berlin.
More information:
www.udk-berlin.de/ziw/artisttraining
www.facebook.com/artisttraining.udk.berlin
artist.training
