Ingrid Misterek-Plagge (Managing Director) from Kulturraum Niederrhein e.V., Borderland Residencies
> Could you please describe the Borderland Residencies program and explain its guiding principle? Could you tell of the significance of this network for the programe's individual partners?
The Borderland Residencies is a transnational network of art residencies located in the Rhine-Meuse Euregion, spanning the borders of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Launched in 2021 as a follow-up to the well-known "Ringenberg Stipendium", the program connects various art institutions and initiatives – ranging from large museums like the Ludwig Forum Aachen or Museum Schloss Moyland to artist-run spaces like Greylight Projects – to support international artists through a collaborative, three-month residency (September to November).
The core philosophy of the program is to move beyond simple "cross-border" cooperation toward what they call "border-blurring" cooperation. Instead of treating the border as a barrier or a mere line to cross, the program treats the Euregion as a singular, cohesive cultural landscape. It operates on the idea that these border regions, often seen as "peripheral" to their respective national capitals (Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels), actually form a vibrant, dense "center" of artistic activity when viewed as a trans-regional network.
While artists produce work, the guiding principle of the program prioritizes artistic research and networking. It is structured around "Field Trips" where residents visit all participating institutions, deconstructing cultural codes and engaging with the specific social and industrial history of the borderlands.
For the participating institutions, being part of this network is far more than an administrative convenience; it provides a structural upgrade to their individual residency offers.
- Increased Resources
Partners pool their financial and human resources to apply for collective funding (such as from the Regional Culture Programme NRW), which provides higher stipends for artists than an individual small house could typically offer. - Transnational Visibility
Small, rural, or local residencies gain international reach. A residency at a small venue like Odapark or IKOB becomes part of a larger European narrative, attracting a higher caliber of international applicants. - Knowledge Transfer
The network acts as a professional support structure. Curators and organizers from different countries share expertise, professional contacts, and "behind-the-scenes" access to the region’s dense museum landscape. - Network Multiplier
An artist hosted by one partner doesn't just benefit that single host; they are introduced to the curators and audiences of all 15+ partner institutions, creating a "win-win" where the host's resident becomes a regional asset. - Joint Output: The residency ends not with separate exhibitions, but with a "co-production" - such as a joint exhibition or a collective publication - where the artists must collectively decide how to spend a shared budget.
In summary: For the partners, the network transforms an isolated residency into a hub within a larger machine, ensuring that neither the artist nor the institution remains "stuck" within their local borders.
> You once mentioned the idea of 'every village having an artist'. What is behind this?
The concept of "every village having an artist" (or more broadly, every community having a resident artist) is a core vision of the Borderland Residencies program. It is driven by the desire to bring international artistic perspectives into local, often rural, communities to foster dialogue and reflection. The central motivation is to decentralize art and culture, moving it away from being exclusive to major urban hubs and integrating it into the daily lives of citizens in the border region.
- Regional Reflection of Global Issues
By placing artists in various "villages" and towns across the Rhine-Meuse Euregion, the program aims to use the local context as a "reflection space" for global crises such as climate change, war, or threats to democracy. - Breaking the "Peripheral" Stigma
It operates on the principle that border regions, which are often viewed as peripheral from a national standpoint, can become a vibrant, dense cultural center when networked together. - Community Engagement
A primary goal is to generate "encounters and exchange processes" between international guest artists and the local residents. This allows citizens to engage with art directly where they live, rather than having to travel to a distant city. - Multi-Perspective Interpretation
The artists bring an "outside perspective" to regional problems, helping the community interpret their own local history (such as industrial decline or wartime pasts) through a contemporary, international lens. The program achieves this by connecting a diverse range of 20 residency sites, including smaller, non-traditional art spaces like "art & camping" on an island or "Hausmuseum der Inge Broska" near the Rhenish lignite opencast mine. This ensures that the artistic presence is distributed across the landscape, literally bringing an artist to many different "villages" throughout the Euregion.
> What cultural policy developments have you observed in the Kulturraum Niederrhein in recent years? Does cultural policy encourage a sense of identity with this historically rich European and diverse region?
We have seen significant cultural policy developments focused on transnational networking, regional transformation, and a re-evaluation of identity through international perspectives. Since its inception in 2021 with six residencies, the network of the Borderland Residencies has grown to 20 partners across Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Recent years have seen the inclusion of the Kulturregion Aachen (2023) and, most recently, the Rheinschiene or the Wallonie (2024), specifically the Liège region.
The cultural policy of the growing network does encourage a sense of identity, but it does so by questioning traditional concepts of "belonging" in favor of a more fluid, European identity. The 2024-25 program culminated in an exhibition titled Between Belonging, which directly explored how temporary stays in border regions raise questions about identity. The policy encourages people to see themselves as part of "complex and constantly evolving systems" rather than strictly defined national or local groups.
The program is supported by both German and Dutch state cultural funds, including the RKP – Regional Culture Program NRW, the Mondriaan Fund, or the Small Project Fund of the Euregios. This indicates a move toward institutionalized, cross-border funding models.
> How might we imagine the border regions of Europe as a family of territories? What specific politics exist in border regions, and how do they affect the daily practices of artists and residency programs?
Imagining European border regions as a "family of territories" shifts the perspective from seeing borders as dividing lines to viewing them as shared cultural and historical landscapes. The "politics" of our Rhine-Meuse regions are defined by a move away from national centralism and toward regional, transnational integration. One of the most important political aspects is the aforementioned idea of forming a "Centre of the Periphery". Programs like the Borderland Residencies reverse the "Peripheral" Stigma by connecting these border regions to create a dense, vibrant ‘Euregional development area’ that functions as its own cultural centre. Together, the Borderland Residencies form a space for reflection by exploring the region as a microcosm for broader political and social issues. This includes visits to sites such as military museums and war cemeteries (e.g. Ysselsteyn) to address guilt, victims and perpetrators – often with the question of where the ‘border’ between these definitions lies. Where do the dangers lurk today with regard to the state of European democracies?
The Borderland Program was initiated in the Lower Rhine region as part of the Regional Culture Program NRW. It is a collaborative network of residency initiatives located in the border region between mid-southern Netherlands, Belgium and Nordrhein-Westfalen. Now in its fifth edition, it promotes cross-border artistic exchange and aims to strengthen the visibility and infrastructure of AiR programs in the region.