Artwork HOME – Exhibition, New Zealand/Aotearoa

📣 RECAP: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵. 📍 Tākina Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre, New Zealand/Aotearoa 🇳🇿. Organizer: International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) – Academic Co-Host: University of Otago, Wellington/Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke – City Co-Host: Wellington City Council/Me Heke Ki Pōneke — Co-Sponsor: World Health Organization (WHO). More: https://www.icuh2025.org/

Thrilled to have participated with two interventions:

🗣 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
ART Goes Urban Health – discovering a weaving medium of interdisciplinary research, reflection, and storytelling in resonance with indigenous knowledge systems

🎨 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
HOME – a story about loneliness, earth-weaving and whakapapa

🌎 𝗨𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 – 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀
Earlier this year, as part of the International Urban Health Summit in Germany, I led my first interdisciplinary art workshops on the topic of urban health, on behalf of the VolkswagenStiftung and the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften.

🖼️ 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼

PDF (online)

🎥 𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗢
Delighted to have had the chance to weave this spirit into our conference at Tākina, at the other end of the world. I am deeply thankful for the many new connections and friendships formed – in particular through the exchanges emerging from my 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘. It allowed me to connect with and learn from you not only on a professional but also on a personal level.

🌿 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲
When touching my hand-made piece of charcoal, crafted from a twig of an apple tree in my childhood garden in Germany, 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗱 (Dean of NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi/Pakistan) suddenly felt memories come flooding back – of his sketching training as an architecture student and of his travels to Germany many years ago. In a moment of spontaneous resonance, he stepped up to the easel and merged a sketch into my drawing.

🫂 In that moment, time folded in on itself. Past and present, memory and gesture, knowledge and vulnerability intertwined – leaving behind not just a drawing, but a deeply human trace of shared experience. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 – 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. It is where care circulates, where roots remember, where the shared breath of presence becomes community.❤ May our journey unfold not only through policies and data, but 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲.

❤ Enthusiastic to continue our Urban Health journey together for our planet’s future. May our journey unfold not only through policies and data, but 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲.