Images: Hayo Heye
Opening
Saturday, 7 October, 6 – 11 pm
7 pm: Introduction by Anna Nowak (Kunsthaus Hamburg), DG. Reiß (Artist and former chairperson of BBK Hamburg), Inga Wellmann (Ministry of Culture and Media Hamburg) & start open decks
8 pm: Live sampling by Camila Agudelo Mejía
9 pm: Campfire concert by Lena Geue
From 9:30 pm: Open decks
60 years of Kunsthaus Hamburg—time for self-reflection, time to set new impulses with a view to the past. Originally founded on the initiative of regional artists, it will remain the central task of the Kunsthaus to offer the latter an inviting, open and globally networking platform. The anniversary programme picks up on our self-conception as a participatory exhibition space, artistic production site and cultural-political discussion platform.
Four immersive sound, light and colour installations on form a visual and thematic brace. Mariella Mosler’s minimalistic intervention into the space entitled Soft Grid #1(2023) was conceived specifically for the project. It extends the spatial axes of the Kunsthaus into the urban environment. Symbolising a communicative network structure, its ceremonial, silver tinsel garlands point far beyond the architecture and subtly set it in motion. Florian Deeg’s deliberately irritating sound work Hello (2019) extends communication into the outside space. The sculpture Bonfire (2021) by GRAU activates the human being’s ability to feel, to remember and to relate to oneself as well as to others. The video work 36KFRGB (2013) by Nicolaas Schmidt also symbolically ties in with the values the Kunsthaus Hamburg stands for. In a 42.5-hour loop, RGB colours flood the hall in an immense variety of combinations.
Against this backdrop, a multiauditory and interactive social space is created. Its central element is sound. The English proverb “once in a blue moon”, which inspired the title, not only refers to a rare event, but also recalls the evergreen song of the same name. Having seen numerous reinterpretations, including those by Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan, it is an example of creative processes: ideas are adopted, complemented and altered. Following this kind of creative process, we are facilitating four weeks of musical participation, exchange and sharing by offering a freely accessible DJ setup and the use of the hall as a rehearsal or concert stage. The open slots are complemented by a diverse, curated music programme—from electronic-experimental contributions and classical DJ sets to guitar and rap concerts.
Camila Agudelo Mejía is a sound artist and guitarist working in Düsseldorf and Cologne. She is currently studying at the Robert Schumann University in the Music and Media programme. Her work focuses on performances and installations based on audio analysis, improvisation and space. At the Kunsthaus, she transforms records, which are selected by the audience, into a participatory, electronic concert by sampling them and breaking them down into a fractal spatial sound.
Afterwards, singer-songwriter Lena Geue plays her songs surrounded by the installations in the exhibition hall. With her instruments voice, guitar, synthesizer and violin, she loves to explore the “in-between” in music. Experimentation, improvisation and writing meandering songs are currently her themes. Her new EP “Trouble”, based on collaboration and improvisation with a wide variety of musicians, will be released at the end of the year. She also writes and produces music for theatre and interdisciplinary formats, plays and sings solo and in the bands plastiq, Die The Geues and CAREBENDER.
The music programme of the opening evening is curated by Konstantin Bessonov, Mark Matthes and Simon Roessler.