Posted below are a couple videos that show some of what Akademie Schloss Solitude is all about, since a few people have asked what goes on at an artists’ residency and how I’ll keep busy while there. One about the project a past fellow worked on and another that outlines the history of the Akademie and what it sees as its purpose in the wider world. It’s good stuff, so please check it out if you’re interested.

Watching these videos, and learning more about the program, I’m even more excited to have been selected. I’m sure it’s something all young writers and artists go through–the phases of accepting that they and their work are being validated, I guess–but it’s still strange to think that my stories about Nebraska and its history will go this far. (And hopefully further.) Trying hard not to psyche myself out.

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Brazilian dancer/actor/musician Marcelo Gama wrote and directed an opera for his residency project, as this video chronicles. The end result was a performance with sixty singers in a public square in Stuttgart. I’m in awe of this.

Jean-Baptiste Joly (Artistic Director of Akadamie Schloss Solitude) explains how the Akademie approaches writers and the public presentation of literature during residencies in a lecture on on transnational literature. It’s fascinating how the staff tries to present visually and musically something that isn’t performance art. There’s also a nice overview of the history of the Akademie and how it has evolved in its mission.