Spielplatz Languages
Spielplatz Languages is a temporary platform for artistic exchange, discussion and collaborative making across different educational and cultural contexts.
The programme is deliberately small and informal. Rather than working towards a conventional group exhibition, participants spend a week sharing methods, unfinished work, references and questions through studio visits, workshops, conversations and collective activity.
The exchange is intended as a space in which work can remain provisional: participants are encouraged to test ideas, change direction and make use of the group as a temporary critical community.
The 2026 edition considers translation in a broad sense: between languages, materials, institutions, images and forms of attention. It asks what happens when an idea moves from one context to another and cannot remain exactly the same.
The theme is a point of departure rather than a brief. Participants are not expected to produce work about translation directly; it provides a shared vocabulary for discussing difference, misunderstanding, adaptation and exchange.
The programme combines structured sessions with open time. Mornings are generally used for presentations, visits and workshops; afternoons leave more space for independent or collaborative work. Shared meals form an informal part of the programme.
| Mon 24 Aug | Arrival, introductions, short participant presentations and shared dinner |
| Tue 25 Aug | Studio visits, group critique and an evening reading session |
| Wed 26 Aug | Material workshop followed by paired collaborative work |
| Thu 27 Aug | Independent work, one-to-one conversations and an invited artist discussion |
| Fri 28 Aug | Collective excursion, image and text workshop, informal meal |
| Sat 29 Aug | Open studio day and small internal presentation of works in progress |
| Sun 30 Aug | Closing conversation, documentation exchange and departures |
The schedule remains intentionally flexible and may shift in response to the interests of the group. A final practical timetable is circulated directly to participants.
Participation is by invitation and is limited to a small group drawn from university art departments in Germany and the United Kingdom. The 2026 exchange will bring together approximately 15–20 participants in total, including current or recently graduated art students working across painting, sculpture, moving image, photography, writing, sound and installation.
Selection is based on the relevance of each practice to the group as a whole rather than on a single medium or institutional affiliation. Participants are asked to arrive with work in progress and to contribute actively to discussion throughout the week.
Spielplatz Languages is organised as a residential-style working week. Participants are expected to be available for the full programme from 24 to 30 August.
The exact location will be shared directly with confirmed participants. The 2026 exchange is expected to take place in or near central London, with the working base chosen to allow easy access to studios, galleries and other programme sites.
Core programme costs, shared working materials and a number of group meals are supported by the project. Where possible, limited travel support is allocated directly to invited participants according to need.
The exchange is primarily for the participating group. Any public-facing sessions or visits will be announced separately.
Spielplatz Languages is primarily funded through the support of a private European art collector who wishes to remain anonymous.
This support enables the programme to remain small, experimental and independent, with resources directed towards participant travel, working materials, shared meals and the practical costs of the exchange.
Additional support is provided in kind by participating artists, students and collaborators.
General enquiries:
hello@spielplatzlanguages.org