Biennale for International Light Art
open light in private spaces
Lido, 2005, Artists: Anny und Sibel Öztürk / Photo: Achim Kukulies
"open light in private spaces" is doubly exciting because not only is the first "Bienniale for International Light Art" in the world, scheduled for March 28 through to May 27, 2010, bringing 60 works of renowned artists to the east of the Ruhr metropolitan area, these works are - uniquely - to be put on view in private homes and apartments in Bergkamen, Bönen, Fröndenberg, Hamm, Lünen and Unna.
The settings will range from garden studio to typical miners' home, from a villa in the Wilhelminian style to a modern house, from downtown granny flat to rural estate, from a barn, vaulted cellar and attic to an entire living area, from the children’s bedroom to the party bar, the broom cupboard, and from the funeral director’s premises adjoining a private dwelling to the home office. Similarly diverse are provenance, age, the number of family members involved and the occupations of the building occupants: refugees from war zones, immigrants from other parts of Germany or other countries, long-established locals, newly born or 81 years old, small and large families, singles, sole parents with children, and pensioner couples. The professions represented are equally varied: housewives, doctors, musicians, architects, paediatricians, mechanics, politicians, therapeutists, upholsterers, teachers, antiques dealers, shop assistants and free-lancers - some of whom already "au fait" with art, some coming into contact with it for the first time.
The artists selected for these interventions and the presentation of works already in existence include not only the more celebrated light art specialists such as James Turrell, Dan Flavin, Michel Verjux, Olafur Eliasson and François Morellet, but also those who use the material of "light" as a component and medium of significance for artistic contemplations of the past and present and of social and individual processes and phenomena: Christian Boltanski, Monica Bonvicini, Angela Bulloch, Elin Hansdóttir, Mischa Kuball, Via Lewandowsky, Olaf Nicolai, Anny and Sibel Öztürk, Haegue Yang and Jun Yang.
With these artistic works being located in private venues, the Bienniale under the artistic direction of Matthias Wagner K deliberately relates to the concept of the "Chambres d’amis" exhibition produced in 1986 by Jan Hoet in Ghent, Belgium, while also allowing the "public at home" to enter into a direct, critical dialogue between art and urban life.
March 28 - May 27, 2010
Curator: Matthias Wagner K
60 private apartments and houses in Bergkamen, Bönen, Fröndenberg, Hamm, Lünen and Unna.
A rotating group of 30 of the total of 60 venues can be visited at any time during the period from 10:00 - 18:00; admission by ticket.
Partners: State of NRW, LWL Culture Foundation, Centre for International Light Art Unna, the participating cities, the Art Foundation NRW
Tickets available online only at:
www.biennale-lichtkunst.de