FUNKEN x MAIN Residency – Chemnitz, Germany (2025)

Host / Support: FUNKEN Academy; MAIN Research Center (TU Chemnitz); co-financed by the Saxon State Parliament; part of Chemnitz 2025 European Capital of Culture program (“C the Unseen”)

During this residency (Sep–Nov 2025), Sanja Star explored physics as a medium for experimental artistic research, investigating phenomena from nanoscale processes to audiovisual expression. She mentored a week-long workshop with Art and Music students and collaborated with scientists in the MAIN Research Center labs, developing interdisciplinary live systems and media experiments. The program facilitated exchange between art, science, and research, fostering innovative approaches to time-based and responsive artistic practices.

Planet Ears Residency – Mannheim, Germany (2025)

Host / Support: Alte Feuerwache Mannheim; City of Mannheim; Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg

During this week-long residency at Alte Feuerwache Mannheim, Sanja Star developed improvisational audiovisual works in collaboration with Thilo Eichhorn, Fulgeance, and Ephraim Giepen. The residency focused on real-time interaction between sound and visual media, exploring experimental methods for responsive, generative, and time-based systems. The work culminated in live performances integrating gesture, space, and dynamic audiovisual interaction.

Mars Residency – Berlin, Germany (2025)

Host / Support: School of Machines, Berlin

During this three-month residency, Sanja Star developed prototype artworks within a framework supporting iterative experimentation and international artistic exchange. Her work culminated in the ongoing audiovisual installation Echoes of the Matrix, presented as part of the Mixed Up! group exhibition, highlighting research-driven, collaborative exploration of time-based and responsive media systems.

STOP OVER 1 Residency – Berlin, Germany (2024)

Host / Support: Alte Münze Berlin; Haus der Kulturen der Welt; Initiative Musik; Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media

During this week-long interdisciplinary residency, Sanja Star participated in a collaborative program bringing together twenty artists across music, performance, and visual arts. The residency activated four halls of House 4 at Alte Münze as workshops, rehearsal spaces, living areas, and platforms for exchange. Star contributed time-based audiovisual works and installations, exploring real-time interaction, improvisation, and cross-genre collaboration. Activities included open rehearsals, performances, installations, discourse, and public engagement, emphasizing experimental approaches to space, gesture, and responsive media.

Curator: Tina Heine
Participating Artists: Isabel Anders, Max Andrzejewski, Laura Arena, Jonas Baur, Bruno Besana, Constructlab, Valeria Dele, Tuçe Erel, Brad Henkel, Harald Kisiedu, Liz Kosack, Grgur Savić, Samuel Hall, Marc Schmolling, Witch 'n' Monk, Sanja Star, Viola Yip, Lukas Zerbst

Fluxus Residency – Wiesbaden, Germany (2023)

Host / Support: Kunsthaus Wiesbaden; Kulturamt der Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden; Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain; Kooperative New Jazz e.V.

During this week-long residency, Sanja Star developed live visual systems for time-based performances and urban interventions. Her projections evolved in real time, interacting with movement, sound, and space. Video documentation of the actions was integrated into subsequent performances, creating recursive audiovisual structures and forming the basis for a layered, time-based filmic work.

Collaborating Artists: Birgit Wieger, Silvia Sauer, Ulrike Schwarz, Wolfgang Schliemann, Ulrich Phillipp, Ingo Deul, Mareike Buchmann, Sanja Star

6th Silk Road International Art Residency, Xi’an China (2019)

6th Silk Road International Art Residency – Xi’an, China (2019)
Host / Support: City of Xi’an

During this three-week government-supported residency, Sanja Star collaborated as part of the Pitch Shifting AV duo with Grgur Savić, alongside international artists, dancers, and performers. The program focused on research-driven experimentation and cross-cultural artistic exchange, exploring the interplay of audiovisual media, movement, and improvisation. Star developed time-based, generative visual systems that interacted with live performance, contributing to interdisciplinary installations and collaborative performances that integrated sound, gesture, and spatial dynamics.

Collaborators: Grgur Savić, Sveta Bird, Daniel Drago, and international artists under mentorship of the residency’s artistic director (Shanghai theatre)