“I could feel how a cultural institution can create a real sense of belonging—not just for audiences, but for the artists themselves”

What motivated you to apply for the European Solidarity Residency, and how does it connect to your current artistic or curatorial interests?
I applied to the European Solidarity Residency because it directly addressed questions that emerged during my first community-engaged art project within the European Solidarity Corps. While that project confirmed my desire to continue working with underrepresented communities through art, it also made visible gaps in my curatorial and conceptual knowledge—particularly around participation, shared authorship, and non-didactic approaches to art-led social transformation. The residency felt like a timely opportunity to deepen and professionalize my practice at the intersection of curating, community engagement, and socially engaged art.

Before arriving, what did you hope to learn or experience through ESR, and has anything surprised you so far in Budapest?
Before arriving, I hoped to gain curatorial and methodological tools for designing more focused and responsible community-based art projects—tools I felt were missing during my volunteering experience. What surprised me positively was how openly professionals engaged with uncertainty and unresolved questions, particularly around defining community and positioning oneself within a project. Realizing that these are shared, ongoing negotiations rather than problems to “solve” was both reassuring and formative. What also surprised me were the various characters we met thoughout the residency: Even though they come from diverse and differing fields, all of them were so open to talk to us about their practice, while being super curious about us and our backgrounds. This truly gave me a warm, welcoming feeling and I did not expect this at all – there were no exceptions! Some of them even offered us to spend time together and expressed that they want to stay in contact whenever we come back to Budapest.

In your applications’ personal statements, you both highlight collaboration and shared authorship. Has the residency changed or expanded your understanding of what meaningful collaboration can look like?
Yes, the residency significantly expanded my understanding of what meaningful collaboration can look like. Before the residency, my idea of collaboration felt more limited and fixed, even though I was already aware that when you involve a community plays an important role. Through encounters with artists, curators, and cultural practitioners, I learned that collaboration can take many different forms: involving communities in the ideation phase, conducting research within a community as the basis for an artistic work, identifying key questions together, engaging in co-creation during the artistic process, or creating works to which multiple community members contribute. What was especially insightful was realizing that these approaches are not separate but can overlap, expand, and be combined. The residency also made clear that the earlier a community is involved, the deeper and more meaningful the level of participation can become. This understanding reshaped how I think about collaboration and authorship, and it also highlighted how roles such as curator, artist, and commissioner can intersect in fluid ways. For me, this approach now defines what meaningful collaboration looks like and is something I want to actively explore in my future practice.

You both have strong interests in socially engaged and participatory art. Can you share a moment during the residency when this approach felt especially relevant or inspiring?
A particularly relevant moment was our visit to MOME and the exchange with a social design researcher. Her sociologically grounded approach to defining and engaging communities introduced concrete research tools and reframed participation as something that requires careful, responsible framing rather than assumptions. By presenting two of her own projects, she emphasized the importance of involving communities already in the ideation phase through participatory research. This reinforced for me that early and meaningful involvement—rooted in the community’s own perspectives and visions—is essential for creating projects that are truly participatory, and that such involvement can significantly enrich the overall process and outcomes. These insights directly informed our own project proposal, where we repeatedly reflected on how and at what stages communities should be involved, and whether participation should remain at the level of research or extend into active artistic co-creation.

Which organisations or cultural professionals you have met (e.g. Trafó, MOME, Autistic Art, Mászínház, FKSE) have influenced your thinking the most, and what did you take away from those encounters?
This is a difficult question to answer, as I genuinely cannot pinpoint a single organization that influenced my thinking the most. Each encounter during the residency was meaningful in its own way, and it was the accumulation of these experiences that had the strongest impact on my development as a curator and cultural professional. While I would love to elaborate on all the organizations we met, I feel that doing so would go beyond the scope of this interview.That said, a few examples illustrate this collective influence well. MOME equipped me with valuable research-based tools to identify communities and explore their relationships to specific subjects. FKSE and the Falu Collective inspired me through their collective approaches to addressing structural challenges faced by young and emerging artists, demonstrating how collaboration can function as both a practical and political strategy. Meeting the curator of the Light Art Museum was particularly eye-opening, as it expanded my perspective on how museums can become more inviting and accessible—especially for younger audiences. It also challenged my own preconceptions about light art and helped me see how such institutions can act as role models for moving beyond elitist structures and toward more inclusive cultural spaces.

ESR puts emphasis on solidarity, inclusion, and accessibility. How have you experienced these values in practice during your stay at Pro Progressione (mentoring, family-friendly approach, co-working environment, openness, etc.)?
I experienced the values of solidarity, inclusion, and accessibility mainly through the overall structure and atmosphere of the residency. Pro Progressione created an environment in which openness, exchange, and reflection were actively encouraged. This was particularly evident in the mentoring and professional encounters, where uncertainty, questioning, and not having fixed answers were treated as a shared and legitimate part of cultural practice rather than as weaknesses.

The openness of the program allowed for dialogue across different disciplines, professional backgrounds, and levels of experience, which made collaboration feel accessible rather than hierarchical. Being encouraged to reflect critically on our own positioning, while being supported by mentors and peers, created a sense of solidarity within the residency. This approach made it possible to engage deeply with complex topics such as community, authorship, and participation in a way that felt inclusive and respectful of different perspectives.

What specific skills, tools, or methods have you gained here that you plan to apply in your future work with communities, museums, participants, or audiences?
Through the residency, I gained concrete research-based approaches for understanding and engaging communities, particularly methods that emphasize careful framing, listening, and early involvement rather than predefined assumptions. I also developed stronger skills in navigating open-ended processes—learning how to work productively with unresolved questions around participation, authorship, and positioning instead of trying to fix them too quickly. Additionally, the residency strengthened my ability to design curatorial frameworks that remain flexible enough to accommodate diverse forms of collaboration, while still providing clarity and focus for artists, participants, and audiences. These tools will directly inform how I work with communities and institutions in future projects.

Can you describe one challenge you encountered during the residency and how you navigated it, either individually or with the support of mentors?
One central challenge was defining what “community” means and how to engage with communities responsibly. Another was positioning ourselves within the project—as curators, artists, commissioners, or a combination of roles. Rather than resolving these challenges quickly, we allowed them to evolve through discussion, collaboration, and exposure to different professional perspectives during the residency. This process helped me understand that such challenges are integral to contemporary cultural practice: It was in a way relieving to hear that these challenges are not just something we encounter, but they relate to questions many cultural professionals and artists are facing at the moment, and I think it is important to not have fixed or static answers for these.

ESR encourages cross-border exchange and international networking. How have conversations with the other residency participants (online sessions) shaped your ideas?
As our project is dealing with monuments from the socialist past in Budapest, one encounter with a resident from Ukraine staying at Art Radionica Dubrovnik turned out to be extremely insightful: She explained to us how the radical way in which Ukraine dealt with its socialist past – specifically in Odessa, is causing complex questions in the public of Odessa and there are many people who do not approve of this radical removal of soviet statues. Also, it was extremely inspiring to see how Ukrainian artists deal with these monuments and how public interventions around them lead to powerful conversations about the past in Ukraine. I appreciated that she gave us her very personal opinion on what she thinks of the removal of soviet monuments and how to deal with these issues. These were very important insights that enriched our project!

Your curatorial work often centers on co-creation with underrepresented groups and rejecting the “despite-of-disability” narrative. In Budapest, was there a moment when you saw a new or alternative way to create belonging within a cultural institution that you hadn’t considered before?
One particularly meaningful experience during the residency was seeing the performance Idol at Trafó. The performance brought together able-bodied and disabled performers in a truly inclusive and collaborative framework, allowing each participant to explore and express themselves according to their own abilities rather than normative expectations. Watching this, I could feel how a cultural institution can create a real sense of belonging—not just for audiences, but for the artists themselves.

This experience also resonated with insights I gained during the residency: the importance of involving communities as early as possible in the ideation and creative process, the fluidity of roles between artists, curators, and commissioners in co-creative projects, and the understanding that belonging can take many forms depending on the process and framework rather than a single prescriptive model. Idol made all of these ideas tangible and showed me how contemporary performing arts can model inclusive, participatory, and socially meaningful spaces.

Looking ahead, how do you imagine the impact of this residency on your long-term artistic or curatorial practice — and is there anything you would like to bring back to your local context?
Looking ahead, I see the residency as having a lasting impact on how I position my curatorial practice—especially in relation to international contexts. Through the mentoring with Daniel Valtueña, I became much more aware of how important it is to think beyond local or national frameworks and to consider how my experience as a curator can be applied in diverse and international settings. This shift showed me how working internationally can broaden perspectives, increase visibility, and open up new professional possibilities.

In parallel, I am bringing many of the insights I gained through encounters with the organizations we visited back to my close, local community and circle of friends. I am keen to encourage more international thinking and outward-looking approaches within my local context. Together with some friends, I am currently considering the formation of a collective in my hometown, inspired by the working model of the Falu Collective, with a focus on collaboration, mutual support, and shared responsibility.

The residency also motivated me to actively engage with international open calls and residency programs, and I am already looking toward my next application. Overall, I leave the residency with a clearer sense of direction and a stronger commitment to building a curatorial practice that is both locally grounded and internationally connected.

Alma is a cultural practitioner with experience in inclusive project design and community-based curation. Earlier this year, she stayed in Malta as a European Solidarity Volunteer, where she created and led The Hero in Us, a six-month art and heritage project with people with disabilities that explored Maltese myths through storytelling and creative workshops. The process culminated in a collaboratively curated exhibition at Heritage Malta, showcasing participants’ artworks and performances.

Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s in Applied Cultural Studies, aiming to design and coordinate projects that widen access to culture for underrepresented groups. She believes cultural spaces hold great power for social connection and should actively enable everyone to participate in shaping them.