UNESCO City of Media Arts showcases female perspectives in intergenerational dialogue with media art works
Art, culture, media art and creativity will once again enter into a symbiotic partnership and merge into a cultural marketplace of artistic creation from February 22 to 25, 2024 at the center of this year’s media art presentations at art KARLSRUHE.
This year, Karlsruhe’s art and cultural institutions will once again present themselves collectively at art KARLSRUHE in their own area, the Forum Karlsruhe in hall 3. Media art is the centerpiece of the space on the central marketplace – as one of the pillars of Karlsruhe’s identity. In addition to works from the archive of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media, the next generation of media artists from the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG) will be presenting four of their own works and the scenographic design of the space. The two partner institutions, which played a key role in Karlsruhe’s UNESCO title, are intensifying their cooperation following the change of management and are presenting a joint exhibition here for the first time outside of their own four walls:
The juxtaposition of world-famous female artists and HfG students will be realized under the title “Hybrid Echoes”. The term “hybrid” refers to the fact that people shape their identity in many different ways. In their own way, they all contribute to understanding and shaping society by sharing their observations and experiences. The selection of works by students of the HfG was made first, which are juxtaposed with the selection of artworks from the ZKM. These works by a previous generation of artists from the ZKM archive show that they too have explored the question of their own identity in a media-saturated world. The aim is for visitors to find the “echoes”, or similar patterns or familiar things, between the different female perspectives in the generational dialogue.
With equal prominence, a total of 7 works will be shown to the art-interested public in a scenography created especially for this occasion, which is inspired by a hybridization of the logos of the ZKM and the HfG. The following artists’ works will be on display in the center of this scenographic design on the marketplace of the Forum Karlsruhe:
Dara Birnbaum: „MTV Art Break“ (ZKM), Luise Peschko: „Enna Wills Wissen“ (HfG), Miki Feller: „Prologue: At the Zoo“ und „Germania Girl“ (HfG), Nina Sobell: „Electro Encephalographic“, from the series „Infermental 4: Logique Emotionelle“ (ZKM), Pipilotti Rist: „(Entlastungen) Pipilottis Fehler [(Absolu – tions) Pipilotti’s mistakes] “ (ZKM), Yuliana Mosheeva: „Antropea“ (HfG).
“The sense of life today and then, examined by the University of Arts and Design and the Centre for Art and Media, promises an intriguing exploration of society, but also of media art. What makes art different today than it was back then, how does society feel today, how did it feel back then? I am delighted that we are able to feature the two institutions at the center of the ‘Forum Karlsruhe’ this year, as they – and the ZKM in particular – were the key institutional players in winning the UNESCO title,” says Dominika Szope, Head of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Karlsruhe.
The UNESCO City of Media Arts will also be showing a media artwork by the Francis Karat collective at its booth, funded by the 2023 project funding program. Francis Karat designs creative interfaces between generative AI, film, photography and sound design with the aim of shaping a new artistic era that playfully and intuitively unfolds a popular postmodern media world between high culture and subculture. Their work “Grüße aus’m SchwarzwAId” consists of postcards that are set in motion with image-to-video AI tools and are provided with additional sound design.
The art KARLSRUHE visitors are welcome to immerse themselves in the extensive media art presentation with the protagonists on site.
In 2019, Karlsruhe was the first and so far only city in Germany to be awarded the title “Creative City of Media Arts” by UNESCO and was included in the international UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Against this backdrop, a network of over 40 institutions from the arts, culture, science, creative industries, the digital scene, municipal companies and departments in Karlsruhe has committed itself to building a sustainable urban society with a special focus on creativity and culture.
The presentation of the UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts Karlsruhe and the exhibition of media artworks on the marketplace of the Forum Karlsruhe is realized as a joint action with the support of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media, the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, the Department of cultural affairs of the City of Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe Marketing und Event GmbH, the External Relations and Strategic Marketing Department of the City of Karlsruhe and Karlsruhe Messe- und Kongress GmbH.
Further information on the artworks and artists: cityofmediaarts.de/en
Images and credits: kacloud.karlsruhe.de
Press contact
Daniela Burkhardt
City of Karlsruhe, Department of Cultural Affairs
Phone: +49 (0) 721 133-4003
daniela.burkhardt@kultur.karlsruhe.de