The ISL offers learning tracks tailored to art and design. Up until grade 9, students are free to explore art at their own pace, but after that, they can actively choose their desired path and dive deeper into creating art. Bram, an art teacher at ISL, regularly invites local artists to present their work and share the motivation behind it. Although this wasn’t my first talk, it was the first time I presented my artwork specifically in front of an audience—ranging from grade 6 up to grade 11.
As an artist who did not attend art school, I focused on my personal journey, showing pictures of my artwork from age 7 until now and highlighting how my techniques developed (or, in some cases, didn’t develop) over time. It was about exploring art at my own pace in the areas that interested me most. I have to admit—it was a journey for myself as well. Looking back at my old styles and approaches, some dating back over 20 years, was quite an experience!
During Q&A sessions, we discussed favorite dinosaurs and animals, making a living from art, selling artwork, different painting techniques, and much more. During my last session of the day, one of the art teachers and some students took time to draw while I was speaking. It was a joy to see them simply enjoying the process of drawing, free from pressure or expectations!
On February 8, 2025, my virtual paleoart gallery officially opened. It had been a very busy and exciting time leading up to that moment. In the last weeks and month I not only aimed to set up the gallery but also planned an online opening event on the platform GatherTown.
In autumn 2024, I worked on my first virtual gallery for a local art community in Trier, Germany. This project helped make the annual exhibition more accessible to a wider audience. As the annual exhibition gradually came to an end, I had an idea: why not do the same thing again—but this time, for artwork that is rarely found in one physical space? Paleoart. The passion that connects me with so many people around the world.
You can usually view paleoart on individual artists’ social media accounts, but how much time does the average person spend looking closely at the details?
I began reaching out to artists I follow on social media—some of whom I had met in 2024, and others whose artistic journeys I had simply followed social media over the last couple of years.
In the end, 23 artists (24 including myself) contributed and trusted me with their artwork. The exhibition includes traditional and digital paintings and drawings, 3D models and animations, pottery, tattoos, and even a poem. I couldn’t be happier with the diversity of styles and artistic expressions featured in the gallery!
The Opening Event!
I planned an online vernissage to chat with the exhibiting artists about their work and gain fresh inspiration.
Whenever I attend an art-related event, I always enjoy seeing workshops and presentations. So it didn’t take long before I started searching for at least one talk to include in the event. It would be a great starting point for questions and discussions and would frame the overarching theme: Where and why is paleoart necessary?
It took me a while until I got a hint to contact Ben Miller. Ben Miller is working as an exhibition developer at the Field Museum Chicago. He was more than willing to give a presentation about his work and the importance of paleoart in exhibition development. How amazing is that?!
During his talk, Ben gave us incredible insights into his work—how exhibitions were prepared decades ago and how he now approaches new exhibitions as a storyteller. He shared details about some of the museum’s major projects, including those featuring Sue the T. rex and Archaeopteryx. I was particularly impressed by the attention to detail—many elements that most people might overlook but that all of us will now actively seek out in natural history museums!
Ben emphasized that artwork and composition are what visitors remember most. Out of 20 people, 95% remembered the animations, models, and artistic details way more than the fossil, whereas only 60% of them mentioned the fossil itself.
His talk highlighted just how much effort and how many people are involved in bringing every exhibition to life, and he conveyed it beautifully!
The presentation was followed by an open Q&A about his way to this job, how to be seen and contracted as an artist, and further collaborations.
Some impressions of the finished exhibitions
And the discussions kept going. Despite having breakout rooms and various art panels across the virtual space, we stayed as a group in one area. We got to know each other much better and who each person behind the incredible artworks is. We learned about our backgrounds and gained insight into our artistic journeys.
Not only did I meet new people and see new faces, but I also learned a lot and formed new connections I’d love to maintain.
If you know, you know
This event brought together people from all over the world—Europe, the US, Asia, and Australia. Some sacrificed sleep, but it was amazing to have them there (and to see the sun rising in Australia 😉 ).
At midnight, after 5 hours of talking, we finally called it a night, and I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out.
Oh, and a special shout-out to whoever perfectly parked all the GoKarts!
This day got me thinking – what if we had more of this? More talks for and by paleoartists? A rotating selection of artists/exhibits in the virtual gallery? There is a lot to think about.
But for now, I am grateful to have connected so many people from around the world.
And here is the visitor map from the gallery’s opening day:
Thanks a lot to all the artists, it would not be happening without you:
A lot of galleries took part to celebrate art with artist coming from Germany and Luxembourg. Like last year, I’ve spent my time being in the exhibition of the Kulturwerkstatt Trier to talk about my artwork and get in contact with people.
We organized some special activities and other things to celebrate this special event.
40 for 20
40 pieces for 20€ each. Great art for small prices. This was the motto of a wall at which we hang 40 20×20 cm MDF boards. Every board was turned into a unique artwork to buy for 20€.
Here are my contributions:
Mountains under polar lights. Acryl on MDF board – SOLD
Stars in Universe – Acryl and gold-leaf on MDF board
LovePool 1 ( normal) & 2 (inverted) at daylight
LovePool 1 (normal) & 2 (inverted) at darkness
Unfortunately, I do not have a finished image of the last one
Diplocaulus – it got some eyes and gold-leaf after that – Acryl and gold-leaf on MDF board – SOLD
Art talks
At 7, 8, and 9 pm, Nelly Stockburger gathered all interested people and gave the present artists a chance to talk about their art, their motivation and their view on the Kulturwerkstatt.
As always, this is a good opportunity to discuss the techniques and motivations in more depth and to contact the local artists.
Make your own art
Throughout the evening, all visitors had the chance to create their own art and take a photograph of themselves with the end result back home. Gabbro Kokkot labels herself as a photo-poet with a focus on daily-life poesy.
We tried it ourselves …
… but I am not sure what it wants to tell us. To be fair – this was a random placement of random pieces directly out of a box
Overall, it was a successful evening with valuable insights and feedback and the visitors highly appreciated these event! 🙂
My name is Karim. By day, I am a software developer for industrial robots, by night I am a paleo and wildlife artists based in Germany. I want to take you with me on my journey to bring extinct animals back to life and show what the world already already has lost and is currently loosing. Stay tuned for more updates on this website!
