Artist Training Berlin (2019-2020 / 2022-2024)
The Artist Training Berlin counseling center offered initial counseling and referrals for all areas at the Berlin University of the Arts. The advice center was networked with the International Office, Intercultural Mentoring, the General Student Advisory Service and the Equal Opportunities Officer of the UdK Berlin. The aim was to find tailor-made offers and contact persons for prospective students, students and academics as well as professional artists with a refugee background.
Program
#Open Consultation wednesdays 10–11 am
#Workshop-Series “How to Study at UdK Berlin” 2022-2024
The workshop series of the Artist Training Berlin "How to Study at UdK Berlin" provides further information about the offers at UdK Berlin from April to November 2023 for artist in exile. Four online workshops are in collaboration with the International Office, Student Office and Common Ground. Registration: artisttraining-ziw[at]udk-berlin.de
#Course Program 2024
Over the year, nine 24-hour courses in the various sectors for artists at risk were held in English.
Archive Artist Training Program 2024
Archive Artist Training Berlin Program 2019-2020
#Highlights
Networking event: July, 11 2024, 5 pm–8pm "Get started: Artistic developement opportunities for international artists in Berlin" in Kreativ Kultur Berlin (Klosterstraße 68, 10179 Berlin)
Artist Training Prize
The Artist Training Prize is a joint prize for all graduates of the Artist Training and Common Ground programs. The winners have the opportunity for a public presentation at the UdK Rundgang.
Winner 2024: Razan Sabbagh (Syria) Open Call
Winners 2023: Tetiana Malinovska & Artem Volokitin (Ukraine) and Ragda Alazizi (Syria) Open Call
(SAT) 22.07.2023 12 am–9 pm Artem Volokitin & Tetiana Malinovska: Phoenix Project. exhibition & music & artists talk
(SUN) 23.07.2023 6 pm–8 pm Ragda Alazizi: Screening and talk
Winner 2022: Abeer Mohamed: Unfamiliar // Documentation Rundgang 2022
Launch and discussion: Art is our Common Ground? 4th October 2023 6-8 pm / Hardenbergstraße 33, 10623 Berlin within "Tage des Exils Berlin" https://fb.me/e/4zdOsYMVh
Panel Guests: Benjamin Glatte, Lima Vafadar, Narges Derakhshan, Forough Absalan, and Vincent Hulme / Opening: Prof. Dr. Norbert Palz / Moderation: Adela Lovrić. More information: here.
Documentation Common Ground 2016-2023: in English / Arabic (translation by Michaela Daoud) / Farsi (Forough Absalan) und Ukrainian (Yevheniia Perutska)
Communication
Open Call Artist Training Berlin program 2024
AG Students, Artists, Scholars at Risk (im 2-Wochen-Takt seit 2022). Arbeitstreffen Berliner Hocschulen für Geflüchtete (seit Juni 2023)
Artist Training was invited to the 17th session of the Berlin Forum of the Stiftung Zukunft Berlin “What does culture mean for the cohesion of society?” on March 27. Melanie Waldheim joined Selmin Çalışkan, Svetlana Müller and Wassim Mukdad on the panel “Art, Democracy and Exile - Berlin as a Home Port for Exiles” and presented the Artist Training program. The topic will also be further developed in a working group. Further information can be found here.
Design: Hoda Taheri and Dorna Dibaj
Contact and funding
Head of the program: Dr. Melanie Waldheim melanie.waldheim[at]intra.udk-berlin.de
Team: Sophia Obermeyer (2023-2024), Yevheniia Perutska (2023) and Sanaz Azimipour, Hoda Taheri (2019-2020) / Design: Hoda Taheri
Common Ground Consulting: Michaela Daoud, Yevheniia Perutska, Mudar Al-Khufash + Common Ground Studio: Vincent Hulme, Forough Absalan
Funding: The Artist Training Berlin project was funded by the Senate Chancellery for Higher Education and Research (2019-2020) and by the Senate Department for Science Health, Long-Term Care and Gender Equality of the State of Berlin (2022-2024).
Artist Training DIGITAL BASICS (August 2022 - December 2023)
The DAAD project Artist Training DIGITAL BASICS was a qualification program at the UdK Berlin Career College for artists in exile, running since 2020. Teaching goals of the advanced training program were networking in the local cultural and creative industries, strategic positioning in the respective artistic orientation, and establishment on the Berlin job market. For the prolongation from August to December 2022 and April to December 2023 four Coaching Programs plus one networking event as well as an online workshop series for artists in exile were planned and the event series Artist Training Lab about diversity oriented Transformation processes.
Program
Coaching Program: with workshops, excursions, consultations for music, visual arts, performing arts and film
Online Workshops: How to freelance in collaboration with INTRO Hamburg
The program can be found here.
Artist Training Lab: How to Create a Safer Space (2022) and Alliances - Students, Scholars and Artists at Risk (2023) is the continuation of the event series Artist Training Lab for Radical Transformation (2020/21). The series was developed to address and discuss structural discrimination at German universities, and the UdK Berlin is no exception. In cooperation with the Commission for Equal Opportunities and the International Office of the UdK Berlin, the Artist Training Lab: Alliances focuses on networking, analyzing the current situation and coordinating programs for students, academics and artists in exile in the coming years. The reflection of the three workshops took place in interviews with participants. Moderation / Production: Johanna Madden (Alumni UdK) & Production: Sel (Student Sound Studies) & Coordinator: İpek Çınar. The podcasts will be published on the Critical Diversity Blog of the UdK Berlin and other providers: https://criticaldiversity.udk-berlin.de/diversity-podcast/
Communication
Open Call for the Supervision of the offers
Documentation Artist Training DIGITAL BASIC (December 2023)
Contact / Funding
Head of program: Dr. Melanie Waldheim melanie.waldheim@intra.udk-berlin.de / Coordination: Anna Rosa Alt, İpek Cınar, Lisa Eichhorn,
Team 2022-2023: Dorna Dibaj, Bích Ngọc Lưu, Sophia Obermeyer.
Funding: The project Artist Training DIGITAL BASICS 2022-2023 was an offer of the UdK Career College and was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with financial resources of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Artist Training DIGITAL BASICS (August 2020 - December 2021)
The DAAD project Artist Training DIGITAL BASICS was a qualification program at the UdK Berlin Career College for artists in exile. From August 2020 to December 2021, learning videos on basic topics of self-employment in Germany were produced and taught to professional artistsin exile from all sectors through in-depth workshops, consultations, practical modules and excursions. The aims of the training courses were to network in the local cultural and creative industries, to strategically position themselves in their respective artistic fields and to establish themselves on the job market. This new collaboration with the partners - Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, the Global Board Niedersachsen and the “INTRO” project of the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media - and the respective experiences in further education were exchanged at the ARTIST CAREER FORUM II symposium.
Program
Online workshops: In combination with the instructional videos, the workshops served to deepen basic cross-industry knowledge for the self-employment of artists. The workshops took place online and were conducted by the four different partners.
Educational videos: Based on the experience gained in the previous Artist Training projects, urgently needed cross-industry content was offered to all participants at the four locations in the DIGITAL BASICS format. The basic knowledge for self-employment was conveyed through a learning video or learning materials with a workload of 20 minutes. The topics were KSK (artists´ security fund Germany) by Harley Aussoleil, media law by Henner Merle, taxes by Mahmoud Achour and financing by Luca Borkowsky. The director of these videos the filmmaker Sina Ataeian. Subtitles: German - English - Arabic - Farsi - Turkish
Documentation of educational videos can be found here.
Video trailer: here.
Consultations: Selected interdisciplinary or industry-specific lecturers offered individual advice to all participants at the four locations. The focus was on feedback on submitted application documents and portfolios. In addition, advisors from the associations and advice centers who are qualified to meet the specific needs of refugees were consulted. The aim was to develop individual skills with regard to their positioning on the market based on their application documents and personal objectives.
Practical modules: Artist Training already has four years of experience with modularized further training in cooperation with the Babelsberg Film University. Therefore, there were two additional modules in the film and fine arts sectors to invite participants from the other two locations. A practical module was designed in equal parts with a local expert from the industry and an artist in exile. The in-depth offer was initially aimed exclusively at the target group from the individual sectors. The aim was to gain an insight into the creative industries through application-oriented learning and to position themselves strategically. A maximum of fifteen participants were accepted per module. In order to ensure a homogeneous group, the selection is made by the module leader.
Excursions: The excursions took place in addition to the four workshop days and led to experts and multipliers in the local cultural scenes of the four sectors of music, visual and performing arts and film.
Network
ARTIST CAREER FORUM II: Strategies for Diversity-Sensitive Transformation Processes in Cultural and Educational Institutions. For the second time, stakeholders and exiled artists from Berlin—and this time also from Hamburg, Hanover, and Babelsberg—came together on April 22, 2021, for networking and exchange. The event was divided into two thematic blocks:
1. #Exclusive-Inclusive: The path from internationality to diversity – mechanisms of exclusion in educational and cultural institutions.
2. #Accessibility: What do more barrier-free work processes look like?
These topics were introduced through keynote presentations and explored in workshops. The forum concluded with a final session discussing funding opportunities for diversity-sensitive transformation processes. The goal of the professional day was to develop actionable recommendations for cultural and educational institutions.
You can find the conference program here.
The documentation to the conference with the recommendations for action is here.
In December 2016, an initial working meeting took place as part of the ESF-funded Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals at the UdK Berlin Career College. The documentation of the first professional day can be found here.
Artist Training Lab for Radical Transformation was a new series of meetings from September 2020 to April 2021. Experts from the Artist Training and the field of anti-discrimination and organisational development were invited to contribute to the lab.The goal was to unpack structural discriminations and disparities within the UdK Berlin and institutions of the cultural sector and develop strategies to help to transform the field of our work. The lab was curated by the theatermaker and producer Chang Nai Wen, who has been with the Artist Training since 2016 and is an advocate of a culture scene with diversity, inclusion and equity. You can find the program here.
Communication
Press Release Programm and Fachtag 2021
Longlist #KULTURGESTALTEN 2021
Designer: Nour Safadi
Contact / Funding
Head of the program: Dr. Melanie Waldheim melanie.waldheim[at]intra.udk-berlin.de, Sarah Hartmann (replacement) / Media Didactic-Coordination: Monika Junker, Judith Weber / Media Didactic: Sina Ataeian
Team: Friederike Ankele, Moira Heuer, Anna Ilin, Cornelia Lakomy, Monika Lampe-Streuber, Charlotte Kennel, Hoda Taheri, Monika Richter, Laura-Helen Rüge.
Funding: The project Artist Training DIGITAL BASICS 2020-2021 was an offer of the UdK Career College and funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with financial resources of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In cooperation with Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, the Global Board of Landesmusikakademie Berlin and Musikland Niedersachsen gGmbH, as well as INTRO of the Ministry for Culture and Media Hamburg.
Artist Training ARTISTIC COLLECTIVES (April 2020 - December 2021)
The project Artist Training ARTISTIC COLLECTIVES was a qualification program offered by the UdK Berlin Career College aiming at the qualification, consulting and networking of artists in exile. In three editions from August 2020 to December 2021, five artist collectives from the sectors of music, fine arts, performing arts, film, and an interdisciplinary working group received support for five months. Artist Training offered a training unit consisting of 30 hours with monthly workshops according to individual goals, two individual consultations, the presentation of artistic work at a venue and the exchange among all groups. In addition, the Digital BASICS conveyed basic topics of self-employment with two hours of online teaching and 12 hours of in-depth workshops. The goals were networking with the Berlin cultural and creative industries by getting to know the institutions and their employees, the establishment on the Berlin labour market and the strategic positioning in the respective artistic orientation.
Program
3 editions for MUSIC, FINE ARTS, PERFORMING ARTS, FILM and INTERDISCIPLINARY Collectives
TRAININGS UNIT: 30 hours of workshops, consulting, networking and public showing based on participants' personal goals.
Digital BASICS: Survival Kit as a Freelancer: 14 hours online workshop with BASICS for artistic freelancing
Artist Training Prise: MindLab# 22 September 2020
On Tuesday, 22 September, the first edition of the UdK Berlin Artist Training ARTISTIC COLLECTIVES awarded a prize of € 2,500 to the interdisciplinary group Laras.
Communication
Open Call for each edition
Designer: Mohamed Ltaief
Contact / Funding
Head of the project: Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer
Haed of the program: Dr. Melanie Waldheim melanie.waldheim[at]intra.udk-berlin.de, Sarah Hartmann (replacement) / Assistance: Manuela Goschy
Team: Tashina Punke, Evar Sama, Hoda Taheri.
Funding: The project Artist Training for Professionals was promoted with means from the European Union (European Social Fund). In cooperation with the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF.
Artist Training for Professionals (July 2018 - March 2020)
The Artist Training for Professionals project was a further education programme at the Berlin Career College for the qualification, counselling and networking of artists in exile. In three editions from July 2018 to March 2020, in addition to a basic module with fundamental knowledge, four in-depth modules offered information and contacts in the following sectors Music, Visual Arts, Performing Arts and Film. Networking events facilitated initial concrete contacts in the respective sectors, while counselling sessions addressed the individual situation. The aim was to network in Berlin's cultural and creative industries by getting to know the institutions and their employees, to establish themselves on the Berlin labour market and to strategically position themselves in the respective artistic field.
Program
Opening: 19 - 22 July 2018 Artist Training Showroom. To kick off the project, the Artist Training for Professionals presented a selection of works by former participants together with the module leaders at the Berlin University of the Arts from 20 - 22 July 2018. A panel on the topic of ‘Limits for Artists in Exile’ and various artistic works from the sections were on show.
Modules. For the BASICS as a self-employed person and the sectors MUSIC, FINE ARTS, PERFORMING ARTS and FILM, three modules each with 20 hour-sessions with experts from the Berlin cultural scene took place.
Networking. In cooperation with partners from the sectors, an individually tailored format was created for networking artists in exile with representatives from the Berlin cultural and creative industries for future joint projects.
Consulting. As part of individual consultations on various overarching and industry-specific topics, the participants of the Artist Training received individual tips on procedures according to their respective situation.
Artist Training for Professionals program
Artist Training for Professionals project graphics
Artist Training 2016-2020: Conversations on Exile
Communication
Artist Training for Professionals project flyer
Slideshow: Best of Artist Training for Professionals 2018 - 2020
Report for the State Minister for Culture and Media of the Federal Government: Exile in the Federal Republic of Germany. Conditions and challenges for artists (October 2019).
"Universities and their respective further training measures play an important role in the funding system, especially in order to find a career start. In this context, the 'Artist Training for Professionals' of the Berlin University of the Arts operates independently of the art sector.”
Report
Project presentation for the 49th dghd annual conference 2020: Various concepts for transnational artists (March 2020)
With the model project Artist Training (before: Refugee Class), the Berlin University of the Arts has been meeting the challenges of designing teaching formats for the transnational target group of professional artists in exile since February 2016. The basic idea is to develop the program from the needs, competences and experiences of the participants. The content of the individual modules is conceived by an artist from Berlin and an artist in exile. The implementation takes place with co-teaching.
Designer: Kenan Melhem
Contacts / Funding
Head of the project: Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer
Head of the program: Dr. Melanie Waldheim, Sinje Steinmann (replacement) / Course coordination: Eva-Marie Geier, Manuela Goschy
Team: Zainab Alsawah, Halka Freund, Julie Halten, Susanne Hamelberg, Tobias Renner, Kathrin Rusch, Evar Sama.
Financial support: The project Artist Training for Professionals 2018-2020 was promoted with means from the European Union (European Social Fund). In cooperation with the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals (November 2016 - March 2018)
The project ARTIST TRAINING: Refugee Class for Professionals was a qualification progam offered by the UdK Berlin Career College aiming to the qualification, counseling and networking of fled artists. During the two editions of the project from November 2016 to March 2018, in addition to an introductory course, five complementary modules provided information and contacts on the following five fields: music, cultural journalism, fine arts, performing arts and film. The networking-format MindLab# facilitated connections within the respective artistic sector, while counseling activities examined in depth individual situations. Goals were the networking with the Berlin cultural and creative industries by getting to know the institutions and their employees, the establishment on the Berlin labor market and the strategic positioning in the respective artistic orientation. This was provided by the wide networking in the Berlin scene built up during the Artist Career Forum, which took place on December 7th 2016.
Program
Modules. Two editions with each six modules took place. The module Basic - Working as an artist in Germany was the starting point to show which tools are necessary to be able to work as an artist in Germany. The participants learned about the conditions and strategies for a successful entry into an employment relationship or self-employment. The other modules focused on the specific sectors: Music, Culture and Media, Performing Arts, Fine Arts and Film. Contents were the most important institutions of the respective divisions, important information on the structure of the job market as well as information on associations, relevant industry meetings or festivals. In addition to the sessions and practical exercises, excursions to specific industry locations were offered.
MindLab#: Cooperative Networking – Working together? The MindLab#: Cooperative Networking – Working together? was a format promoting the networking of fugitive artists, media creators and creatives with representatives from the Berlin cultural and creative industries at ZUsammenKUNFT, a model project for community life. Industry-specific workshops gave the participants of the Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals opportunities to engage with Berlin-based artists for future joint projects. Head: Chang Nai Wen.
in practice. The practice offer of the Artist Training entitled in practice was an application-oriented and informal learning format for the fields of Fine Arts, Culture and Media, Performing Arts, and Film. In 48 hours, the participants of the Artist Training deepened their learning from the modules and became professionalized through the reflection of action strategies for the Berlin art and creative industry in order to be able to implement successful projects independently (exhibitions, theater projects etc.).
Dokumentation Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals
Projektgrafik Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals
Artist Training 2016-2020: Conversations on Exile
Artist Career Forum. On 7 December 2016, as part of the Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals project, a symposium was held in collaboration with the Allianz Kulturstiftung, at which representatives of Berlin institutions from the cultural and creative industries and associations discussed activities for artists with a refugee background. Industry representatives from the fields of music, culture and media, performing arts, visual arts and film as well as from cross-sector institutions and projects were invited. The working group met again on 26 January 2017 at the Akademie der Künste and on 2 March 2017 at the neue Gesellschaft für bildende Künste (nGbK) to continue its work. As the Transnational Artist Council (TAC), the working group meets regularly at various participating institutions to support refugee artists.
„Artist Career Forum" documentation
Communication
Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals Volume 1 postcard
Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals Volume 2 postcard
Presse
An interview with Creative City Berlin about the project „Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals“ Since 2016 the project “Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals” takes place at the Berlin Career College at the University of the Arts Berlin, funded by the European Union and the Federal Land Berlin. It addresses all refugee artists and persons engaged in the cultural sector and tries to integrate them into the Berliner employment market. In this interview the delegate project-coordinator Ewelina Dobrzalski presents the Artist Training and underlines the importance of such a project. Creative City Berlin, 15.12.2017
Performing Arts – Two participants talk about their experience
Deutsche Welle editor Chokri Chebbi meets the team and the participants of the workshop „Performing Arts“ – the second module of the Projekt „Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals“ of the Berlin Career College, which took place from the 25th to the 29th of September 2017. In his interview he portrays the experiences of two of the participants: Rafi Gazani and Shahnaz Saleem. Deutsche Welle, 30.09.2017
Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals at the UdK Rundgang
For the first time, participants of the Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals at the Berlin Career College of the UdK curated an exhibition during the university's annual open days. In addition to large-format oil paintings, installations and films by participants of the Fine Arts module, there was also a supporting programme that included both musical performances and practical art experiences, for example with the calligraphy workshop. ABWAB, 22.07.2017
Oud of Damascus
Nabil Aarbain, a Syrian oud player from Damascus, came to Germany after fleeing for a year. In an interview with VAN, he talks soberly about the living conditions that forced him to flee Syria, his journey to Berlin, his music and his hopes for his country. Nabil Aarbain took part in the Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals MUSIC at the Berlin Career College of the University of the Arts. VAN, 11.01.2017
Contact / Partners and financial support
Patron: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Hentschel
Project management: Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer
Project coordination / Concept: Dr. Melanie Waldheim / Course coordination: Manuela Goschy, Jennifer Uhlenbrok
Team: Kathrin Rusch, Susanne Bauer, Arne Brücks, Ewelina Dobrzalski, Halka Freund, Julie Halten, Elisabeth Hoschek, Kiro Moussa, Evar Sama, Lena Stöhr, Mona Wetzel
Financial support: The project Artist Training: Refugee Class for Professionals was promoted from November 2016 to March 2018 with means of the European Union (European Social Fund) and of the Federal Land of Berlin. With the kind support of the Freundeskreis der Universität der Künste Berlin | Karl Hofer Gesellschaft e.V. In cooperation with the Film university Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF.
Refugee Class for Professionals (February - August 2016)
Since February 2016, the Berlin Career College has been offering free volunteer training and networking opportunities for refugee artists, media professionals and creatives with the Refugee Class. The programme was expanded in line with demand and supported by renowned lecturers from Berlin University of the Arts and external volunteers.
Refugee Class for Professionals project grafics
The following modules were offered:
Overview of the Refugee Class modules
Module 1: Orientation and networking
Module 2: Working in creative professions in Germany
Module 3: Professionalisation and self-management for musicians
Module 4: Refugee Class for Professionals in Culture and Media
Module 5: Refugee Class for Professionals in Performing Arts
Module 6: Refugee Class goes Filmuniversität Babelsberg
Communication
Deutschlandfunk, 02.03.2016
Networking for refugee artists
Verena Kemna reports for Deutschlandfunk on the first module of the Refugee Class, which took place from 29 February to 4 March at Bundesallee 1-12 and welcomed an average of 40 participants every day. The target group of this special teaching program included people with artistic professions who had to flee their home countries and were hoping for a new start to their careers in Berlin. At the end of this orientation week, they did not receive a certificate, but did gain some initial guidance.
Conact / Team
Dr. Melanie Waldheim + honorary staff members of the Berlin Career College.
