CONTEMPORARY ART GOES TO SCHOOL IN A CONTAINER, INITIATED BY KUNSTHAUS DRESDEN MUNICIPAL GALLERY FOR CONTEMPORARY ART
Kunsthaus Dresden, Städtische Galerie für Gegenwartskunst, in cooperation with the Marie-Curie-Gymnasium, 30. Mittelschule Dresden-Neustadt and Vitzthum-Gymnasium in Dresden, as well as pupils from Mittelschule Weixdorf, the Dreikönigsgymnasium and the Evangelisches Kreuzgymnasium.
Funded by the Sächsische Staatsministerium für Kultus and the European Social Fund in the framework of the idea competition ›Heraus-Forderung! Ganzheitliches Lernen im Projekt!‹
Project duration: September 2009 to July 2014
›White Cube / Black Box‹ is a project of pupils, initiated by Kunsthaus Dresden. The foremost aim of the project is to bring architecture, design and contemporary art to schools in an holistic process. Based on containers, a temporary art space emerges. The exhibition building is designed by youths and travels from school to school. Until the summer of 2011, the project seeks to develop three exhibitions that by means of contemporary art address topics related to the everyday life of youths and adults in various ways.
In spring of 2010, the first joint exhibition dedicated to the term ›Luxury‹ was successfully presented on the premises of the Marie-Curie-Gymnasium. Questions were raised as to what we understand as luxury and what kind of luxury is still up-to-date today.
The second show has been on view from November 6 – December 5, 2010. The jointly chosen theme is the future. In an experimental way, a view is cast to the year 2050, which all those involved in the project can experience. Personal hopes and common ideals, utopias but also justified doubts about them; the question of preserving values and the validity of design and architecture are the subject of the architectural and design-oriented conceptions, as well as the artistic projects and spatial designs on view in the show.
›White Cube / Black Box‹ turns part of the school into a public site for culture and a crystallization point for wishes, ideas and competences that also carry weight outside of school.
Architecture, art and design can convey essential competences that play an important role in regard to one’s own lifestyle, to living together in society and to one’s professional life. The task of building a temporary architecture seeking to combine sophisticated functions is one of the most exciting endeavours for the future and imparts many details of architectural knowledge, from the site plan via the building application all the way to the interior design for an exhibition. In contemporary art, themes are negotiated that we also deal with regarding personal wishes and life plans, worries and hopes. Diverse media are employed: drawing, painting, sculpture, but also video and digital design. The graphic design and communication of a product, whether it is created using traditional or digital media, decisively determines a project’s success. Exhibitions of contemporary art are promoted by flyers and ads, the public is reached via press releases and the successful placing of an event in the media. The design is augmented by public relations. What information is needed, how can an informative text be written for the press, and to whom must it be sent? It must also be carefully considered how the visitors of an exhibition are to be treated on site: How can it be achieved that they are satisfied and inspired when they leave the show? What kind of information on the artistic projects should be communicated to them? How can an exchange with the audience be initiated in a direct conversation, a guided tour or a discussion? And how can one develop questions in a project and come up with one’s own answers that lead to insights and point in new directions for oneself and others?
Participation in the project
Eligible for participation are pupils of grammar and secondary schools in Dresden starting with 7th grade. Registrations or applications for participation are possible via the addresses listed under Contact. The number of participants is limited to 55 pupils. Feel free to ask about further details. The project ›White Cube / Black Box‹ is organised and professionally accompanied by Kunsthaus Dresden, Städtische Galerie für Gegenwartskunst in Dresden.
Team of Experts
Our team of experts:
Contemporary art: André Tempel, Elke Schindler, Hannes Broecker, Liron Dinovitz, Svea Duwe, Anne König, Sebastian Hempel, Julia Gaisbacher, Martin Mannig, Christine Schiewe, Stefanie Busch, David Buob, Claudia Schötz, Antje Schiffers und Thomas Sprenger, Daniela Hoferer, Cosima Tribukeit und Katja Hoffmann-Wildner, Christian Sievers, Bernd Kilian, Tobias Köbsch, Karoline Schmidt, Juliane Schmidt, Christoph Rodde, Thorsten Groetschel
Design & Illustration: Jakob Kirch, Robert Müller, Pascal Storz, André Wandslebe, Ina Kwon
Architecture: Alexander Pötzsch, Robert Thiele, Aline Wagner, Jens Zander, Roland Züger
Cooperation ans Funding
The project is carried out in cooperation with the Marie-Curie-Gymnasium, the 30. Mittelschule and the Vitzthum-Gymnasium, as well as with pupils from the Mittelschule Weixdorf, the Dreikönigsgymnasium and the Evangelisches Kreuzgymnasium. It is funded by the Sächsische Staatsministerium für Kultus and the European Social Fund in the framework of the idea competition ›Heraus-Forderung! Ganzheitliches Lernen im Projekt!‹. The company FAGSI Vertriebs- und Vermietungs GmbH could be won as a sponsor providing the containers.
Eligible for participation are pupils in grammar and secondary schools in Dresden starting with 7th grade. Registrations or applications for participation are possible via the addresses listed under Contact. The number of participants is limited to 55 pupils; there are still capacities for the third project phase 2010/11. Feel free to ask about further details.