Donna Volta Newmen is a visual artist who uses portraiture to explore identity, power, and collective memory, creating narratives of resilience and vulnerability. Her practice centers on paper-based work and traditional intaglio printmaking, expanded through transdisciplinary approaches.
Through her ongoing project Untamed, a collaboration with choreographer Martino Semenzato at the Stuttgart Ballet, her work expands into space, creating a paper-based world that functions simultaneously as stage, costume, and immersive installation.
Since 2015, Newmen has worked as an artistic director, focusing on collective authorship and alternative exhibition formats. She is a co-founder of soft power, a Berlin-based platform for non-commercial projects, and served in its artistic leadership from 2020 to 2024. From 2025 to the present, Newmen holds a teaching assignment in Fine Arts / Printmaking at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, as part of the Mathilde-Planck Teaching Fellowship Program.
Newmen studied art and design in Germany, Turkey, and the Netherlands, completing her MA in Fine Art and Design at the Sandberg Institute in 2029. Her work has been exhibited internationally at venues such as Museum Gunzenhauser / Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Stuttgart Ballet, Kunstverein Wagenhalle, the Istanbul Design Biennial, and the British Film Institute.
EDUCATION
2017–2019 Sandberg Institute/Gerrit Rietveld Academie, MA Fine Art and Design, Amsterdam;
2018 Village Underground (Study Abroad) London;
2015–2016 Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi (Study Abroad) İstanbul;
2015 Chiba University (Study Abroad) Tokyo;
2011–2016 Köln International School of Design/TH Köln, BA Integrated Design/Gender Design, Köln
EXHIBITIONS / PROJECTS (SELECTION)
UPCOMING GROUP EXHIBITION
2026, Ouroboros, Kunstraum AURA, Düsseldorf;
2026, Arte Laguna Prize, Arsenale Nord, Venice;
2026, Museo de Artes de Ribeira, A Coruña
SOLO EXHIBITION
2026, Untamed (in the frame of INTERACTION), Stuttgarter Ballett, Stuttgart;
2024, Untamed, Kunstverein Wagenhalle, Stuttgart;
2024, second cast, Werkstatthaus, Stuttgart;
2023, All Muses are Dead, soft power, Berlin
GROUP EXHIBITION
2024-2025, Unwritten, Museum Gunzenhauser/Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz;
2025, Fine Line, Friday Bird, Berlin;
2025, Additivemag, Emik Salon, Berlin;
2025, Fresh Legs, Inselgalerie, Berlin;
2025, Dem Paradies entgegen, Galerie Fähre, Bad Saulgau;
2025, AMORE Europa, Galerie Borssenanger, Chemnitz;
2025, Druckkunst 2025, Städtische Galerie Harderbastei, Ingolstadt, Germany;2023, Private Collection, soft power, Berlin;
2019, On resilience snoozin', Neverneverland, Amsterdam;
2019, Sonic Sources, Vlaams Cultuurhuis (4th Performance Philosophy Bienniale), Amsterdam;
2019, Fine Dust Cocktail, De Nachtegaal, Amsterdam;
2018, The School Of Consumption, Arter, Istanbul;
2018, Masquerade, WOW (24h WEST), Amsterdam;
2018, The Neigh Sayer, British Film Institute (Convergence Festival), London
PROJECTS
2025, Panke Open Studios, Berlin;
2024, POV (Artistic Research) Europäische Kulturhauptstadt, Chemnitz;
2024, Panke Open Studios, Berlin;
2024, 10 Minutes Of Silence (Costume for Ballet) Stuttgarter Ballett, Stuttgart;
2023, 2m2 of skin (Costume for Ballet) Stuttgarter Ballett, Stuttgart;
2023, Resilience (Artistic Research) Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt;
2022, Pixel und Pigment (Offenes Atelier), Atelierhaus Beckstraße, Chemnitz;
2022, Sylvan Forms of Making (Artistic Research) Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt;
2022, Notes for Peace (Costume for Ballet) Stuttgarter Ballett, Stuttgart;
2020-2024, soft power (Founding Member & Artistic Co-Director), Berlin
ACADEMIC TEACHING / LECTURES / MENTORSHIP
2024–2027, Teaching Assignment (Lehrauftrag Freie Kunst/Freie Grafik - Mathilde Planck Teaching Fellowship Program), Staatliche Akademie der Bildendne Künste ABK, Stuttgart;
2024, Guest Lecturer(Contemporary Printmaking Practices) Staatliche Akademie der Bildendne Künste ABK, Stuttgart;
2023-2025, Mentor, Jugendkunstprogramm CREATE U, Europäische Kulturhauptstadt gGmbH, Chemnitz;
2023-2024, Mentor, Zeal Kollektiv (Residencyprogramm Erasmus+), Berlin;
2023, Guest Lecturer, Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt, Berlin;
2023, Guest Lecturer, PICTURE BERLIN, Berlin;
2023, Guest Lecturer (Ausstellungspraxis Seminar), Bauhaus Universität, Weimar;
2023, Juror and Guest Lecturer, Bauhaus Universität, Weimar;
2022, Guest Lecturer (Curatorial Practice Seminar), Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA)
FELLOWSHIPS / GRANTS / RESIDENCIES
2025–2027 Mathilde-Planck-Lehrauftragsprogramm, Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart;
2025 Werkstatt Stipendiatin -Radierung, Künstlerhaus Stuttgart;
2024 Ausstellungsförderung, John Cranko Stiftung;
2024 Kunstförderung, LBBW-Stiftung;
2024 Kunstförderung, Ritter Sport Kunstförderung;
2024 Ausstellungsförderung, Kunstverein Wagenhalle, Stuttgart;
2024 Ausstellungsförderung, Kulturamt der Stadt Stuttgart;
2023–2026 Atelierförderung, St. ART-Studios for artists e.V. Berlin;
2023 Filmförderung, AVEK Media Fund;
2023 Ausstellungsförderung, Bezirksamt Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Dezentrale Kulturarbeit Berlin;
2023 Artist in Residence, Werkstatthaus Stuttgart;
2023 Stiftung Kunstfonds, NEUSTARTplus Plattformen der bildenden Kunst Berlin;
2023 Ausstellungsförderung, Kulturamt der Stadt Stuttgart;
2023 & 2022 #TakeHeart Stipendium, Fonds Darstellende Künste, Frankfurt;
2022 Projektförderung, Kulturamt der Stadt Chemnitz;
2022 & 2021 Stipendium für Betreiber*innen künstlerischer Projekträume und -inititativen, Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa;
2021 Artist in Residence, PAF (Performing Arts Forum in St Erme);
2020 Alumni-Stipendium, Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam;
2018–2020 Zweijähriges Atelier-Stipendium, Broedplaats VKG, Amsterdam;
2018–2020 Zweijähriges Artist in Residence, WOW, Amsterdam,
2018 Artist in Residence, Macao Milano (Artspace in Mailand);
2028 Artist in Residence, Casa Jasmina Torino (IoT-Space in Turin);
2017–2019 Zweijähriges Recherchestipendium, WeTransfer, Amsterdam;
2015–2016 Jahresstipendium PROMOS, DAAD, İstanbul
Donna Volta Newmen is a visual artist who uses portraiture to explore identity, power, and collective memory, creating narratives of resilience and vulnerability. Her practice centers on paper-based work and traditional intaglio printmaking, expanded through transdisciplinary approaches.
Through her ongoing project Untamed, a collaboration with choreographer Martino Semenzato at the Stuttgart Ballet, her work expands into space, creating a paper-based world that functions simultaneously as stage, costume, and immersive installation.
Since 2015, Newmen has worked as an artistic director, focusing on collective authorship and alternative exhibition formats. She is a co-founder of soft power, a Berlin-based platform for non-commercial projects, and served in its artistic leadership from 2020 to 2024. From 2025 to the present, Newmen holds a teaching assignment in Fine Arts / Printmaking at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, as part of the Mathilde-Planck Teaching Fellowship Program.
Newmen studied art and design in Germany, Turkey, and the Netherlands, completing her MA in Fine Art and Design at the Sandberg Institute in 2029. Her work has been exhibited internationally at venues such as Museum Gunzenhauser / Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Stuttgart Ballet, Kunstverein Wagenhalle, the Istanbul Design Biennial, and the British Film Institute.
EDUCATION
2017–2019 Sandberg Institute/Gerrit Rietveld Academie, MA Fine Art and Design, Amsterdam;
2018 Village Underground (Study Abroad) London;
2015–2016 Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi (Study Abroad) İstanbul;
2015 Chiba University (Study Abroad) Tokyo;
2011–2016 Köln International School of Design/TH Köln, BA Integrated Design/Gender Design, Köln
EXHIBITIONS / PROJECTS (SELECTION)
UPCOMING GROUP EXHIBITION
2026, Ouroboros, Kunstraum AURA, Düsseldorf;
2026, Arte Laguna Prize, Arsenale Nord, Venice;
2026, Museo de Artes de Ribeira, A Coruña
SOLO EXHIBITION
2026, Untamed (in the frame of INTERACTION), Stuttgarter Ballett, Stuttgart;
2024, Untamed, Kunstverein Wagenhalle, Stuttgart;
2024, second cast, Werkstatthaus, Stuttgart;
2023, All Muses are Dead, soft power, Berlin
GROUP EXHIBITION
2024-2025, Unwritten, Museum Gunzenhauser/Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz;
2025, Fine Line, Friday Bird, Berlin;
2025, Additivemag, Emik Salon, Berlin;
2025, Fresh Legs, Inselgalerie, Berlin;
2025, Dem Paradies entgegen, Galerie Fähre, Bad Saulgau;
2025, AMORE Europa, Galerie Borssenanger, Chemnitz;
2025, Druckkunst 2025, Städtische Galerie Harderbastei, Ingolstadt, Germany;2023, Private Collection, soft power, Berlin;
2019, On resilience snoozin', Neverneverland, Amsterdam;
2019, Sonic Sources, Vlaams Cultuurhuis (4th Performance Philosophy Bienniale), Amsterdam;
2019, Fine Dust Cocktail, De Nachtegaal, Amsterdam;
2018, The School Of Consumption, Arter, Istanbul;
2018, Masquerade, WOW (24h WEST), Amsterdam;
2018, The Neigh Sayer, British Film Institute (Convergence Festival), London
PROJECTS
2025, Panke Open Studios, Berlin;
2024, POV (Artistic Research) Europäische Kulturhauptstadt, Chemnitz;
2024, Panke Open Studios, Berlin;
2024, 10 Minutes Of Silence (Costume for Ballet) Stuttgarter Ballett, Stuttgart;
2023, 2m2 of skin (Costume for Ballet) Stuttgarter Ballett, Stuttgart;
2023, Resilience (Artistic Research) Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt;
2022, Pixel und Pigment (Offenes Atelier), Atelierhaus Beckstraße, Chemnitz;
2022, Sylvan Forms of Making (Artistic Research) Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt;
2022, Notes for Peace (Costume for Ballet) Stuttgarter Ballett, Stuttgart;
2020-2024, soft power (Founding Member & Artistic Co-Director), Berlin
ACADEMIC TEACHING / LECTURES / MENTORSHIP
2024–2027, Teaching Assignment (Lehrauftrag Freie Kunst/Freie Grafik - Mathilde Planck Teaching Fellowship Program), Staatliche Akademie der Bildendne Künste ABK, Stuttgart;
2024, Guest Lecturer(Contemporary Printmaking Practices) Staatliche Akademie der Bildendne Künste ABK, Stuttgart;
2023-2025, Mentor, Jugendkunstprogramm CREATE U, Europäische Kulturhauptstadt gGmbH, Chemnitz;
2023-2024, Mentor, Zeal Kollektiv (Residencyprogramm Erasmus+), Berlin;
2023, Guest Lecturer, Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt, Berlin;
2023, Guest Lecturer, PICTURE BERLIN, Berlin;
2023, Guest Lecturer (Ausstellungspraxis Seminar), Bauhaus Universität, Weimar;
2023, Juror and Guest Lecturer, Bauhaus Universität, Weimar;
2022, Guest Lecturer (Curatorial Practice Seminar), Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA)
FELLOWSHIPS / GRANTS / RESIDENCIES
2025–2027 Mathilde-Planck-Lehrauftragsprogramm, Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart;
2025 Werkstatt Stipendiatin -Radierung, Künstlerhaus Stuttgart;
2024 Ausstellungsförderung, John Cranko Stiftung;
2024 Kunstförderung, LBBW-Stiftung;
2024 Kunstförderung, Ritter Sport Kunstförderung;
2024 Ausstellungsförderung, Kunstverein Wagenhalle, Stuttgart;
2024 Ausstellungsförderung, Kulturamt der Stadt Stuttgart;
2023–2026 Atelierförderung, St. ART-Studios for artists e.V. Berlin;
2023 Filmförderung, AVEK Media Fund;
2023 Ausstellungsförderung, Bezirksamt Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Dezentrale Kulturarbeit Berlin;
2023 Artist in Residence, Werkstatthaus Stuttgart;
2023 Stiftung Kunstfonds, NEUSTARTplus Plattformen der bildenden Kunst Berlin;
2023 Ausstellungsförderung, Kulturamt der Stadt Stuttgart;
2023 & 2022 #TakeHeart Stipendium, Fonds Darstellende Künste, Frankfurt;
2022 Projektförderung, Kulturamt der Stadt Chemnitz;
2022 & 2021 Stipendium für Betreiber*innen künstlerischer Projekträume und -inititativen, Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa;
2021 Artist in Residence, PAF (Performing Arts Forum in St Erme);
2020 Alumni-Stipendium, Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam;
2018–2020 Zweijähriges Atelier-Stipendium, Broedplaats VKG, Amsterdam;
2018–2020 Zweijähriges Artist in Residence, WOW, Amsterdam,
2018 Artist in Residence, Macao Milano (Artspace in Mailand);
2028 Artist in Residence, Casa Jasmina Torino (IoT-Space in Turin);
2017–2019 Zweijähriges Recherchestipendium, WeTransfer, Amsterdam;
2015–2016 Jahresstipendium PROMOS, DAAD, İstanbul
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