The resident artists of the 37th round have been finding out what makes Leipzig unique. Taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather, we visited all the venues for our upcoming shows. Since they are in different parts of town, this had us on foot, bike and tram.
Starting at the Alte Handelsschule, where we will present Speech Bubble (facebook event), we thought about the possibilities the shabby chic venue could host. Then we walked down Geisserstr towards Karl Heine. Since many of the artists are using found and/or site specific materials in their work or for inspiration, it was important we stop at the Recycling Museum (facebook) and the Free Store. Yes, I said free! This is one of the things that makes Leipzig so special. People are in the habit of gifting things they no longer need instead of throwing them out. I think we all came out of the free store with new “purchases”. Wow! The buzz of shopping without the hangover.
Next stop was Ping Pong where we will have our first show, I Accept the Cookies (facebook event). The small white cube venue with its huge picture window is the perfect place to create an old school salon style exhibition and give people a sample of the process taking place in the studio.
photos by PILOTENKUECHE Art Program
Then it was a mad dash across town to east Leipzig where eyes lit up as the artists entered the secret entrance to the magical space of Krudebude. What a perfect venue for our second show, Rutschbahn (playground slide). Artists are actively thinking of ways to interact with the off space’s unrenovated charm. (facebook event).
Afterwards, we went to the Japanese Haus VoKu where they make a big meal and people pay 3EUR for a portion. It was teaming and the artists were impressed at the sense of community they had experienced here and in the other places we’d been that day. We topped the day off by going to an opening at another off space, Bistro 21 (facebook event) where everyone engaged in discussion and meeting new people.
And on the hottest day of the week, we all came together outside our own venue to enjoy a BBQ and talk about our upcoming shows. As we get to know each other better, it is clear that this is a group that is up for exchange. Many are even taking this time and constellation to push their artistic practice in directions that can only happen here, with these people.
Our final show will take place at Pilotenkueche and be called, SPOOR. (facebook event)
It was a very good week. Thank you, round 37!
ARTISTS
International residents
Ai Ikeda (Painting, Drawing, Mixed Media, Installation; Montreal, Canada)
Barry Amey (Installation, Painting, Printmaking, Light Installation; Cornwall, UK)
Buket Savci (Painting; NYC, USA)
David Benarroch (Sculpture; Tel Aviv, Israel)
Robert Finn Curry (Sculpture, Installation; Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
Jan Yongdeok Lim (Painting; Utrecht, Netherlands)
Luca Arboccò (Painting, Installation; Pisa, Italy)
Mihyun Maria Kim (Painting, Drawing; Edmonton, Canada)
Nicholas Adamson (Video, Sound; Winnipeg, Canada)
Reinhold Ponesch (Painting, Installation; Vienna, Austria)
Tamaki Kawaguchi (Video, Performance, Installation; Osaka, Japan)
Yuuki Horiuchi (Installation, Drawing, Mixed Media; Tokyo, Japan)
Local Participants
Georg Lisek (Video, Installation; Leipzig, Germany)
Julia Eichler (Sculpture, Painting, Drawing, Mixed Media; Halle, Germany)
Curator
Viviane Tabach (São Paulo, Brazil)
Assistants
Elias Emtanes (Leipzig, Germany)
Ines Alberty (London, UK)
The PILOTENKUECHE International Art Program is an independent project, open to artists of all nationalities. The common goal of the final group exhibition leads to intensive dialogue about individual ideas and practices, and binds each artist temporarily io a group, leading to a long-term network that exists even after the residency is over.