At the beginning of their ten-month stay in Florence, the Villa Romana Fellows 2018 will introduce themselves in a joint exhibition of new works. The artists Jeewi Lee, Christophe Ndabananiye, Lerato Shadi and Viron Erol Vert have been nominated for the fellowship by the jurors Nasan Tur, artist, and Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, director of SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin and Curator at Large at documenta 14.

Viron Erol Vert, born 1975 in Germany, lives and works in Istanbul and Berlin. He studied at the Universität der Künste in Berlin, at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, and has further education in fashion and textile design. With his objects and installations, Vert confronts himself with the narratives of Mediterranean historiography and translates their characters into his own visual codes. Recently, he installed inside the Galerie Wedding in Berlin a “Dreamatory”, a sort of dormitory in which he invites visitors to make space for their dreams in their daily lives. Among his solo shows venues are the Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, the gallery Galerist in Istanbul and the Berghain in Berlin.
 Each year, the Villa Romana Prize is awarded to four artists of outstanding artistic quality living in Germany. The Villa Romana Prize includes a ten-month residency at the Villa Romana in Florence, free use of an atelier and a monthly stipend. At the end of their stay they jointly produce a publication. (Photo: At the beginning of their ten-month stay in Florence, the Villa Romana Fellows 2018 will introduce themselves in a joint exhibition of new works. The artists Jeewi Lee, Christophe Ndabananiye, Lerato Shadi and Viron Erol Vert have been nominated for the fellowship by the jurors Nasan Tur, artist, and Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, director of SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin and Curator at Large at documenta 14.
Viron Erol Vert, born 1975 in Germany, lives and works in Istanbul and Berlin. He studied at the Universität der Künste in Berlin, at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, and has further education in fashion and textile design. With his objects and installations, Vert confronts himself with the narratives of Mediterranean historiography and translates their characters into his own visual codes. Recently, he installed inside the Galerie Wedding in Berlin a “Dreamatory”, a sort of dormitory in which he invites visitors to make space for their dreams in their daily lives. Among his solo shows venues are the Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, the gallery Galerist in Istanbul and the Berghain in Berlin.

Each year, the Villa Romana Prize is awarded to four artists of outstanding artistic quality living in Germany. The Villa Romana Prize includes a ten-month residency at the Villa Romana in Florence, free use of an atelier and a monthly stipend. At the end of their stay they jointly produce a publication. (Photo: Lerato Shadi: „MATSOGO“, 2013, video still © by-nc-nd 4.0 int.)