Cultural institutions are not equally accessible to all people - cultural participation is closely linked to social conditions and unequal structural prerequisites. In response to the existing mechanisms of exclusion, the Academy of the Arts of the World 2021 launched the Participatory Residency Program. Influenced by intersectional, decolonial, and power-critical approaches, the program has since explored new forms of collaboration and is particularly aimed at queer persons of color. To realize the program, the Academy of the Arts of the World collaborates with varying institutional partners.

Until November 2022, DEMASK Kollektiv and Integrationshaus e.V. - two organizations run by people of color with migration experience/history - have set the framework for the collaboration with their artistic and political concerns. In collaboration, the Participatory Residency Program was developed and two first residencies for fellows were realized: Jamaican-Irish artist and activist Elle Fierce and Jordan Chanetsa, artist and LGBTQIA+ activist from Zimbabwe, were invited in 2021/ 22. During their stay in Cologne, both artists created their own artistic program for and with the local QT*I*BI*PoC community.

Among other things, the experimental film "2B" was created during Elle Fierce's residency. In a collage of dance, performance and sound, the project explored what it means to take up space with one's own Black trans* identity. Jordan Chanetsa initiated "Open Mics" at the Pflanzstelle and the Democracy Space in Cologne Kalk, opening a stage for exchange, music and poetry for QT*I*BI*PoC artists. Together with the collective Shapes & Shades, Chanetsa also presented "The Migration Kiki Ball," which explored the experiences of migrant people in Germany.

The ADKDW Residency Program will continue in 2023/24 - in collaboration with the Jugendwerkstatt Chorweiler, artists will be invited to develop a participatory program for young people from the north of Cologne. Starting in January, regular glimpses of the new collaboration can be followed on ADKDW's social media channels.

The Participatory Residency Program is realized with the kind support of the RheinEnergie Stiftung Kultur and the Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR).