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Intensifying the exchange of experiences with European partners

Cities develop. They grow, they shrink, neighbourhoods change functions and identities, public spaces become desolate, relationships between the centre and the periphery change. Traditions are forgotten, reinvented or reactivated. These processes have a substantial effect on human coexistence.

Problems of city planning

Does "the" European city exist? Changing Habitats, Inventing Communities, Building Cities particulary intends to combine activities of smaller and medium sized cities of medieval origin. Due to the industry of the 19 th century they have gone through severe changes and have experienced a solid variability of their economic principles during the last years of the past century and, consequently, a severe change of their life conditions too.

Experiences of the past years have led to the realisation that ordinary city planning methods are too static and too hierarchical to recognise the essential problems and solve them in a sustainable and creative manner.

New areas of art

More and more artists are getting aquainted with this point of view. They realize the uselessness of working isolated, away from authentic situations and the problems of real life. Instead they become interested to solve relevant social problems together with others - professionals, users and everybody concerned. Doing this, they are particularly dedicating their interest to architecture, design and urban features.

The primary goal of Changing Habitats, Inventing Communities, Building Cities is to show that the integration of the artistic way of thinking and working in the development and planning of European cities is of great significance for the shaping of the future. By ‘artistic way of thinking and working’ we mean an approach that is fundamentally communicative, contextual, ecological and interdisciplinary in its orientation.

Exchange of experiences

We would like to provide the setting for collaboration between participants from various European cities – Bremen, Malmö, Utrecht, Edinburgh, as well as partners from Gdansk, Sevilla, Budapest – in order to initiate an intensive exchange of experience.

Changing Habitats, Inventing Communities, Building Cities wants to tie up closely practise with reflection. This exchange of experience is supposed to be combined with the realisation of five chosen projects of four countries as from May 2004 to April 2005. These five projects, integrating habitants as well as professionals of different disciplines in an exemplary way, will be realized in four Northeuropean cities.

The projects

Malmö: Lars Mikkelsen, trevnad-05 Row House
A collaborational project by Lars Mikkelsen and Students of the Malmö Art Academy.

Kirkcaldy (near Edinburgh):Tracy Mackenna and Edwin Janssen The Merchant's House Garden.(Realized in the framework of a larger public art project.)

Utrecht: Apolonija Sustersic Cinema-Studio

Bremen: N55, Small Truck and new proposals on City Farming
and Anke Sander / Barbara Claassen-Schmal, The G:Jacket.

The five projects will be documented in detail in an exhibition in April/May 2005 in the Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst (GAK) in Bremen. The exhibition constitutes the background for a public conference taking place on two days in May. Partners, you can find under network, will take part in the conference. The results of the conference and the exhibition will be published afterwards.

Help collecting texts for the library

We want to establish on this website (see library) a collection of texts, thoughts, suggestions and opinions. You are welcome to contribute with your own proposals.

• Where in the countries, cities and institutions of Europe are there model projects, funding strategies, administrative instruments for the integration of artistic work in social contexts? What differing regional characters and fields of practise have developed?
• How can they complement one another in a productive manner, what can we learn from one another?
• Are there ideal institutional means of supporting art projects beyond traditional exhibition practices?
• How can justice be done to the new requirements of artistic work? What effects do new forms of artistic work have on the conveyance of curricula at art academies?

Which other questions do you consider as important in this context?
Please help us to collect an interesting anthology.

CHANGING HABITATS: ART EXPERIENCE AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Exhibition:
April 22 - May 29 2005
Opening: Thursday, April 21 at 8 pm

CHANGING HABITATS, INVENTING COMMUNITIES, BUILDING CITIES: ART GOES PROFESSIONAL

International Conference:
May 25, 10 am - 6 pm
May 26, 10 am - 1 pm

>> The program

Registration: office@gak-bremen.de

Guided Tours

Sunday, May 8 at 4 pm: Horst Griese // Sunday, May 22 at 4 pm: Horst Griese and Sander/Claassen-Schmal

Lecture

Wednesday, May 4 at 7 pm: Apolonija Sustersic presents selected examples of her projects

Informations

Find further informations here

Gesellschaft für
Aktuelle Kunst
Teerhof 21, 28199 Bremen
office@gak-bremen.de
www.gak-bremen.de

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