It was 1973 when, as an Aberystwyth University student, I arrived for a semester at Düsseldorf Art Academy.

A man in a hat sat on the entrance steps to the academy, drawing on the ground – a sea of students and some local rough sleepers surrounding him.

This was Professor Joseph Beuys, a father of performance and conceptual art in Europe and who now has a room at London’s Tate Modern dedicated to his work.

He had accepted 400 students for the summer semester of 1973 – not the designated 1% – and he had just been sacked. Declaring that he would not deny any undiscovered Pestalozzi chances in life, he stayed on unofficially for the next 10 years, fighting his case, still teaching, misunderstood by the authorities and adored by his students. He accepted a professorship at Hamburg and won his case.

Beuys believed in the creative power of art to heal lives.

Among the students at the time were many members of the present Düsseldorf Association of Visual Artists, the BBK.

One of whom, Irmgard Kramer, together with myself has initiated the International Exchange Project, entitled Yma Ac Acw / Hier Und Da / Here And There, with a series of exhibitions in Wales this year, shared between BBK and Welsh Group members.

BBK is also showing work by guest artists, Diana Rattray, Dagmar Triet, Edith Oellers, Professor Jörg Eberhard, Ruth Bussmann and Stephen Reader, and there will be two shows for Welsh Group members in Germany in 2015.

It is hoped it will raise awareness of the world-class art being produced in Wales - not seen often enough beyond Welsh borders or abroad, with current financial cuts destroying opportunities for artists at home.

The anniversary of World War 1 presents a great chance to do something about this.

The artists of the Welsh Group will show their work in Düsseldorf at BBK KunstForum Gallery in 2015, and in nearby Hilden.

The BBK has spoken about its wish to deepen international friendship and exchange of ideas between Welsh and German artists.

The project will provide a chance to remember the great contribution of German artists and emigres from Nazi repression in the ‘30s and ‘40s - artists like Fred Konekamp and Heinz Koppel who took refuge in Wales, and infused Welsh art with their ideas, and were also early members of The Welsh Group.