The ZK/U residency is a production space where artists, researchers and practitioners can meet and work on individual or collaborative projects and ideas. Since the ZK/U sees itself as a constantly evolving space, fellows are encouraged to bring their own inputs into the communal life, be it in terms of actions, creating collectives or simply contributing to the maintenance of the space.
With collaborative practices and peer-to-peer learning at its core, the residency is about exchanging with and learning from other artists and practitioners. It is a space for urban experimentation where fellows connect through common themes and interests (having ZK/U’s conceptual framework as a meeting point) and engage in critical debate and ventures across transnational boundaries.
Since there are up to 15 fellows at once in the residency, ZK/U is not able to consult or develop each project individually. And it’s important to point out that within the residency, each fellow drive their own learning or initiate their own projects. In the best Berlin tradition of anything goes, the diverse ZK/U team supports fellows’ choices, providing practical information as well as useful contacts, an in-house library and archive, and an introduction to the city itself. ZK/U is here to help with any fellow’s initiative, but should not be considered as the driving force of the projects. Ultimately, it is the fellow’s own commitment that shapes the residency program.
Good relations at ZK/U depend on solidarity, mutual respect and trust. ZK/U sees itself as a place where residents, employees, partners, collaborators, and visitors can meet and work together to realize the common creative aims. ZK/U commits itself to actively confronting and countering all forms of discrimination, as an ongoing process of learning and unlearning. ZK/U does not tolerate any form of discrimination, neither racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Romanyism, transphobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, classism, ableism, ageism nor any other expression of hate, harassment, threats, and violence.
ZK/U works constantly to create an inclusive space, in which everyone can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, sexual harassment, or abuses of power. ZK/U also acknowledges that temporary safer spaces for refuge and recovery may be required following incidents of discrimination, sexual harassment, or abuse of power.
Studios
Each fellow is allocated a private studio apartment, with private or shared bathrooms, to live and work in.
Communal facilities
Fellows also have access to a spacious communal setting that fosters collaborative practices. At its heart you’ll find a well-equipped, cozy kitchen, a large covered terrace with a cast-iron fire bowl, and a slowly expanding archive and library within a communal workspace.
ZK/U is not only a residency space, but also a lively cultural and social hub, organising public moments ranging from exhibitions, workshops and conferences up to concerts and music events, which on weekends might attract hundreds of visitors and last until the next morning. These social and cultural activities sometimes lead to noise, but they are an important resource for ZK/U to co-finance the building and its infrastructure (such as equipment for the Openhaus events).
ZK/U-residents are encouraged to take part in public events actively as artists, researchers or as visitors. ZK/U tries to keep the disturbances of the residence as small as possible, but it is part of our urban reality.
ZK/U is located in the middle of a public park, and is therefore part of a very lively urban space. Popular amongst the locals, the park is highly used, especially in summer.
More information about ZK/U’s location and surroundings is available here.
ZK/U has zero tolerance for sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism, anti-ziganism, transphobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, ableism, or other expressions of hate and bigotry.