wanderlust

Open Call: Hang Whatever You Can Carry

Dear Artists of Berlin,

Anxious to show your artwork to the public? Your chance has arrived! Read about this exciting opportunity below:

Last year saw the closing of the Deutsche Guggenheim. In its wake, the institution’s allied sponsor, Deutsche Bank, was suddenly left without a strong voice in the Berlin art scene. In the past few weeks, there have been social media musings that something big was about to happen. Finally, last weekend Deutsche Bank announced something HUGE: the inaugural 24-hour exhibition of its new Kunsthalle will accept works by any artist who wishes to exhibit within the new space. Yup, you read right: ANY artist can bring work to be installed this week. I managed to get a few exclusive words with the organizers, and here are the details.

The Deets

  • From 10am to 7pm Friday, April 5th through Sunday, April 7th, artists in Berlin are invited to bring their artwork to Charlottenstraße 37/38. Submissions will be taken until the walls are full, so get there early.
  • The requirements are simple: the art has to be able to be hung on the wall. So leave your sculptures at home and bring your best two-dimensional work––paintings, drawings and photographs will all be accepted.

Guest curator Remé Block will arrange the artworks on Sunday, and every piece will be assigned a number and exhibited anonymously. Make sure you bring your showstopper because there will be awards given to a few lucky artists. For one, visitors will have the chance to vote for the best in show. The winner will receive a €500 monthly stipend for the next year to support their practice. Three other lucky artists selected by a curatorial team will be given their own two-week solo exhibition at the Kunsthalle at the end of 2013. The stakes are high, artparasites!

The Inspiration?

Back in 1978 the American curator Walter Hopps instigated what at the time was a very experimental and extremely controversial exhibition. While head director at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C., Hopps founded the Museum of Temporary Art. The space had one mission: for thirty-six hours anyone could show anything. The havoc began with much fanfare, and as one can imagine there was a wide array of art (and non-art) that filled the gallery’s walls. One piece in particular, as recalled by Hopps in an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist, was simply a page from a Hustler Magazine ripped out and stapled on the wall by a drunken visitor. Needless to say, when I heard the Deutsche Bank was going to pull the same stunt by opening its doors to anyone this weekend I only hoped that history would repeat itself.

A Part of History

Deutsche Bank will premiere this exhibition this coming Monday at noon, and it will be open to the public for the next 24 hours straight. There you will be able to participate in the voting process, hopefully meet some of the curators and others involved with the project, as well as experience a real life Salon. If you’re interested in showing, the earlier you bring in your work the better. After the space is full, Kunsthalle will stop accepting potential submissions. This may be one of the most interesting exhibitions to happen in Berlin this month, if not this year, so why pass up a chance to be a part of history? 

Article by James Shaeffer

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