Diverse threads of current societal discourse interweave in unique ways in places where art is created, displayed, and discussed. Fritz Wichert created an innovative center for communication and education for all of Mannheim’s residents in 1911 when he founded the “Academy for Everyone” and the “Free Federation for the Establishment of Art in the City of Mannheim” with the motto “art for all.” Our ProgrammPlus captures the essence of this founding motto once again, creating an inspiring atmosphere in which to open up new pathways to today’s world through art: Art becomes relevant to our everyday lives and our inner life.
Together with local and international artists, academics, entrepreneurs, and an array of stakeholders from many different backgrounds, ProgrammPlus broadens the thinking surrounding the collection and special exhibitions. Between discourse and urbanized society – via academic events and bar nights, concerts, performances, and publications, ProgramPlus examines the themes and questions which shape our existence. What can I learn from art and artists for the benefit of my own life? What role does my religion and worldview play in my everyday life? How can art make the invisible visible?
ProgrammPlus
CONTACT
Dörte Dennemann
Programming Curator
+49 621 293 6432
programmplus@kuma.art
The Kunsthalle Mannheim reflects the landscape of current debates within the worlds of art, culture, and society through academic symposia and lectures. In an interactive and inspiring atmosphere, we make contributions to this discourse with our exhibitions and our vision of a museum for the future, working in collaboration with universities and research institutes
Academic working processes, addressing previously unfamiliar themes and questions, as well as the practice of museum work, form a central focus of the Kunsthalle Mannheim symposia, beside debates about content and internal training. In summer 2018, the series will begin with the symposia “The Museum of the Future. Build. Curate. Share,” “Everything Vibrates: Strains on Artworks and Cultural Artifacts through Mechanical Vibrations and Impacts,” and “Photography as Art: Why Jeff Wall Matters Today.” The symposia are not only aimed at academic specialists from the areas of art, scholarship, and cultural policy – everyone can take part and add their own opinions to the conversation.
Artists and curators are increasingly responding to the changes that have occurred in politics, economics, and philosophy in recent years. In the “Laboratory of the Future” the Kunsthalle Mannheim provides new insights into contemporary themes and questions, putting on evening lectures and discussions which examine the histories of the collection and exhibitions, as well as current cultural and societal debates.
Throughout 2018, we are committed to presenting the provenance history of our collection, considering the influence of the economy on art and proposing ideas for the museum of the future.
The Kunsthalle brings the basic coordinates of human existence into focus with its self-conception as a city within a city – in other words, as an exemplary transection of society. In art, we rediscover the ideas and questions that shape our lives, but we also encounter these themes in the day-to-day activity of urban society. Our events are meeting places for everyone who wants to acquire a better affinity with and understanding of art, the self, and the “other.”
Art is an integral component of our everyday life. Over a drink in the “bar of the present” with local and international artists, creators, and innovators, guests can discuss how art defines our lives and inspires us to look at everyday questions differently, e.g. how we deal with time, how we organize our workplaces, what motivates us in our careers, and how we want to live together.
The “Community College” turns the roles of educators and learners on their heads: The Kunsthalle learns from urban society and its communities – initiatives, cultural and religious groups, and organizations: What kind of relevance does art have in Mannheim itself? What’s missing from the collection? Who has something to offer and wants to exhibit it? Via hands-on activities, discussions, city walking tours, and regular get-togethers, issues that matter in Mannheim are raised, enabling participants to get to know new (favorite) places and gain new insights.
The sculptural focus of the Kunsthalle Mannheim points to the broader context of the consideration of bodies and space. The interdisciplinary series “Live at the Atrium” presents contemporary perspectives on bodies and space and brings current international musicians and performance artists to the fore in the atrium, with events including classical chamber concerts, DJ sets, sound installations, interventions, contemporary dance, parades, reenactments, interactive presentations.
How can we lead conversations that will inspire us to consider art and current societal concerns in new ways, and find new ways to express ourselves? The “Conversation Dinners” will follow the example of the conversation culture celebrated in British members’ clubs: following a short presentation on a theme, conversations develop relating to three different facets of the theme presented, accompanied by a three-course meal. The “Conversation Dinners” promote entertaining and intelligent conversations on themes derived from art and society.
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