Karlsruhe as UNESCO City of Media Arts is the emphasis at this year’s art fair
The city of Karlsruhe presents itself as a UNESCO City of Media Arts during the art KARLSRUHE fair from July 7 to 10, 2022, with impressive installations that showcase a diverse spectrum of artistic creativity in Karlsruhe and beyond.
“That media art plays an outstanding role in Karlsruhe is not only evidenced by the fact that in October 2019, Karlsruhe was designated ‘Creative City of Media Arts’ by UNESCO — the first and so far only city in Germany given this title — and joined the worldwide network of UNESCO Creative Cities. Karlsruhe is also associated with media arts both nationally and internationally, which is why, since 2021, we have consciously focused on media arts as part of the identity of the city of Karlsruhe,” says Lord Mayor Dr. Frank Mentrup.
“Being designated a ‘UNESCO City of Media Arts’ contributes in a very special way to enhancing the status of Karlsruhe as a location for trade fairs. Media art increases the city’s attractiveness for tourists, and this also benefits trade fair visitors. I am very proud that, in collaboration with the city of Karlsruhe’s Department of Cultural Affairs and many other partners, we have succeeded in presenting more media art than ever before in a variety of locations at this year’s Art Karlsruhe,” says Britta Wirtz, Managing Director of the Messe Karlsruhe company.
In the entrance area of the newly designed Hall 3 for the Art and Communication theme, a large LED wall will be the projection screen for an interactive video installation titled Footprint, by the Karlsruhe-based media artist Jonas Denzel, during the four days of the art fair. The work was developed especially for Art Karlsruhe. In Hall 3, further media art works by Karlsruhe artists await the visitors at the City of Karlsruhe booth. Light art and video installations, as well as augmented reality applications, by Fangchao Bi, Kilian Kretschmer and Benjamin Breitkopf of the ATO Platform, Rainer Kehres, Gerardo Nolasco-Rózsás and Paris Díaz, and Betty Rieckmann all reflect the diverse possibilities open to media art and build bridges between art, science, and technology.
“Art Karlsruhe is a wonderful platform that helps us to bring media art to the city, and that is worthwhile in many ways: like no other art form, media art stands for innovation and networking; it is by nature interdisciplinary and brings people together in many different ways. In Karlsruhe, we benefit so much from the special power of collaboration that underpins the activities connected with the UNESCO City of Media Arts,” says a delighted Dominika Szope, Head of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Karlsruhe.
Also located in Hall 3 is the booth of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. This year, the ZKM is showing works from its exhibition Biomedia: The Age of Media with Life-like Behavior at Art Karlsruhe.
A network of over 40 institutions from art, culture, science, creative industries, the digital scene, municipal enterprises and departments in Karlsruhe has set itself the goal of positioning and further developing our art and creative city as a center of media art. The presentations at Art Karlsruhe are a joint endeavor by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe Marketing und Event GmbH, Karlsruhe Tourism GmbH, the City of Karlsruhe External Relations and Strategic Marketing Department, Karlsruhe Messe- und Kongress GmbH, and the ZKM | Center for Art and Media. Important partners from the business community such as Bechtle GmbH Karlsruhe, Stadtwerke Karlsruhe utilities, Sparkasse Karlsruhe bank, and the Technologie Region Karlsruhe action group, also support the realization of the media art presentations at Art Karlsruhe.
For further information visit www.cityofmediaarts.de
Press contact:
Claudia Lahn
City of Karlsruhe, Department of Cultural Affairs
Telefon: 0721 133-4030
E-Mail: claudia.lahn@kultur.karlsruhe.de