Creative dialogue between art and medical history
Fascinating drawings featuring sections of a human skull surrounded visual artist Johannes Weilandt in the studio of the Artists’ and Scholarship House as he explained his plans for his scholarship residency.
As part of this three-month scholarship, which Johannes Weilandt began on 1 October, he wants to take an in-depth look at the medical-historical representation of the human body.
Weilandt’s artistic practice is based on the question of how institutions inscribe themselves into our bodies, represent them, shape them and cause them to disappear. His interest also focuses on the experience of medical institutions from the perspective of patients, a topic that is increasingly being explored by medical history research. The source material from which he conceives his drawings and then develops them in an open process consists primarily of visual artefacts, such as photographs, hand drawings, schematic graphics and animations, which he finds in medical collections and archives.
During his stay at the Artists’ and Scholarship Holders’ House, Weilandt will focus specifically on an anatomical exhibit from the Meckel Collections in Halle (Saale): the ‘Gall’s Skull’. This finely inscribed human skull shows 27 numbered zones marked with character traits or abilities such as belligerence, murderousness, astuteness, thirst for glory or prudence. In the early 19th century, it was believed that different areas of the brain were responsible for different characteristics and abilities and that these were visible in the external shape of the skull. In other words, the shape of the skull allowed conclusions to be drawn about a person’s personality and mental abilities. Despite the scientific refutation of this theory, it had far-reaching implications for police work and psychiatry in the 19th century, as well as for medicine during the Nazi era.
Inspired by his artistic research, Johannes Weilandt will explore the historical significance of the ‘Gall skull’ through drawing, drawing on sketches and notes he made during his time in Halle. The creative process will be subject to continuous reflection, from the choice of format to the drawing techniques used. Weilandt will also document the development of his artistic process in a specially designed work journal, which will accompany him on his journey.
The results of Weilandt’s project will be presented at the end of his residency at the Artist Café on 18 December 2025. You can look forward to a powerful artistic exploration that not only sharpens our view of the past, but also raises current questions about identity and attribution in the field of tension between art and science.
More about Johannes Weilandt
Johannes Weilandt, born in 1991 and raised in Halle (Saale), lives and works as a visual artist in Berlin and Halle Saale. He is a member of BBK-Berlin, VGBildkunst and the International Heiner Müller Society. From 2011 to 2017, he studied Fine Arts | Stage and Costume Design at the Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin. He also studied drawing and painting in Prof. Mark Lammert’s class at the Berlin University of the Arts during a guest semester in 2015 and drawing, painting and transmedia at the University of Arts in Belgrade in 2016. In 2022, he earned his master’s degree under Prof. Else Gabriel and Prof. Peter Schubert at the Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin. In 2023, Weilandt collaborated with the Institute for the History and Ethics of Medicine at the UKE Hamburg as part of his residency scholarship at the Künstlerhaus Lauenburg. In 2024, he conducted research in the Meckel Collections of the Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. He has received several scholarships for his work, including from the Kunstfonds Foundation. His drawings have also been featured in various exhibitions, publications and collections, including together with Elske Rosenfeld at the festival ‘wohn_komplex, Festival zu 60 Jahre Halle Neustadt’ in 2024, which is sponsored by the Saxony-Anhalt Art Foundation.
You can find out more about Johannes Weilandt and his works here: https://www.johannesweilandt.de/
@_AMK
21.09.2025
Sound & Vision – An evening of sound art
On 18 September 2025, the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel Adult Education Centre invited guests to an artists’ café at the Artists’ and Scholarship Holders’ House. The guest was composer CHEN Chengwen, the current scholarship holder.
CHEN Chengwen used his stay in Salzwedel to explore the music of St. Mary’s organ, which can be heard clearly from the artists’ and scholarship holders’ residence. But that wasn’t the only source of inspiration. The city’s tonal diversity inspired him to create artistic transformations that make the atmosphere and history of Salzwedel audible.
Have you ever consciously paid attention to the sounds around you? Even in a closed room, you can hear the ticking of the clock or the noise of traffic outside the window. CHEN Chengwen focuses on these sounds that are often overlooked or considered part of everyday life: since July, he has been working at the Artists’ and Scholarship House, researching the concept of the ‘soundscape’ – the acoustic experience of different spaces. His goal is to discover musicality in the everyday sounds of the Hanseatic city of Salzwedel and transform them into new, contemporary compositions. @_AMK
He presented this implementation to the numerous guests at the Künstlercafé not only acoustically but also visually on a screen.
CHEN Chenwen plays his composition on the piano_@_Bild Verein
05.09.2025
General meeting confirmed Mirko Rathke as the new chairman of the association of the artists’ and scholarship holders’ residence
On 1 September 2025, this year’s general meeting of the Association of the Artists’ and Scholars’ House in the Altmark district of Salzwedel took place. Of the 33 members, 16 accepted the invitation from the board. District Administrator Steve Kanitz and several sponsors and supporters of the association were also in attendance.
Vera Wibbeke, the chairwoman of the association, summarised the year 2024 in her report. In a vivid PowerPoint presentation, she introduced the 2024 state scholarship holders and their artistic work. Last year, there were a total of six board meetings and one general meeting.
Vera Wibbeke expressed her sincere thanks to all members, sponsors and supporters of the association, as well as to the board for their voluntary work.
She also highlighted the great work of the district adult education centre, which organises so-called artist cafés four times a year in cooperation with the board, and the Johann Friedrich Danneil Museum, where last year’s scholarship holders can present their works as part of the ‘StipendiatenART’ exhibition.
After the cash audit was also completed without any objections, the old board was granted discharge for the year 2024.
This was followed by board elections. According to the association’s statutes, the board must be re-elected every four years. Karl-Heinz Reck acted as election officer from the association, and the election was conducted by open ballot. Vera Wibbeke and Heidrun Kalmbach stepped down from the old board.
Mirko Rathke was confirmed as the new chairperson of the association, with Ines Kahrens as his deputy. Inka Ludwig ran for re-election as secretary and was confirmed. Birgit Eurich is the new treasurer, and Cornelia Blödow, Kathrin Stade and Joachim Mikolajczyk serve as assessors on the executive committee.
The board now consists of seven members.
The extended board also includes the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, represented by Ms Simone Franz, and the Hanseatic City of Salzwedel, represented by Ms Antje Schwesig, as ‘born members’.
The former chairwoman concluded by looking ahead to the 30th anniversary of the Artists’ and Scholarship Holders’ House Association, which will be celebrated in 2027. Planning for this event will therefore be driven forward by the new chairperson this year and next.
All members of the Artists’ and Scholarship Holders’ House Association would like to once again express their sincere gratitude to Sparkasse Altmark West and the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel passenger transport company for their many years of financial support.
Here on the website, there is also membership applications, because anyone who would like to support the Artists’ and Scholarship Holders’ House Association is very welcome!
Foto: @_AMK
01.09.2025
CHEN Chengwen & Tobias Klich presented the programme ‘Recognising the Other’
The Altmarkkreis Salzwedel Artists’ and Scholarship Holders’ House was once again the venue for the 30th Altmark Music Festival this year. More than 30 listeners were given a glimpse into the creative work of the current guest scholarship holder CHEN Chengwen. The Taiwanese composer presented his work ‘Erkennen des Anderen’ (Recognising the Other), played by Tobias Klich on the guitar. The guitarist Tobias Klich’s programme also included other new works for solo guitar, which were created in close collaboration with the composers Younghi Pagh-Paan (Korea), Seungwon Yang (Korea) and Farzia Fallah (Iran). Confronting the guitar with Asian sound concepts means gaining fresh new perspectives – recognising the ‘self’ through the ‘other’.
Chen Chengwen works as a freelance composer in the vocal-instrumental and electroacoustic fields. Born in Taiwan, he has been living and working in Germany since 2010. His compositions often create new listening situations by making the seemingly familiar sound unfamiliar, staging the physicality of the musicians in unusual ways, or exploring new concert forms. The focus is on acoustic thinking inspired by electroacoustic listening experiences, e.g. spectral speech analysis, spatial perspectives or the development of hybrid instrument sound bodies. Musical exploration of transcultural experiences and fluidity plays an important role. Further information about the artist: https://chenchengwen.com/
Tobias Klich is a composer, guitarist, music filmmaker and visual artist. His transdisciplinary works often explore the polyphonic connection between hearing and seeing against the backdrop of philosophical and social issues. As a guitarist, he is particularly dedicated to initiating new guitar works. More information about the artist: https://tobiasklich.com/
More
The Altmark Music Festival is sponsored by the district of Stendal and the Altmark district of Salzwedel. It is funded by the state of Saxony-Anhalt and receives conceptual and financial support from the Kreissparkasse Stendal and Sparkasse Altmark West savings banks. The complete programme for the Altmark Music Festival 2025 can be found online at www.musikfest-altmark.de/ and in the programme flyer. You are also welcome to attend other events at the 30th Altmark Music Festival. It will take place throughout the Altmark region from 9 August to 5 November 2025. @_AMK
@_Verein: CHEN Chengwen (right) and Tobias Klich (guitar) presented their programme at the Artists’ and Scholarship Holders’ House.
02.07.2025
Exhibition Scholarship HoldersART
Works by Mariel Poppe and Florian Glaubitz at the Johann Friedrich Danneil Museum in Salzwedel
Traditionally, the Danneil Museum provides a platform for visual artists who spent the previous year in Salzwedel as scholarship holders to showcase their work. In 2024, these artists were Mariel Poppe from Berlin and Florian Glaubitz from Münster.
Mariel Poppe
During her three-month working scholarship, Mariel Poppe has devoted herself to the theme of towers as architectural exclamation marks. Using old found bricks and miniature bricks, she builds possible and impossible tower structures that are stripped of the power of monuments: towers that are crooked and lopsided, perfectly imperfect, manneristically playful and bizarrely surreal.
Towers are perceived in particular as markers in cities and in the landscape. From above, they offer an overview; from below, they provide orientation. Inspired by the numerous, distinctive and unique towers and gate structures of the Altmark region, a series of ‘architectural exclamation marks’ has been created.
Florian Glaubitz
During his stay at the Salzwedel Artists’ and Scholarship House, Florian Glaubitz explored the urban space and the lives of the local people through photography. Caught between everyday impressions and cultural change, Glaubitz questions the dynamics of public and private life.
‘I don’t want to create just a series of individual images, but rather a cluster of impressions that show what “togetherness” can mean,’ explains the artist. His works invite viewers to see the city from a different perspective and to become more aware of everyday processes.
Many interested visitors accepted the invitation to the exhibition opening on 5 June at the Johann Friedrich Danneil Museum.
The exhibition will be on display at the Danneil Museum in Salzwedel until 31 August 2025.
