CVAN England, CVAN West Midlands and Meadow Arts are delighted to announce a new international partnership with BBK Bayern (BBK Bavaria), supported through Arts Council England's International Programme.
The partnership will establish a new international residency exchange programme connecting artists and organisations across the Midlands, UK and Bavaria, Germany. As part of the programme, two artists from Bavaria will undertake residencies in the West Midlands with Meadow Arts during Summer 2027, while two Midlands-based artists will travel to Bavaria to participate in residency opportunities and professional exchange activity across the region with BBK Bayern through their Mobile Atelier programme.
This exciting initiative has emerged from a shared commitment to supporting creatives and projects in and with rural contexts, fostering international dialogue and creating sustainable opportunities for exchange, learning and collaboration between artists, organisations and communities. It reflects a focus on the value of residencies as spaces for research, experimentation, relationship-building and creative development, where process, curiosity and connection are prioritised over outcomes.
The announcement follows a recent delegation visit to Bavaria, bringing together representatives from CVAN England, CVAN East Midlands, CVAN North West, CVAN South East, CVAN West Midlands, Visual Arts South West and Meadow Arts. The visit focused on exploring rural residency models, artist-led initiatives, cultural infrastructure and approaches to supporting contemporary visual arts practice across regional and international contexts.
Delegates connected with artists, residency providers, museums, galleries, studios and cultural organisations, examining both common challenges and shared opportunities facing rural and regional arts ecologies. Through conversations and site visits, the group explored how different regions support artists at various stages of their careers, approaches to artist development, community engagement, cultural provision and the role that place plays in shaping artistic practice. The visit provided valuable opportunities for reflection and learning across the networks on the role and value of sector support organisations like CVAN and BBK today. While the contexts of Bavaria and the UK's regions differ in scale, geography and infrastructure, many common themes emerged around artist support, access to opportunities, sustaining creative communities and the importance of long-term investment in creatives and cultural ecosystems. The exchange enabled delegates to consider both the differences and shared priorities across international contexts, helping to inform future approaches to artist and professional development, residency provision and cross-sector collaboration.
BBK Bayern's Mobile Atelier programme has been instrumental in creating opportunities for artistic mobility and international collaboration, enabling artists to connect across borders through residencies, research and exchange. The programme provides a valuable framework for fostering meaningful relationships between artists, places and cultural organisations while encouraging dialogue across different social, geographical and cultural contexts.
Meadow Arts brings extensive experience in commissioning and presenting contemporary visual art in rural environments, working closely with artists and communities to create ambitious and accessible cultural experiences. Their commitment to place-based practice, artist development and meaningful engagement makes them an ideal partner for this exchange programme.
The residency exchange will prioritise development, connection and mutual learning rather than prescribed outputs. Participating artists will be supported to immerse themselves in new environments, build relationships, undertake research, utilise space, develop their practice and engage with local communities and peers. The programme recognises that some of the most valuable outcomes of residencies emerge through conversations, encounters, experimentation and the time and space to think differently. Opportunities for public engagement, dialogue and exchange will be developed throughout the programme, creating multiple ways for partners and participants to connect and learn from one another.
The partnership also aims to establish lasting relationships between organisations and networks, creating opportunities for future collaboration and strengthening international connections that will benefit artists and arts organisations beyond this initial exchange.
During the visit, we were supported to connect with many brilliant and all very different residency programmes, studios, galleries, museums, creatives, communities and cultural projects in Bavaria, who generously shared their knowledge, experience and enthusiasm. These included:
Studios & galleries:
Residency spaces & communities:
Artists & creatives:
- Daniel Bischoff
- Axel Gerke
- Leonora Prugger
- Adam Cmiel
- Sara Foerster
- Melanie Gandyra
- Gretta Louw
- Janina Totzauer
- Zakirah Rabaney
- Kalasliebfried
We look forward to sharing further news as the programme develops and to continuing conversations that strengthen international connections, support artists' practices and contribute to vibrant rural cultural ecologies across and beyond Bavaria and the Midlands.
