A New Departure

Frankfurter Kunstverein: A New Departure Frankfurter Kunstverein: A New Departure Opening April 4 2006, 7 pm Frankfurter Kunstverein Steinernes Haus am Römerberg Markt 44 60311 Frankfurt am Main Germany Ph. ( 49) 069 219314-0 Fax ( 49) 069 219314-11 post@fkv.de http://www.fkv.de Opening times TuesdaySunday, 11 am7 pm On April 4 the Frankfurter Kunstverein re-opens its doors under a new direction and after a three month period of renovation. Today, few promises can be made by an art institution, apart from those of persisting in the difficult exercises of thinking ahead, sharpening our capacity for mediation and avoiding one-way communication. This year, the Frankfurter Kunstverein offers several meeting points: 10 Reasons To Be a Member is an open invitation to take part in the life of the Frankfurter Kunstverein. It is a space where the visitor is offered valuable insight into our goals. In this way, 10 Reasons To Be a Member aims to revisit the idea of the institution as a social project, as well as to present arguments for being an active part of such an enterprise. Café im Kunstverein. In the process of re-thinking the Frankfurter Kunstverein as a public forum, it was decided to give new form to the café. This task was given to the artists Gorka Eizagirre (*1971) and Xavier Salaberría (*1969). Working collaboratively, Eizagirre and Salaberría have developed a project aimed at improving our public domain: by emphasising the connections between contemporary artistic practice and everyday life, they have created an environment that goes beyond the artistic gesture and functions as a café. Ist das Leben nicht schön? is a group exhibition in four chapters that will run throughout 2006: Esra Ersen (April 5 June 5, 2006) *1970, lives and works in Istanbul and London Wilhelm Sasnal (June 21 September 3, 2006) *1972, lives and works in Warsaw Arturas Raila (September 20 November 19, 2006) *1962, lives and works in Lithuania Tommy Støckel (December 6, 2006 January, 2007) *1972, lives and works in Berlin Using very different methodologies, all of the four artists explore artistic practice and the role of the artist in order to expand our cultural condition. The four projects represent very contemporary concerns: Esra Ersen invites us to become foreign, revisiting notions of subjectivity and cultural territory. Wilhelm Sasnal inundates the present with his painterly research into ways of re-articulating the relationship between high and low culture. Arturas Raila addresses our desire for improving life, of travelling beyond the realm of pragmatic reality; and Tommy Støckel will present a new installation where we can examine our curiosity towards beauty and available images of happiness. Speaking of Others is a platform for discussion that will open later in the year. Informed by the spirit of the open public forum, the Frankfurter Kunstverein is going to invite private and collective initiatives dedicated to explore our near future. With presentations, conferences, screenings and debates, Speaking of Others will be a space to listen, to meet, to talk and to articulate agreement and disagreement. The Residency Program is still under construction. However, we will already now inaugurate it in anticipation of the future program for residents. The Residency Program is a new function at the Frankfurter Kunstverein: It is a place to produce, present and reflect on artistic work, and to engage in intense working relations with art professionals belonging to different cultural contexts and generations. Our first guest to The Residency will be the artist Francesc Ruiz, who will develop a project in and for our particular space. The Esra Ersen exhibition in the Ist das Leben nicht schön? series takes place in co-operation with the O.K Centrum für Gegenwartskunst, Linz and will subsequently travel to the Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz. The Wilhelm Sasnal exhibition takes place in co-operation with the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven.