As a composer, pianist and organist, Božičević blends the styles and practices of jazz, minimalism, electronic and world music. He is a member of three Croatian jazz bands, and his compositions have been performed in several European countries and the US. Božičević hoped to learn of new musical and technological developments in the US, compose and perform with jazz and other music ensembles and he gave presentations about music composition, theory, and interpretation.

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Golynko was an accomplished St. Petersburg-based poet and translator and a contributing editor of Moscow Art Magazine. He had written articles for numerous Russian- and English-language literature publications and, in 2008, Ugly Duckling Presse released an English translation of his book As it Turned Out. During his ArtsLink residency, he worked on a new collection of poems for publication, gave lectures on contemporary Russian poetry and evaluated the social dimension of poetry in the US.

With great sadness we learned that Dmitry Golynko passed away in December 2022.

A singer, pianist and composer, Lucineh Hovanissian has developed a mixed genre of ethnic, jazz, classical and traditional Armenian music. Her performances at venues throughout Europe and the US, including several at the World Music Expo (WOMEX), solidify her commitment to bring Armenian folk and experimental music to broader audiences. In the US, she took part in cross-cultural collaborations and learned successful methods for promoting world music.

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A freelance writer and television and radio talk show host, Karumidze is particularly interested in promoting American and Georgian contact, dialogue and cooperation. His publications include novels, short fiction, academic literary essays and articles on political, social and cultural issues in Georgia. He intended to gather material and experience with the American voice and mindset for a new writing project based on the life story of an American couple who traveled to a remote area of Georgia in the 1920s.

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Kline’s interdisciplinary choreography incorporates strategies of organizing bodily perception derived from film, visual arts and performance. She has toured extensively throughout Europe, and in the US, South America, the Middle East and the Far East, both with dance companies and with her own multimedia productions. She wanted to engage with US performers, directors, filmmakers and sound artists interested in exploring different approaches to creating performance work.

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As a dancer and choreographer with a background in theater, Knapik was keenly interested in learning more about contact improvisation, body mind centering and other techniques for improving body awareness. Her performance group, Harakiri Farmers, won first prize in the New Situations competition at the Malta International Theatre Festival for Keret. As co-founder of this collective, she hoped to discover new multimedia technologies and learn creative management and fundraising strategies.

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Makatova is a piano instructor for the Almaty Youth Jazz School and the manager of the School’s International Jazz Festival. The students, aged six to seventeen, perform regularly at major events in Almaty and in festivals in Europe and the US. Makatova has also done a great deal to popularize jazz in Kazakhstan through the website www.jazz.kz. She wanted to gain insight into performing and recording practices, intellectual property rights issues and strategies for sponsorship, curricular development and programming for the School.

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As project manager for the Workshop Foundation, Nej produces shows and performances, organizes artist exchanges and facilitates international dance collaborations. With an eye toward bolstering the Hungarian dance community, the Workshop Foundation offers classes and workshops with international dance professionals, provides free rehearsal space and promotes the work of young choreographers internationally. During her residency, Nej hoped to gain understanding of management practices and strengthen the Foundation’s international network of partner organizations.

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Sikorska-Miszczuk’s plays have been performed widely in Europe and in the US and have been translated into English, German, Serbian, Romanian and French. She has won numerous awards including the Audience Prize and First Prize at a 2008 competition for plays organized by Teatr Polski in Poznan and a 2008 fellowship from the Polish Ministry of Culture. She was interested in learning about contemporary American drama and the American process of play development.

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As one of the main producers and program developers for the Zagreb Student Center, Stipanov has organized international residency programs and award-winning performance series that promote emerging artists as well as bring international talent to the Zagreb arts scene. She is one of the creators of the program Culture of Change that has produced more than fifty theater shows, screened over one thousand films and hosted scores of other cultural events. She sought to gain insight into the operations of non-profit institutions and learn more about how cultural management training programs function in the US.

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Tovmasyan is the program director for the Menorah Center for the Arts, which develops and presents contemporary performances and public programs rooted in Jewish life and culture in Yerevan. He is interested in the cultural implications of cross-border cooperation and the political, social and economic features of the contemporary art world. With the final goal of redesigning the operational approach of the Menorah Center, he hoped to gain new management skills and develop partnerships with US organizations during his residency.