International Understanding

Project "Wohin-Nereye"
Photo: Schering Stiftung

In addition to promoting science and culture, the Schering Stiftung also supports projects in the fields of education, environmental protection, and international understanding. Between 2006 and 2018, Schering Stiftung supported numerous projects in the field of international understanding and collaborated for many years with the MitOst e.V. association, facilitating cultural projects in Central, Eastern, and Southeast Europe.

Songs of Serpents – Ecopoetic Zones is an attempt to unite the purposes of international understanding and environmental protection. The project brings together institutions, curators, artists, and academics from Germany, Italy, Albania, Lithuania, and Ukraine. It aims to build a network of residencies in rural areas, connect artists with local residents, foster artistic engagement with different landscapes and biotopes, and promote institutional and artistic collaboration across different European cultural areas.

In light of the global climate crisis and related ecological and social challenges, but also given the tight real estate situation in Europe’s metropolises, rural residencies as places of retreat, community, and experiment are becoming more and more important for developing blueprints for alternative futures. Set up temporarily or permanently, they invite artists and artist groups to engage with the place, its nature, and its residents. Residencies are places where political, artistic, and social practices intertwine. They make it possible to initiate cross-disciplinary processes, connect local actors, and shape open and critical spaces for discussions in art and society.