COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) has selected the two artists for its annual international artist residencies in Dresden, Germany as part of GCAC’s Artist Exchange Program. The 2023 Artist Exchange Program recipients are Noah Dixon and Sa’dia Rehman.
Noah Dixon (he/him) is an award-winning screenwriter, director and editor based in Columbus. Recently recognized for his “assured debut” by The New York Times, Noah’s first feature film, POSER, premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and found theatrical distribution through Oscilloscope Laboratories. His work has screened at numerous festivals in the U.S. and abroad, including Filmfest Hamburg, American Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival and the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival. Dixon is currently the co-owner and creative director of the Columbus-based production company, Loose Films. He plans to use his time in Dresden researching, recording and writing a script outline for a film that will eventually be produced in Germany with the post-production occurring in Columbus. The documentary would tell the true story of a heist which took place in Dresden in 1948.
Sa’dia Rehman (she/her/they/them) is a visual artist who explores how contemporary and historical images communicate, consolidate and contest ideas about race, empire and labor. Rehman has exhibited work at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Queens Museum, Columbus Museum of Art, Kentler International Drawing Space, Center for Book Arts, Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU and Pakistan National Council of the Arts. She was the recipient of the Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Grant and has been awarded residencies at Art Omi, Abrons Art Center, Asian American Arts Alliance, Edward Albee Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, NARS Foundation and AIM Bronx Museum. Rehman is the 2022-23 Artist in Residence at the Wexner Center for the Arts. She plans to use the Dresden Artist Exchange to research and create new work focused on the River Elbe, one of the major rivers of central Europe that runs through Dresden. Through her research, she hopes to identify the shared friendship between the twin cities of Columbus and Dresden.
Now in its 27th year, GCAC’s Dresden Exchange program is offered in conjunction with the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony (Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen). In 1999, GCAC launched a website to document the Columbus artists who have participated in the program since 1995. Visitors can learn about all of the Columbus artists who have traveled to Dresden through biographies, images and quotes about their experiences at dresden.gcac.org and learn more about the German artists who have visited Columbus at columbusdresden.de.
“This program continues a thriving exchange of artistic ideas and inspiration between Dresden and Columbus,” said Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of GCAC. “Noah and Sa’dia join the ranks of the previous 51 artists as important cultural ambassadors of Columbus.”
In 2022, GCAC expanded the list of invited artists eligible to apply for the Artist Exchange Program to include recipients and finalists of the GCAC Visual Arts Fellowship, Media Arts Fellowship, Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Fellowship, Artists Elevated Award, Film it in Cbus Award and #ArtUnitesCbus Film & Photography Award.
The selected artists will travel to Dresden sometime in 2023 between March 1 and Nov. 30, for 60 to 90 days. The Artist Exchange Program provides an extended period of time for artists to concentrate on research and production so that their artwork benefits significantly. Various work and research facilities are made available to the artists. GCAC also supports the artists by providing a stipend and travel accommodations, and by fostering connections to artists, galleries and community leaders. While in Dresden, the artists act as ambassadors for the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the city of Columbus.
Mission of the Greater Columbus Arts Council: To support and advance the arts and cultural fabric of Columbus. www.gcac.org
The Greater Columbus Arts Council receives major financial support from the City of Columbus, Franklin County Commissioners and the Ohio Arts Council.
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CONTACT: Jami Goldstein
(614) 221-8492
jgoldstein@gcac.org
