The Schloss Balmoral Artist Residency is situated in, and enjoys collaborating with, the once-glamorous spa town of Bad Ems. In recent years, as is not uncommon nowadays, the town has increasingly been characterised by vacant properties and, in some places, appears left behind, scarred and disenchanted. This is gradually changing. This summer, Bad Ems’s (former) splendour is being restored. With verve and contemporary art.
The BAD BIENNALE is an exhibition format comprising art by the 2025 cohort of scholarship holders and (guest) contributions from fields including music and poetry, which can be experienced together at various locations throughout the town. We’re looking forward to ‘Spaces for Daydreams’, ‘Sounding Architectures’, a cable car with a reading, a church full of art and a puppet theatre in the park in memory of the Bad Ems-born puppeteer Max Jacob.
The event kicks off on Saturday 25 July with the Berlin band “Der Singende Tresen”. The detailed programme will soon be available here as a PDF for download.
The Bad Biennale will take place from 25 July to 2 August 2026.
We would like to thank Kultursommer Rheinland-Pfalz for its generous support of our programme.
Fellows 2025:
Yesmine Ben Salah
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/yesmine-ben-salah/
Luis Bruder
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/luis-bruder/
Christian Diaz Orejanera
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/christian-diaz-orejarena/
Badr El Hammami
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/badr-el-hammami/
Christiane Fichtner
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/christiane-fichtner/
Äsel Kadyrkhanova
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/asel-kadyrkhanovaasel/
Sasha Kurmaz
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/sasha-kurmaz/
YeonSook Lee
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/yeonsook-lee/
Dandara Maia
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/dandara-maia/
Felicia Mülbaier
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/felicia-muelbaier/
Paula Müller
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/paula-mueller/
Khathala Nkomo
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/khathala-nkomo/
Sarah Oh-Mock
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/sarah-oh-mock/
Maximilian Schneider
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/maximilian-schneider/
Isabell Spengler
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/isabell-spengler/
Jana Kerima Stolzer
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/jana-kerima-stolzer/
Veronika Weingärtner
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/veronika-weingaertner/
Constanze Witt
https://balmoral.de/stipendiatin/constanze-witt/
Further artists we invited:
Simon-Mary Vincent – Composer & Performer-
https://www.simon-mary-vincent.com/
Vimbs MaVimbs – Jazz-Musiker – https://www.vimbsmavimbs.com/
Steloolive
https://www.instagram.com/steloolive/?hl=de
Hauke Dorsch, Archiv für die Musik Afrikas, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz – www.ama.ifeas.uni-mainz.de/
Farieda Nazier – artist & curator
Yassine Balbzioui – artist
Emeka Alams – fashion designer
Ruben Millones – Poet-du-Pain // Baker-in-Res
Markus Berges, Autor (Erdmöbel) –
https://www.markusberges.de/ in Kooperation mit dem Künstler:innenhaus Edenkoben
Monika Nolte, Robert Krieg – https://www.krieg-nolte.de/
Lulo Reinhardt – https://www.lulo-reinhardt-project.de/
In cooperation with:
Kultursommer Rheinland-Pfalz
Verband der Gehörlosen Rheinland-Pfalz e.V.
Welterbe Bad Ems/ Great Spa Towns of Europe
Stadt Bad Ems, Verbandsgemeinde Bad Ems-Nassau
Staatsbad GmbH
FADA, University of Johannesburg, Südafrika
Sophiatown Circles NPC, Johannesburg, Südafrika
- Grand opening, Saturday, 25 July 2026, from 2 pm
Meeting point: MAXINE, Römerstraße 37, 56130 Bad Ems
- 2.00 pm Welcome in the presence of the artists
- 3.00 pm Art trail – BAD BIENNALE in the presence of the artists
- 4.00 pm Art encounter in DGS (German Sign Language) – MAXINE
- 5.00 pm Golden Table – at the town’s longest table, we’ll break bread and make good resolutions with our bakers-in-residence
- 7.00 pm The Singing Bar – bar songs and a tribute to the Trickster
- 9.00 pm – x Steloolive (Accra, Artist in Residence at AMA/African Music Archive, University Mainz) and Hauke Dorsch (Director of AMA, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz)
The Artist Residency Schloss Balmoral looks forward to welcoming you!