Part of the Bethanien building is occupied by squatters. Both they and some politicians are using this exceptional situation ingeniously in order to exploit fine art for local political aims. In this context, the Berlin duo of artists Dellbrügge & de Moll have introduced fiction into the debate and taken a look around in search of a new location for the Künstlerhaus. They chop up Bethanien neatly, extracting the Künstlerhaus’ programme and transplanting it into an amusement park. In their vision, Bethanien moves to the former Spreepark in Plänterwald, Treptow. In this way, the project examines art’s utopian potential between gentrification and claims to participation. What role do artists play on the city stage? Is art an enclave within urban space?



New Harmony, Studio 1,
May 4 – May 20 2007,
Opening: Thursday, 03. May 2007, 19 h

With Andreas Schlaegel (dr) Anja Brietzke, Peter Farkas, Pia Fuchs (German ID of Patricia Reed), Nikolaus Schneider (mic)

Accompanying program:

11. Mai, 20h Should we stay or should we go? Anja Barenthin, Dipl.-Ing. Architektur (FH) and Janine Becker, Dipl.-Ing. Architektur (FH), "Kunstplateau 36"; Dellbrügge & de Moll, artists: "New Harmony" - Guests: Modersohn & Freiesleben, architects; Torben Schomaker, architect and craftsman


16. Mai, 20h Branding the Bethanien - Karen van den Berg, Prof. für Kulturmanagement und inszenatorische Praxis an der Zeppelin University, “Branding und Flächenbrand” Stefan Iglhaut, curator and cultural manager, “Branding – für welches Produkt und in welchem Markt?” - Guests: Reinhard Binder, brand consultant, Visions 2 Form GmbH; Christine Nippe, cultural scientist and art historian; Annette Spohn, art historian


17. Mai, 20h In Quest of the Perfect Location (in English) - Benjamin Foerster-Baldenius, performing architect, raumlabor_berlin, "Der spezifische Raum" - Guests: Markus Bader, architect, raumlabor_berlin; Michael Baers, artist; Hadley & Max-well, artist; Rodney LaTourelle, artist, architect and writer; Lise Nellemann, artist and curator, Sparwasser HQ; Åsa Sonjasdotter, artist


18. Mai, 20h Squat the World - Marc Ries, cultural scientist and media theoretician, "Von Utopien, Inseln und anderen Beziehungen", Bastian Lange, Dipl.-Geograph, "Stadt – Raum – Lokalismus: Raumaneignungen von Culturepreneurs" in Berlin
Guest: Stefan Münker, media scientist

Does the distinction between entertainment and art, mass culture and developed aesthetics still exist? While the fine lines between art and the rest of the world become increasingly permeable with every new biennial, Lynne Marsh analyses the mutual borrowings between art and popular culture. Thus in her new work “Stadium – first cut”, the Berlin Olympic Stadium becomes the backdrop for a new video work. Marsh combines material filmed on the spot with 3D-animations of a stadium model and composite pictorial material of a performance to create a dynamic, ultimately dizzying spectacle of heightened fusion reminiscent of contemporary music videos, Science Fiction and fantasy films. In the process, the artist employs the possibilities of multimedia digital technologies to create parallel spheres and worlds beyond the reproduction of reality.



Stadium – first cut, Studio 2,
May 4 – May 20 2007,
Opening: Thursday, 03. May 2007, 19 h

In collaboration with the choreographer Ayman Harper, the dancer Gail Skrela and the composer Oliver Doerell.

www.lynnemarsh.net

The Australian fellowship-holder Natascha Stellmach is more than just a guest in Germany. As a child of German parents born in Australia, the clash of identities and highlighted memories are key components of the artist’s own personal biography. Her work in Künstlerhaus Bethanien, therefore, is also a documentation of the breaches and divisions in the fragmentary narrative of her own life, which has never appeared as a coherent picture. With "The Book of Back", Natascha Stellmach presents a project that lays out the darkly poetic fragment of a family history before the public, basing this on found and staged images, stories, video and installation. Her work comprises two interlocking components; the spatial installation and a book that is presented in the exhibition. "If one immerses oneself in the dark poetry of the book, the interwoven and often interlocking layers of narrative draw the reader deeper and deeper towards the foundation of existential crises." (Astrid Mania)



The Book of Back, Studio 3,
May 4 – May 20 2007,
Opening: Thursday, 03. May 2007, 19 h

Further information: www.bookofback.com