COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) has selected the two artists for its annual international artist residencies in Dresden, Germany as part of GCAC’s Artist Exchange Program. The 2025 Artist Exchange Program recipients are Joan Madison and Lydia Smith.
Joan Madison (she/her) is a fashion designer with over three decades of experience. Her high-fashion evening wear has graced the runways of renowned fashion events, including Columbus Fashion Week, Lexus Charleston Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week. She studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Syracuse University, and worked for esteemed dress houses such as Ellen Tracy, Liz Claiborne and Ann Taylor. She has also operated her own full-service bridal salon in Columbus since 2006. In 2023, she was a recipient of GCAC’s Artists Elevated award and took first place in the HighBall Halloween Costume Couture Fashion Show. During her Dresden residency, she plans to delve into the city’s renowned textile collections at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen and connect with local fashion designers at various institutions like the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, while exploring the boutiques and specialty stores of the Neustadt district.
Lydia Smith (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice explores the archive as a site for understanding time, place and death. Her ongoing social practice project Burial Sites began in 2012; this project considers how landscapes of death reflect community values and cultural rituals around of mourning. Smith received a BA from Rice University and MFA from The Ohio State University, where she was awarded a Global Arts + Humanities Graduate Team Fellowship. Her exhibitions include The Neon Heater, Findlay, OH; Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, NY; Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, PA; and the BioScience Research Collaborative at Rice University, TX. She has completed artist residencies at Stove Works, Vermont Studio Center, the Visual Studies Workshop, Columbus Printed Arts Center and the Fabric Workshop and Museum. Her curatorial projects include Rice’s Matchbox Gallery and AUTOMAT in Philadelphia. During her upcoming residency in Dresden, Smith will research local archives and landmarks for a new body of work investigating the subject of ruins.
Now in its 29th year, GCAC’s Dresden Exchange program is offered in conjunction with the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony (Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen) as part of the Sister City program. Columbus also hosts a pair of German artists every year, providing them with lodging, transportation, studio space and opportunities to collaborate with the Columbus creative community. In 1999, GCAC launched a website to document the Columbus artists who have participated in the program since 1995. Visitors can learn about all of the Columbus artists who have traveled to Dresden through biographies, images and quotes about their experiences at dresden.gcac.org and learn more about the German artists who have visited Columbus at columbusdresden.de.
“We can’t wait to see how Joan and Lydia are inspired by their time in such a beautiful and culturally rich city like Dresden,” said Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of GCAC. “With their addition, we’ve now sent 55 Columbus artists to Germany, where they’ve represented our city and its cultural offerings. We’re proud to continue forging this exchange of ideas and inspiration with the city of Dresden.”
Jurors for the 2025 Dresden Artist Exchange were:
- Dorit Fratzscher, vice president and treasurer for Dresden Sister City, Inc.
- Benedict Scheurer, multidisciplinary artist and 2023 Dresden Exchange participant
- Jayme Staley, executive director of Greater Columbus Sister Cities and GCAC board member
Artists must be invited to apply for the Artist Exchange Program. Eligible artists include recipients and finalists of the GCAC Visual Arts Fellowship, Media Arts Fellowship, Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Fellowship, Artists Elevated Award, Film it in Cbus Award and #ArtUnitesCbus Film & Photography Award. New this year, alumni of the Dresden Exchange Program were invited to nominate Franklin County artists under the age of 35 for the program.
The selected artists will travel to Dresden sometime between March 1 and Nov. 30, 2025 for 60 to 90 days. The Artist Exchange Program provides an extended period of time for artists to concentrate on research and production so that their artwork benefits significantly. Various work and research facilities are made available to the artists. GCAC also supports the artists by providing a stipend, lodging, studio and travel accommodations, and by fostering connections to artists, galleries and community leaders. While in Dresden, the artists act as ambassadors for GCAC and the city of Columbus.
Mission of the Greater Columbus Arts Council: To support and advance the arts and cultural fabric of Columbus. www.gcac.org
The Greater Columbus Arts Council receives major financial support from the City of Columbus, Franklin County Commissioners, the Ohio Arts Council and The Ohio State University.
For translations of this release and other pages, please see the dropdown menu at the top right corner of gcac.org.
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CONTACT: Jami Goldstein
(614) 221-8492
jgoldstein@gcac.org
