Cooperations
As part of our funding programme “Gender Equality in the Humanities and Social Sciences – Perspectives, Initiatives, Debates”, we, as the Gender Equality Office, have supported the following projects. If you are interested in funding for gender equality projects, you can find further information and documents on this page.
Event funding: Gender equality in the humanities and social sciences – perspectives, ideas, debates
The Ukrainian Film Days NRW are taking place for the fourth time. They are organised by a consortium of various Ukrainian organisations: Evos Film Production, DUWir gGmbH (Deutsch Ukrainische Wirkung) and Ukrainian Culture Network e.V., in cooperation with the Consulate General of Ukraine in Düsseldorf. Following three successful editions, the 4th Ukrainian Film Days NRW aim to further raise awareness of Ukrainian culture and its values, such as democracy, freedom and resilience. The aim of the festival in 2026 is to convey a diverse and modern image of Ukraine whilst promoting intercultural dialogue between Ukraine, Germany and Europe. The festival is a European platform that uses film to create space for encounter, reflection and social exchange.
The festival’s key objectives include promoting Ukrainian cinema as part of Europe’s cultural heritage, fostering democratic values, and engaging critically with disinformation and imperial narratives. The festival promotes cultural cooperation and exchange on the present, history and a shared European future through film screenings, discussions and accompanying events.
Former HHU student Anastasia Gadirova approached us with the initiative to screen a selection of this year’s films at HHU.
The exhibition project ‘Aufgeschlagen?! Spielräume des Künstler:innenbuchs’ (23 July-27 September 2026) is being developed in close collaboration with the Japanese visual artist Kanade Hamawaki. Together with her, the University and State Library and students from the Institute of Art History, a curatorial concept is being developed on the theme of artists’ books as an artistic medium since the 1960s, which will present previously unseen holdings with a regional focus for the first time within an interdisciplinary, collaborative and participatory exhibition context. The foyer of the University and State Library will serve as the exhibition venue.
The starting point for the project is the observation that, whilst artist’s books have gained international significance as an independent form of artistic expression, their reception and visibility continue to be shaped by structural inequalities. In particular, female, non-binary and marginalised artistic voices have historically been under-represented in collections, research and exhibition practice or have so far been inadequately contextualised. This imbalance is also reflected in the holdings of the University and State Library: whilst prominent male artists such as Günter Uecker or Gerhard Richter are well documented, there is a need for the targeted highlighting and re-evaluation of other perspectives.
Artists’ books are more relevant today than ever, as they allow us to experience the book as a multi-layered medium within an increasingly digital culture of knowledge. It is not only the text, but also materiality, design and structure that shape the creation and communication of meaning. Artistic practices thus offer a reflective approach to questions of authorship, visibility and the production of knowledge – central themes that are closely linked to issues of gender equality.
Who produces knowledge? Whose voices are archived, exhibited and received?