Jiawen Uffline moves into her studio

The Bremen Studio Scholarship 2026 goes to Jiawen Uffline, alumna of the University of the Arts (HfK) Bremen. From a total of 34 applications, a jury of experts consisting of Franziska von den Driesch (artists' association, GEDOK), Simone Ewald (Senator for Culture), Marie Oucherief (artists' house) and Florian Witt (BBK Bremen) selected the media artist as the scholarship recipient for 2026.
The jury stated: "Media artist Jiawen Uffline deals with internet-based technologies that are now an integral part of our everyday lives. These include, for example, online orders, the use of robot vacuum cleaners, and the electronic transmission of private messages. She impressed the jury with her video essays and publications, in which she intelligently reflects on the inherent power structures of today's ubiquitous technological infrastructures. In doing so, she finds aesthetic translations that not only illustrate these highly complex systems, but also deal with their surveillance potential in a nuanced way. The artist's intention to be ‘analog cheese in digital configurations’ as an internet user illustrates the critical thrust of her art as well as her anarchic humor."

The Bremen Studio Scholarship has been awarded annually by the Senator for Culture since 2017 and includes a year's rent-free workspace at the Künstler:innenhaus Bremen (Bremen Artists' House) and a monthly financial allowance for working materials. All artists working in Bremen who graduated from an art degree program no more than three years ago are eligible to apply.

The aim of the scholarship is to support young artists in starting their professional careers and networking in the art world, as well as to establish their artistic work locally. The Künstler:innenhaus Bremen provides a studio workspace for this purpose, facilitates exchange with experienced colleagues, and offers insight into the practice of an internationally networked gallery. The scholarship holder is supervised by the artistic director of the Künstler:innenhaus and other external curators.

Jiawen Uffline first completed a degree in graphic design in China before participating in a one-year program at the School of Information at the University of California. In 2021, she came to Bremen to study digital media at the University of the Arts and successfully completed her studies at the end of 2025.

The artist is currently preparing to move into her new studio and is looking forward to the year ahead: “I have never had my own studio space before, so I either finished my work at the University of the Arts or in my bedroom. I am looking forward to going beyond my purely screen-based work in the studio and developing the spatial aspect of my projects.” A final presentation in December 2026 will provide an insight into the scholarship holder's work.