A new cultural institution is being created in Wuppertal Barmen: the Kunsthalle Barmen exhibits international contemporary art and at the same time mediates between the urban community, the university and the international art scene. The inaugural exhibition Shared Spaces opens on October 18, 2024. SNEAK PEEK on September 13 and 14, 2024.
Image above: Kunsthalle Barmen, Photo: Vivian Junker, 2023
If the time until the grand reopening in October is getting too long, you can get a taste of what’s to come at “Wuppertal 24h live” on September 13 and 14, 2024.
The neon work “BE AFRAID OF THE ENORMITY OF THE POSSIBLE” by Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar will already be shining on the Kunsthalle façade. Inside, things continue: in the foyer, the furniture designed and built by students especially for this location can already be viewed. On the upper floor, visitors will encounter portraits of international newsreaders in moments when they are silent – this highly topical installation by Heiner Franzen is called “Anchors”.
The Kunsthalle Barmen LAB, a unique laboratory for cultural education, brings together the city’s population, local residents and university students in various formats and programs. Around 60 students are already involved. They are developing a flexible exhibition architecture, mobile laboratory equipment and a guidance system for the exhibitions. They are also significantly involved in the conception, organization and implementation of the educational programmes.
Program:
Friday, September 13, 2024, 4 pm Guided tour with Prof. Isabelle Meiffert.
Saturday, September 14, 2024, 10:30 am Artist talk with Prof. Katja Pfeiffer and Lena Rüschmann.
1 pm Presentation LAB Katja Pfeiffer (ideas and possibilities around the LAB of Kunsthalle Barmen as a new teaching and learning space for contemporary art education)
The new Kunsthalle Barmen is managed by a dual leadership team from the University of Wuppertal: Prof. Katja Pfeiffer and visiting professor Isabelle Meiffert. They want the former “Hall of Fame” to be much more than just an exhibition venue. “Together with the adjoining ‘Lab’, we also want to get to the bottom of many other questions here: What role do institutions have in our society today, how can we reach out to our diverse neighborhood and establish an inspiring place of genuine exchange and shared experience,” explains guest professor Isabelle Meiffert as Artistic Director.
These questions will also inspire the upcoming inaugural exhibition “Shared Spaces”, which will open its doors on October 18, 2024 at 6 pm: with artistic works on the forecourt through to the approximately 400 square meters of exhibition space on the second floor. In times of a harsh and chilly social climate, spaces for encounters will be created here alongside neon and light installations, videos, sound works and performances – and in a very concrete way: a sweat yurt with an integrated bar by the artist collective Baltic Raw Org, a fountain as a social meeting point by Raul Walch and a lavish “Welcome Barmen Banquet” by artist Sonja Alhäuser for all opening guests. One thing is already clear: a whole new era is now beginning for the Kunsthalle and its surroundings in Barmen.
Prof. Katja Pfeiffer and Isabelle Meiffert: “We can hardly wait to explore all of this experimentally and with artistic means!”
SAVE THE DATE
“Shared Spaces” from October 18, 2024 at the Kunsthalle Barmen
Duration: October 19, 2024 – January 11, 2025
Artists:
Sonja Alhäuser, Baltic Raw Org, Monica Bonvicini, Paul Budniewski, Isaac Chong Wai, common ground, Antje Engelmann, Ivana Franke, Heiner Franzen, Alfredo Jaar, Laure Prouvost, Michael Sailstorfer, Raul Walch uvm.
WHEN?
Friday, September 13 – Saturday, September 14, 2024
WHERE?
Kunsthalle Barmen
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 4-6
42269 Wuppertal
