Katja Gürtler

Today is my last but one day at the Cité internationale des arts and, thus, the time has also come to look back a bit and perhaps draw some conclusions: This stay in Paris was my first residency and, for one year, I have been very much looking forward to it. This is all the more crazy as time has gone by so fast here and the residency will soon be over. My entire stay here felt like a natural flow, one thing led to another and, from the very first moment, I felt very much at home here. Of course, I wonder a bit whether I could have seen more in Paris, could have met more people and maybe could have done more, but I believe that you can always ask those questions anyway. Because of the way it is structured and organized, the Cité made it very easy for me to settle in and get to know incredibly great people – and, above all, to work very well. The weekly Open Studios made me feel a bit as if I was back at the Academy: a weekly tour on a small scale that was full of interesting insights into the work of other artists. As for the rest, I tend to spend my days in a routine of drawing, painting, drinking coffee, bouldering, and going for a walk. Wandering around is an absolute must in Paris for me – especially when you live in such a central location as in the Cité. I hardly ever took my mobile phone along, but rather put an old map into the pocket of my jacket, which almost had an anachronistic feel. It also felt calming. I believe that this was the essence of this residency: it was like pushing a stop button that allowed me to pause and fully focus on my work. And when I have enough tranquility I just have to walk out the door and I am in the middle of the Cité/city.