DonCee Coulter
DonCee Coulter
When Columbus-born artist DonCee Coulter walked into the Green Vault at the Dresden Castle in Germany, he was mesmerized by all the treasures and artwork that surrounded him.
“I remember not being able to leave that place,” Coulter says. “I was with some other people, and they were getting frustrated with me, because they’re like, ‘No, you can’t spend all your time here... We’ve got to move on to the next (museum).’ And at that point, I was like, ‘You know what? Y’all go, I’ll meet y’all there.’ I was kind of stuck at this place, I was just so fascinated.”
That’s an experience Coulter says he will never forget, and it’s all thanks to the Dresden Artist Exchange through the Greater Columbus Art Council (GCAC).
Over the past 30 years, more than 50 Columbus-based artists have traveled to Germany, and, in turn, GCAC has hosted more than 50 German artists. The program has allowed artists around central Ohio and abroad to expand their craft while learning about a different community in a brand-new city.
DonCee Coulter
Building blocks
DonCee Coulter
Dresden
The artist exchange started after three German artists – Veit Hoffman, Stefan Plenkers and Rainer Zille – visited Ohio in 1994. The artists, alongside GCAC and the State of Saxony – known as Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen in German – created a program that would send its first Columbus-based artist abroad in 1995.
Ray Hanley, then-president and CEO of GCAC, was a big believer in international cultural exchange, says GCAC Chief Creative Officer Jami Goldstein, but could not have created the program without the support of Columbus’ sister city, Dresden.
“Having that partner on the other side of the ocean is really, really, really important,” Goldstein says. “Someone who’s equally committed to making the exchange work, to being there for the artists, like we are here for the resident artists when they come.”
Both hosts work with the visiting artists to help provide housing, studio workspace and transportation accommodations. The window for the stay is open from March to November, and each artist can visit anywhere between 60 and 90 days, depending on their availability.
Though the Columbus-based artists are required to file a final report of their time in Dresden, the program is otherwise left open-ended so each person can make the experience their own, Goldstein says.
DonCee Coulter
New experiences
DonCee Coulter
Green Vault
The flexibility of the program allowed Coulter to take time away from his job and travel to Dresden in 2022. From May to August, Coulter enjoyed walking or biking to a local café and getting coffee with fellow artists and friends as he crafted each day.
“It was freedom,” he says. “It was basically get up in the morning and decide, ‘What am I going to do today?’”
With a background in fashion and cubism, Coulter creates three-dimensional scenes made of layered fabric. On his work days, he spent about eight hours at the studio, sketching out scenes, cutting or finding fabric, and more.
When he wasn’t working or needed a day off, Coulter would travel to different parts of Germany and nearby countries to learn more about the spaces he was in as well as find new inspirations to put into his pieces. Some of his biggest inspirations came from the local architecture and fabrics he was surrounded by, and can be found in the pieces he made when he got back into the studio in Dresden.
DonCee Coulter
In addition to the work and the places, the people caught Coulter’s attention as well. Getting the chance to dive in and talk with people from different backgrounds and ideologies opened his eyes to new ideas and perspectives.
“When I was in Dresden, for the most part, I kind of avoided the tourist area. So I’m literally there with the people… I was sitting down and having conversations with them,” Coulter says. “I would say, for the most part, that we had some really good, honest conversations, and I actually appreciated that.”
These new perspectives and conversations are at the heart of what the program has always been about, Goldstein says.
“Understanding each other’s culture is just really critical,” she says. “It’s critical for human relations. It’s good for business. The growth that we have when we experience another culture, when we’re immersed in another culture, is profound.”
As the travel window for 2026 approaches, GCAC is excited to send more artists abroad and prepares to host another round of artists, with the hope of hosting many more classes to come.
Rachel Hanz is the lead editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at rhanz@cityscenemediagroup.com.
