Spending four weeks in Avelan was a truly special gift. Oliver’s hospitality, the efforts of the entire team, and the breathtaking location provided the perfect environment for a creative deep dive. My projects and ideas had literal room to breathe and unfold there. Furthermore, I met wonderful people among the other participants, leading to valuable exchanges and a relaxed time together. All in all, it was a deeply enriching experience.

Amelie Baier is a singer who works across classical opera and concert stages as well as in experimental and interdisciplinary performance and sound art. She studied voice at the Berlin University of the Arts and cultural studies and musicology at Humboldt University Berlin. As a mezzo-soprano, she was a member of the Oper Bern ensemble and has appeared at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Stadttheater Klagenfurt, Philharmonie Berlin, and Konzerthaus Berlin.
Her research-driven practice explores the expressive potential of the voice, its structures, timbres, and improvisational possibilities. In performative formats and sound works, she blends classical technique with experimental approaches, often within collaborative contexts. Her work has been shown at Haus der Kunst Munich, the Academy of Arts Berlin, and in exhibitions and performance settings in the independent art scene.
During the LOA Residency, she is developing a new concert format inspired by the texts and compositions of medieval women mystics and composers.

Walks in nature, fresh vegetables from the small organic grocery store, time to bake, the sounds of nature, endless games of pool, and new connections with other artists have given me the inspiration I needed to develop new ideas for my own writing. I am very grateful to the LOA Residency for allowing me to start my spring with this experience and for helping me tap into my creativity on so many different levels.

Hengameh Yaghoobifarah is a writer, editor and DJ. Their work is informed by queer feminist analysis, pop culture, and humor as a resistance strategy. They studied Media & Cultural studies and Scandinavian studies in Freiburg and Linköping. Since 2014 they live in Berlin and work as an editor for Missy Magazine and co-founded the literary magazine Delfi in 2023. Together with Fatma Aydemir, they published the essay collection Your Homeland Is Our Nightmare (2019).
Blumenbar published their two novels Ministerium der Träume (2021) and Schwindel (2024) as well as their column volume Habibitus (2023) – a collection of the columns they wrote for the daily newspaper taz between 2016 and 2022.
In 2023, WDR also published Hengameh's first radio play, Unverpackt. Hengameh hosts the bi-weekly conversational podcast Auf eine Tüte.
They will dedicate their time during the LOA residency to working on their next novel, an episodical piece about the end of the world.

A few days without production pressure, deadlines, or constant availability. Instead, time for conversations, shared meals, and focused work. LOA creates an atmosphere where ideas do not have to be immediately evaluated or turned into output, but are given space to develop first.

Jan Koslowski, who grew up in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district, works as an author, director, and actor. He studied directing at the Academy of Performing Arts Baden-Württemberg, film dramaturgy at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, took part in the Master’s Class in Directing at the Zurich University of the Arts, and studied theology at Humboldt University Berlin.
His plays have been presented, among others, at the Stuttgart State Theatre, Schauspiel Magdeburg, Schauspiel Frankfurt, Schauspielhaus Graz, Volkstheater Rostock, Volksbühne Berlin, HAU Berlin, Ballhaus Ost, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Volkstheater Munich, Neumarkt Theater Zurich, Poche Theatre Geneva, as well as at Connecting Space Hong Kong. He was part of the artistic leadership of the Zurich Hyperlokal and the touring theatre project STAGE. Together with an initiative of Berlin-based artists, he organizes the Festspiele am Plötzensee. His texts have been published, among others, in the magazines Das Wetter and Nichts als Schönheit. In 2020, he published his prose debut RABAUKEN with Korbinian Verlag, which was awarded the German Publishing Prize; this was followed in 2021 by the fable NÖ.
As an actor, he has appeared, among others, in the post-apocalyptic drama ENDE NEU by Leonel Dietsche, in the Berlinale-awarded film Millennials by Jana Bürgelin, in Stechen und Sterben at the Volksbühne Berlin, and in Wo keine Götter sind, walten Gespenster by Bastian Gascho. In addition to his theatre work, he has directed various fictional and documentary short and medium-length films. His first feature film, BRIGITTE REIMANN BESTEIGT DEN MONT VENTOUX!, was released in 2021; this was followed in 2025 by La passerella di Amelie, which was invited to the Max Ophüls Film Festival.
Furthermore, he curates exhibitions at the intersection of literature, performance, and installation, and develops performative formats in collaboration with the artist Olga Hohmann. His artistic projects revolve around questions of structural change and gentrification, community building, and cultures of remembrance.

Photo credit: Francesco Cuttitta

Three weeks of calm, inspiration, and focus — this artist residency in France has been a true gift to me. A beautiful house, surrounded by nature that quietly supports the creative process.
Time to fully immerse myself in my work, while also discovering new perspectives through exchanges with other artists. I leave feeling grateful, inspired, and enriched. Thank you for this special place.

Jördis Triebel is one of the most renowned German actresses of her generation. After studying acting at the Ernst Busch University of Theatre Arts Berlin, she began her career at the Bremen Theater.
Her versatility and strong presence quickly made her a sought-after actress on stage and screen. To date, she has appeared in over 75 cinema and TV productions and has received numerous awards, including the German Film Award for "Westen" (dir: Christian Schwochow) and "In einem Land, das es nicht mehr gibt" (dir: Aelrun Goette). In addition to her impressive film roles, she has also shone in outstanding series such as "Babylon Berlin" (dir: Achim v. Borries, Henk Handloegten, Tom Tykwer), "Dark" (dir: Baranbo Odar) and "Die Kaiserin" (dir: Florian Cossen, Katrin Gebbe, Maximilian Erlenwein, Barbara Ott, Katharina Eyssen), which were internationally acclaimed. In 2025, she appeared as the lead actress in the miniseries Marzahn Mon Amour (directed by Clara Zoë My-Linh von Arnim). In 2026, the series "Kacken an der Havel" will be released on Netflix and "City of blood" on Disney, both featuring her in continuous leading roles alongside.

Photo credit: Linda Rosa Saal

“My time in Avelan felt both deeply intense and quietly serene. The morning view through the window, looking up the hill toward Lacoste, still lingers vividly in my mind. It has come to represent that period – one defined by having time and space to read and write, to paint, and to reflect, without the limitations and distractions of daily routines. There were long and short walks, new friendships, deep conversations, shared meals, and an abundance of impressions in endless shades of green, beige, yellow, brown, white, and blue.“

A bewitched patch of earth. The exploding green and its fierce scents. The song of the birds. Every morning I wrote in that paradisiacal hideaway in the south of France. In the afternoons a walk, sometimes a small group outing. We had much space, much time and much pleasure. We ate together, drank wine, gazed up at the starlit sky, glorious evenings at long tables. Zelal, Ricarda, Jan, Pola, Marion and I. After four weeks, none of us wanted to leave. Because it was so beautiful at the Avelan.

Katja Oskamp was born in Leipzig in 1970 and grew up in Berlin. She studied Theatre Studies, worked as a dramaturg at the Volkstheater Rostock, and later studied at the German Literature Institute. In 2003, she published her short story collection Halbschwimmer, which explores childhood and adolescence in the former GDR. This was followed by the marriage novel Die Staubfängerin and the novel Hellersdorfer Perle, a love story set in a prefabricated housing estate.
For the bestselling book Marzahn mon amour – Stories of a Chiropodist, she was awarded the Dublin Literary Award in 2023. The book was adapted into a television series for ARD. In 2024, her autofictional novel Die vorletzte Frau was published.
During the residency, Katja Oskamp will work on a new prose text.

Photo credit: Mathias Bothor

The time in Avelan was pure magic. The generosity of the place, the beauty of the area, the vastness of the sky, the birds in the morning, and the lonely frog at night – paradise couldn’t have been much different. To live and work here for three weeks, and to share this experience with people who turn from strangers into friends ... a true gift.

Born in 1961 in East Berlin. After graduating from high school, the trained typesetter worked at a printing house, for various publishing houses, the GDR Composers’ Association, and in radio. Since the early 2010s, Marion Brasch has written and published short stories and novels, including Ab jetzt ist Ruhe. Roman meiner fabelhaften Familie, which has inspired the documentary Familie Brasch by Annekatrin Hendel and also served as background material for Andreas Kleinert’s award-winning feature film Lieber Thomas.
Alongside her work as an author, Marion Brasch also works for theatre. She brought the lives of her three deceased artist brothers to the stage at Deutsches Theater in Berlin, adapted her children’s book Winterkind und Herr Jemineh into a stage play, and condensed the story of the legendary GDR youth radio station DT64 into a theatrical time travel.
Marion Brasch hosts the podcast Wie war’s for the Berliner Ensemble and presents the cultural talk show from the Radioeins studio at Bikini Berlin.
Project during the residency
First draft of a novel about a Viennese Jewish woman who, while living in exile in London, dreams of becoming an actress after the war, but ultimately ends up in a socialist panel estate in Karl-Marx-Stadt. A magical-realist narrative inspired by the story of my mother.

Photo credit: Moritz Haase

To write and work, I need silence. In Avelan, there is one of the most beautiful forms of silence: long walks where you mostly encounter sheep, a quiet garden where you can literally watch plants bloom, and a huge house with enough space for all the thoughts one needs to pursue while writing. I am very grateful for this special time, for the hospitality, for the meaningful encounters with the other artists, and for the shared memories I will take back with me to Berlin.

Photo credit: SebnurTansu Kayaalp

"It was probably no coincidence that May Sarton’s book Plant Dreaming Deep found its way into my hands during my stay at Avelan: “I first close myself away, and then, and only then, open to that other tide, the inner life, the life of solitude, which rises very slowly until […] I am open to receive whatever it may bring. […] Solitude itself is a way of waiting for the inaudible and the invisible to make itself felt. And that is why solitude is never static and never hopeless.” I am deeply grateful for the generosity I was able to experience in this place — the house, the nature, and its sounds — a magical time full of connection. Connection with myself, and with the other fellows, who gave solitude a beauty entirely of its own."

Paulina Czienskowski is a freelance writer based in Berlin, where she was born and raised. In 2018 she published the story collection „Manifest gegen die emotionale Verkümmerung“ (Korbinian Verlag), followed by her debut novel „Taubenleben“ in 2020 (Blumenbar), which was shortlisted for the EU Prize for Literature. Alongside her prose work, she also writes radio plays and essays for Deutschlandfunk Kultur. Her second novel, „Dem Mond geht es gut“, was published in 2025. During her residency, she will be working on a long poem.

Photo credit: Valentin Hansen

Somewhere between Grey Gardens and La Piscine lies Avelan. The quiet there is thrilling, the silence never silent, the nights not long but deep; Dora Maar and the Marquis de Sade are the presiding spirits of the region. From Death in the Afternoon at the arena in Arles, I arrived in a community of strangers who became friends — at this magical place where things and thoughts surface.  Thank you, Oliver, Carolina, Eva, Jonathan, Katja, Marion, Ricarda, Jan and Zelal – for this spring.

Pola Sieverding is an artist and curator. She studied at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, the Surikov Institute in Moscow, and completed her studies as a master student at the Berlin University of the Arts. Working with photography, film, and video, her work explores the body—human and non-human—as a site where history, culture, and society intersect. A recurring focus is the relationship between skin and screen, surface and projection, which also extends to architectures, plants, and animals. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including in New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Lisbon, Seoul, Vienna, Dubai, and Quito. She has taught at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich and at the International Academy of Art Palestine and is a founding member of the düsseldorf photo+ Biennale for Visual and Sonic Media, where she was part of the artistic direction in 2020, 2022, and 2024.
During the residency, she will continue working on the photographic series Duende, centered on the figure of the torero. The project looks at the corrida as a ritualized encounter between human and animal, focusing on moments of movement, physical presence, and the tension between life and death.

Photo credit: Jost Wischnewski

I’ve tried to find words to describe my month spent in Avelan, but I can’t quite capture this place and what this place has done to and for me. Never before had I seen such a clear sky over such a long period of time, a sky that kept tilting my head back night after night. During the days, I was reading Carlo Levi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli from which I wrote down a vow of love addressed to a star: “O star, from afar I behold you, And from nearby I greet you, I strike your face and spit into your mouth. O star, do not let him die for me, Help him return And always remain with me.” Forever grateful for the connections and encounters with the other fellows, the animal beings, and the stars I could turn to.

Ricarda Messner is the co-founder and publisher of Flaneur Magazine, which dedicates each issue to a single street in a different city, making visible connections that are often overlooked or overwritten. Since 2013, nine issues have been published. Over the years, the magazine has also experimented with a variety of formats, including a one-day festival at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt as well as live audio performances. Wo der Name wohnt is her debut novel (2025, Suhrkamp), for which she received the Alfred Döblin Fellowship and the Fulda Literary Prize. During the LOA residency, Ricarda will pursue stories that seek to conjure love.

Photo credit: Diana Pfammatter

“Avelan was marvelous! The villa, the garden, the walks with the others. At times, I found myself thinking that, 1,500 years ago, Romans truly had already gathered in that very house, quietly speaking about life. The mix of people in that secluded springtime world was absolutely perfect; before long, a kind of magic emerged that, I believe, took all of us by surprise. One day, we even spotted a wolf in the nearby forest. And that is only one of many memories I’ll return to again and again.”

Timo Feldhaus is a journalist and writer. He studied literature, sociology, and comparative studies at the Freie Universität Berlin and is known for his essayistic and often personal texts on art, music, and literature, as well as political and social issues. His work has appeared in publications such as Monopol, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Zeit Online, and De:bug. In 2022, he published the novel Mary Shelley’s Room with Rowohlt Verlag, a historical panorama set at the height of the first modern climate catastrophe, revolving around the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1816 and the creation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Feldhaus’s work focuses on the boundaries between literature and nonfiction, combining historical research with narrative technique. During the LOA residency, he will work on a novel that explores his own history and that of his grandfather. It deals with anger and West Germany, with war and the most peaceful country on earth. He lives in Berlin with his family.

Photo credit: Maurin Dietrich

„How absurdly beautiful Avelan is. I rolled down the hills and despite a full body allergic reaction it was a sublime experience. Everything is so green!“

Zelal Yeşilyurt (born in Berlin in 2000) is an intermedia and interdisciplinary director, author, and playwright. She works across the performing arts, installation, poetry, and prose. She gained her first artistic experience at the Volksbühne's P14 youth theater and with the performance group She She Pop. After briefly studying cultural and social sciences in Berlin, she studied applied theater studies in Giessen and later scenic writing at the Berlin University of the Arts, where she graduated in 2024.
In 2024, her plays I'm a girl you can hold IRL and Cyberangel premiered at the Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin, both under her own direction. In January 2026, her play I LOVE ZELAL premiered at the same venue, again under her own direction. Her prose debut Molotov Cocktail Dress is published by Korbinian Verlag. Her texts have appeared in Das Wetter, BELLA triste, and Tegel Media. She writes and works in German and English.
During her residency, she will work on a novel and a long-form poetry project.

Photo credit: Greta Markurt