Parallel Worlds on Common Ground.

The IPSO Academy is pleased to present the ongoing work of the interdisciplinary artist residency ‘Parallel Worlds on Common Ground’. In this project, four international artists explore how digital images shape our identity, desires, memories, and the parallel worlds we create for ourselves – both individually and collectively.

The residency brings together diverse perspectives and creates a space for artistic experimentation, reflection, and dialogue. The participants creatively explore the impact of digital media on self-perception and social perception, inviting us to think beyond the limits of the visible.

To participate: Parallel to the residency, Mexican artist Yameli Gómez Jiménez will offer an embroidery workshop during the week of 17 to 21 November – in the mornings and afternoons. Together, emotions and impressions from digital worlds will be translated into textile art. The workshop is open to everyone, requires no prior knowledge, is free of charge and offers a special opportunity to get creative and engage in conversation. More detailed dates will be announced after registration.
As places are limited, we kindly ask you to register at:
📧 academy@ipsocontext.org

Works presented by:

• Luka Toprak (*1997) As a Kurdish-German artist, former dancer and scholar, her practice is rooted in various disciplines such as dance, performance, sound, textiles and language. By speaking different languages, each with a different rhythm, memory and emotional meaning, multilingualism becomes not only a tool but a space in which she can create movement and sound. Much of her inspiration comes from ancestral memory – that which has been passed down through generations of women, survivors and storytellers. Growing up between cultures and stories marked by displacement and resistance, she carries within her the trauma of war and flight, but also the knowledge of resilience, strength, survival and beauty.

• Chantal Mik is a dancer, choreographer, and dance educator from Graz. She completed her training in contemporary dance at the Iwanson International School in Munich and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in psychology. As part of her artistic projects, she has worked not only in Austria and Germany but also in Spain, Canada, and Uganda, where she collaborated with Omuti Kreativ on a community project for children and young people as part of an ASA scholarship. Most recently, she appeared in “Frequencies of Space” by Cathrin-Marie Fuchs, a production that combines contemporary dance with early music. She currently lives and works in Berlin.

• Yameli Gómez Jiménez is an artist whose practice is influenced by visual anthropology and graphic design. She works with photography, audiovisual formats and, above all, embroidery – a slow, meditative form of expression with which she explores thoughts, emotions and social issues such as migration, feminism and human rights. Often collaborating with different communities, especially women of different generations, she creates works that make personal experiences visible and open up spaces for reflection and dialogue.

• Behrouz Badrouj is an Iranian cinematographer whose work captivates viewers with its warm, evocative imagery and keen sense of emotion. In films such as The Window, Little Heroes, Enemies, Hava, Maryam, Ayesha, A Baby with Red Socks and When Pomegranates Howl, he sensitively tells the stories of children, women and marginalised social groups. Other films include A Poetess, 21 Weeks Later and Nowhere Nobody.

• Golsana Shenasaei is an Iranian cellist, composer and sound designer with over 15 years of experience in orchestras, bands, theatres and festivals. She has been a member of ensembles such as the Tehran Philharmonic Orchestra, the Austro-Iranian Symphony Orchestra, the Nilper Symphonic Orchestra and Tehran Contemporary. In 2017, she teamed up with violinist Niki Yaghmaee to form the duo Duos Duet, which creates cinematic, classical-world music crossover and experimental sounds rooted in their classical training and Iranian heritage. Collaborating with artists from around the world, they produce music videos and explore different musical styles. Golsana integrates improvisation, live looping and field recordings into her work, using Ableton to transform raw sounds into multi-layered compositions that blend acoustic and digital elements in both recordings and live performances.

The results will be presented during a public evening in our IPSO Academy House. After the performance, there will be an opportunity to discuss the topic of the performance, chat over a drink, exchange ideas and get to know the artists and IPSO better.

Date & location:
23 November 2025
IPSO Academy Haus, Unterreute 5, 88179 Oberreute

Schedule:

Doors open: 5:30 p.m.

Performance: 6:00 p.m.

Free admission

Artists in exile from various countries and disciplines such as performance, dance, music, visual arts, and literature come together to work on a common theme over a period of 2-4 weeks. The resulting works in different formats are then presented in performances in Allgäu and Berlin, accompanied by sociocultural dialogues.

The first residency took place in cooperation with Goethe in Exile in April 2024 and lasted two weeks. In response to the current zeitgeist of multiple crises and the uncertainty of individuals and communities, four artists engaged intensively with the famous epic by the Persian poet Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār (1136-1221).

Through dialogue, music, movement, and shared moments in nature, the artists Eda Munter from Palestine, Niki Yagmaee, Fadi Aljabour from Syria, and Fydor Stepanov from Russia dedicated themselves to their personal development, artistic creation, and exchange at the Ipso Academy in southern Allgäu.

We offer a framework and support innovation and creativity for your ideas. Over a period of 1-3 weeks, with individual guidance or support tailored to your topic, this program enables dedicated individuals and organizations to develop projects in the fields of MHPSS, peace, and reconciliation. With customized support aligned with the needs and goals of your project, we offer you personal guidance.

If you have any questions, please contact us at: academy@ipsocontext.org