We are excited to present the 2020 Art Institute HGK FHNW graduation exhibition Life, Love, Justice on Exhibitions.
Life, Love, Justice—Graduation Exhibition: Art Institute HGK FHNW
This year’s master’s and bachelor’s graduation exhibition of the Art Institute HGK FHNW in Basel—curated by Nikola Dietrich, director, Kölnischer Kunstverein, and Chus Martínez, head of the Art Institute, with curatorial assistance from Marion Ritzmann—presents newly produced works by fifty artists at Kunsthaus Baselland.
For the fifth year, the Art Institute’s graduation exhibition is hosted by Kunsthaus Baselland. The fact that this major event takes place in an important institution for contemporary art and the collaboration between Chus Martínez and a guest curator both reflect the particular nature of this moment in the training of young artists: They stress the transition from the supervised environment of the art school to the stakes of the professional artist’s career. They are also the result of the extraordinary cultural density that art students in Basel are privileged to experience during their time at the Art Institute.
“Life, Love, Justice” is the most special exhibition both of us have ever done, and, without doubt, the most longed for. The artists, in the final year of the bachelor’s or master’s program at the Art Institute HGK FHNW in Basel, were deprived of their freedom of movement, just like the rest of us. But they were also deprived of the opportunity to go to their studios and workshops to continue with their practice. As a practice, art is highly dependent on touch, on establishing a continuous and steady relationship to materials, to humans, to life. All of a sudden, threatening questions loomed for all of us: Is art even possible in these circumstances? How will this new status quo affect younger generations of artists? How are we going to stay in touch with each other? With everyone that constitutes the art community? Art and artists have played a crucial role in society by raising their voices and shaping their works towards social and natural justice, equality, and values of empathy and care.
—Nikola Dietrich and Chus Martínez
Read the full statement and view the exhibition.
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