10 YEARS OF FELLOWSHIP: LOOKING BACK AT THE FUTURE LAB


On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Pina Bausch Fellowship for Dance and Choreography, the Pina Bausch Foundation and Kunststiftung NRW hosted the Fellowship Future Lab from 22 to 24 May 2026 at the former Schauspielhaus – the future Pina Bausch Centre – in Wuppertal.

Fellows from different cohorts, international guests, and members of the local dance and cultural scene came together to share experiences from ten years of the fellowship and to discuss the present and future conditions of artistic practice. Co-created with former fellows, the programme included workshops, conversations, keynotes, and performative contributions.

The Future Lab took as its starting point the question of how the programme can evolve to continue supporting artists amid changing political, social, and economic conditions. The exchange also highlighted the potential of strengthening connections between fellows across different cohorts – creating a basis for long-term international exchange, mutual support, and new collaborations.

Athar / Trace by Mohamed Yousry Shika
Athar / Trace by Mohamed Yousry Shika
© Whitney Browne
The Living Room : Where The Works Lives by Ade Suharto
The Living Room : Where The Works Lives by Ade Suharto
© Whitney Browne
The Living Room : Where the Work Lives by Ade Suharto
The Living Room : Where the Work Lives by Ade Suharto
© Whitney Browne
Dancing at 90 by Aida Rodriguez
Dancing at 90 by Aida Rodriguez
© Whitney Browne
© Whitney Browne
Dancing at 90 by Aida Rodriguez
Dancing at 90 by Aida Rodriguez
© Whitney Browne
More, more, more by Darion Adams
More, more, more by Darion Adams
© Whitney Browne
Direct Action - Kayla Hamilton
Direct Action - Kayla Hamilton
© Whitney Browne
Direct Action - Kayla Hamilton
Direct Action - Kayla Hamilton
© Whitney Browne
Being with Making by Lee Méir
Being with Making by Lee Méir
© Whitney Browne
...And That's The Whole Dream by NEVE
...And That's The Whole Dream by NEVE
© Whitney Browne
The Dance Of The Future by Sarah Brahim
The Dance Of The Future by Sarah Brahim
© Whitney Browne
Earth Bodies - Environmental Grief by Martha Hincapié Charry
Earth Bodies - Environmental Grief by Martha Hincapié Charry
© Whitney Browne

Beyond this reflection on the programme, the Future Lab offered, above all, a space for personal encounters. Many fellows met again for the first time since their individual fellowship periods or connected with fellows from other cohorts. This created a lively exchange about artistic practices, experiences from different regional contexts, and current challenges and perspectives within the international dance field.

The fellows’ contributions also demonstrated the diverse ways in which artistic developments initiated through the fellowship have unfolded over the past ten years. Different artistic positions, working methods, and perspectives entered into dialogue, creating new connections across generations, cultures, and geographical contexts.

The insights and impulses generated during the Future Lab are feeding into the further development of the fellowship programme while also contributing to the preparations for the future Pina Bausch Centre. In this sense, the Future Lab was not only an opportunity to look back on ten years of the fellowship, but also a starting point for looking ahead together.

Pina Bausch Fellowship Future Lab was organised by the Pina Bausch Foundation and Kunststiftung NRW. As a contribution to the preparations for the Pina Bausch Centre, it received additional funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the City of Wuppertal.