Artists Yana Tsegay, Abel Korinsky, Nikki Schuster, Thomas Lea Clark, Christina Koschel and Herlambang Bayu Aji | Photo credit: S. Madan Mohan.
This year, the Goethe Institute/Max Muller Bhavan, Bangalore welcomed six artist-in-residence from Germany; Similarly, artists from Karnataka and Kerala participating in the institute’s expanded program in Bangalore will be sent to Germany. Goethe Institut is collaborating with organizations like ISRO, Namma Katte, Indian Music Experience and other cultural spaces in the city to host these artists.
“The residency initiative started in 2009,” says Nandita Nirgudkar, head of cultural programs at the Goethe Institute, “but then they were individual residencies. Our group residencies started in 2013.”
Artists in residence are new to the city, so their main focus will be meeting people and learning from them. They will interact with the local arts and cultural scene, immerse themselves in the city’s traditions and artistic practices, and hope to collaborate.
The Goethe Institute recently organized Spot On, an event where Bengaluru residents could present themselves, their work and research.
Animator Nikki Schuster brings her experimental work to Science Gallery and explores often unnoticed aspects of society. The working title of her project here is MICROPOLIS and she says, “I want to work on micro perspectives of this big metropolis; I also want to focus on food production methods as they play a big role in global climate change.”
The Museum of Indian Musical Experience will host Thomas Lea Clarke, a sound designer and musician from Berlin. “I’m new to India, both sonically and culturally,” says Thomas, whose work revolves around audio technology and how it tells stories. He says, “I’m going to let my attention be directed by the people I meet and the music I encounter.”
The work of Abel Korinsky, a sound designer from Berlin, is interdisciplinary. He sees this residency as “a chance to respectfully learn from people and understand how things work. At the same time, I’m trying to understand how digital media shapes our perceptions.” He is also willing to learn and observe during his stay at the Indian Sound and Research Organization in the city. His thought experiments consider soundscapes as archives of history and heritage.
Artist Christina Koschel says, “I’m interested in the everyday moments in life that you ignore,” and her philosophy revolves around conceptual works of art using mediums such as food and cutlery. Her original plan was to study protest songs, but upon her arrival she says her work might evolve into something completely different.
Herlambang Bayu Aji hails from Java, Indonesia and his art revolves around social issues. It is currently located in Berlin and will be located at the National Center for Biological Sciences. His art mainly focuses on shadow puppetry. Having created over a hundred puppets for his own child-friendly method of storytelling, Bayu is looking forward to learning about Thogalu Gombeyata, the shadow puppet tradition of Karnataka.
Suresh Jayaram of 1Shantiroad Studio will host Jana Tsegay, a Frankfurt-based artist whose research will focus on the Lal Bagh Botanical Garden as a cultural environment. When asked about her work, she says, “It’s especially important to me to see how a city can be shaped by plants and greenery, and I’m curious to experience it; In addition, there are many geological monuments here that can inspire me.”
The artist residency program will last until October 31, 2026.
For more details visit
Published – September 16, 2026 6:27 pm EST.