Born in Istanbul in 1983, Gökçen Dilek Acay initially studied violin at Istanbul’s Yildiz Technical University. She subsequently joined the »Freie Kunst« (Fine Arts) degree programme at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, completing her studies here in 2016 with a Master of Fine Arts in Media Art and Design.
Jury statement
»Gökçen Dilek Acay’s project for the Fine Arts State Scholarship 2021 with sponsor SV SparkassenVersicherung promises to transcend socially constructed borders with its transcultural approach – the jury is convinced! Having been involved with embroidery for a long time, she intends to combine this traditional craft with the techniques of lacemaking and Blaudruck – which are new to her – for a large-format textile work with an audio and video installation. In doing so, she understands creative handicraft – which is mostly practised by women – as a practice that transcends countries and cultures and is thus able to illustrate previously unknown connections between, for example, Turkey and Germany.« (Dr. Agnes Matthias, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Kulturstiftung des Freistaats Thüringen)
Judith Rautenberg, born in 1982, studied ethnology, philosophy and religious studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich for two years until 2005. From 2009 to 2015, she studied »Freie Kunst« at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. She also attended classes for video installation and new media at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
Jury statement
»The jurors were genuinely captivated by Judith Rautenberg’s proposal, the invitation, challenge or perhaps even demand to the ›person standing in the centre, observing‹, to become (more) aware of one’s own perception, its filtering, meaning, evaluation and thus consequences, and to scrutinise and train it with all senses. The nature and intensity of our perception determines the manner in which we deal with the world, which also gives Judith Rautenberg’s artistic approach a political dimension. She asks: ›How do we reach our target position?‹
The jury’s decision was also influenced by Judith Rautenberg’s openness, curiosity and love of experimentation with old and new techniques, technologies, processes and methods, which she uses to constantly explore new possible applications for her artistic realisations, perpetually expanding the boundaries of the media she utilises and venturing into unknown territory for the purpose of attaining knowledge.« (Frank Motz, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Kulturstiftung des Freistaats Thüringen)
The scholarship exclusively funds the promotion of artistic training or further development in the awardee’s own studio, thus providing the freedom to pursue art in an occupational capacity. During the twelve-month period, awardees of the scholarship receive financial support of 10,000 euro for this purpose; awardees are under no obligation to provide anything specific in return or work for this funding - it is instead freely available.
This annually awarded State Scholarship is financed by the Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Thüringen and SV SparkassenVersicherung, which joined as a sponsor in 2003. Over the many years together, a partnership extending far beyond the scholarship has developed, facilitating sustainable additional benefits for many artists.
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