Help QiQi graduate!

Hello friends!

We are the Maria-Vysoka Collective.

We are ten first-year Master Performance Practice students enrolled in a low-residency program based at ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem, The Netherlands. Within our group there is one student - Qiyun Zheng (or QiQi for short), who, as a non-European student, has to pay five times the annual tuition fee that we have to pay. Speaking in numbers this translates to a staggering 11,200 Euros. Due to several unfortunate circumstances, QiQi is not able to pay this large sum fully by herself and this is why we need your help!

The current situation

Born and raised in Shanghai, China, QiQi has witnessed the dramatic change COVID brought to her birth city in the last three years. The critical economic situation has caused her to lose her remote job this year (which helped her pay the study fees) and also affected her family who is dealing with debt. These financial collapses happened after she settled in Arnhem. Over the past year, QiQi also had to deal with several Asian discrimination incidents and sustained a serious knee injury that has affected her ability to stand and walk. Nonetheless, she is determined to continue her studies and graduate next year.

QiQi’s background and qualifications

QiQi has a background in English-Chinese Translation with a feminist translation practice, and has worked in translation and copywriting for fashion brands, female wellness collectives, creative consultancies and dance studios. With a ten year background in Chinese folk dance training and four years of experience in House|Ballroom Culture, QiQi has been active as a dancer-performer in the Shanghai underground performance scene and is now winning prizes across the Netherlands, France, Germany and the UK.

A journey worth supporting

As a performance artist, QiQi’s artistic research dives into conflicts between Chinese cultural heritage and her contemporary being through an auto-ethnographic examination of her body parts. We believe this is a journey worth supporting and would love to see QiQi develop her artistic practice and graduate from ArtEZ University of the Arts in July 2024.

The good news

QiQi has just been awarded the Sedje Hémon Scholarship, contributing 4500 Euro towards her study fees. This means that instead of raising 11,200 Euro, we only need your help with collecting the remaining 6700 Euro so that QiQi can graduate from ArtEZ.

The second-year tuition fee of 11,200 Euros is due in August 2023 and we could use all the help we can get. Our goal is to raise 6700 Euro! Moreover, if you happen to know about any job-related opportunities for QiQi, please contact us on Instagram @mariavysoka_co.

Many thanks!

Sincerely,

Maria-Vysoka Collective