In a time plagued by wars and upheavel, the Akademie der Künste is dedicating itself to the subject of utopia. Akademie President Jeanine Meerapfel has invited the artistic sections of the Akademie to participate in this programme dedicated to historical and contemporary utopias for imagining better futures.

Yet despite the apparent freedom from rigid structures and time cards, many employees continue to struggle for fair conditions. Invisible work such as unpaid housework or care work, frequently carried out by women, is also a social problem at present and shows the need to address inequalities and exploitation. The struggle for higher wages now faces such terms as New Work, 4-day week and work-life balance. Are these just hollow phrases or realistic demands in a time of maximum stress?

The exhibition Group Therapy is a dialogue, an encounter, an exchange of artistic ideas and concepts, and a juxtaposition of artworks from two different collections. Holdings from – and recent acquisitions for – the collection of Prague City Gallery (GHMP), which was established in 1963 and comprises more than 16,000 items, are brought together here with pieces from Art Collection Telekom, which was launched by Deutsche Telekom in 2010 to promote and collect contemporary art from Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.

Disobedience Archive dates back to 2005, when Marco Scotini planned a traveling exhibition of videos, graphic materials and ephemera whilst in Berlin. From there Disobedience became an ongoing, multi-phase video archive and platform of discussion that deals with the relationship between artistic practices and political action.

Šejla Kamerić will present CEASE, a public art project hosted by the City of Venice on view at Campo Santo Stefano. The project is curated by Guilia Foscari and commissioned by Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary art, Sarajevo.

Commissioner: National Gallery of Canada; Curator: Gaëtane Verna; Exhibitor: Kapwani Kiwanga
Venue: Giardini

Vögel fliegen, wohin sie wollen, ungebunden, unabhängig, ungeachtet nationaler Grenzen. Und doch geraten sie mitunter zwischen die Fronten, wie jüngst der Fall einer in Indien freigelassenen Taube zeigt, die für China spioniert haben soll. Das Friedenssymbol als Geheimagent im Auftrag rivalisierender Mächte?

I first experienced Kiwanga’s dazzling installations at the previous Venice Biennale curated by Cecilia Alemani. There, I encountered Kiwanga’s arresting Terrarium (2022), a series of large-scale, translucent paintings and glass sculptures filled with sand. As a counterpoint to the piece’s stunning arrangement, the work is a solemn harbinger for what our world will soon become: a barren desert. This year, Kiwanga will represent Canada, and will be the first Black woman to do so in the history of the pavilion, and only the second Black person to represent the country…

Seventy Italian artists take over the streets of Milan from April 8, 2024

I f there is one mood that characterises a conversation with Kapwani Kiwanga, the Canadian artist who is representing her country at this year’s Venice Biennale, it is thoughtfulness. She speaks with a measured consideration that is all too rare in the conversation of artists. Each word is weighed, evaluated and considered before it is allowed to stand. Even then it might not be fully satisfactory to her. At one point during our conversation, I quote her own words from a previous interview back to her. She responds, ‘Maybe that’s what I said, those are probably my words, but I think my intention behind those words was…’ before recasting what she said with greater precision.

Ausgangspunkt für die Ausstellung Dissonance – Platform Germany (2) ist eine gleichlautende Publikation, die Positionen aktueller Malerei vorstellt. Zusammengestellt von den Kuratoren Christoph Tannert und Mark Gisbourne eröffnet diese einen Überblick über unterschiedliche künstlerische Ansätze und Strategien, die sich in den vergangenen drei Dekaden in Deutschland herausgebildet haben. Ausgewählt wurden internationale Künstler*innen, die nach 1972 geboren wurden und in Deutschland leben und arbeiten.

Ausgangspunkt für die Ausstellung Dissonance – Platform Germany (2) ist eine gleichlautende Publikation, die Positionen aktueller Malerei vorstellt. Zusammengestellt von den Kuratoren Christoph Tannert und Mark Gisbourne eröffnet diese einen Überblick über unterschiedliche künstlerische Ansätze und Strategien, die sich in den vergangenen drei Dekaden in Deutschland herausgebildet haben. Ausgewählt wurden internationale Künstler*innen, die nach 1972 geboren wurden und in Deutschland leben und arbeiten.

This exhibition Sounds Like a Whisper curated by Galina Dimitrova and Ariel Reichman presents a selection of 11 artists from 8 countries, whose artistic practice can be described as “poetically political.” The guiding principle of this practice is that it seeks the poetic (often in distressing realities) and is interested in the state of mind of the political sphere. Rather than didacticism, this form of art offers an experience, as it believes that people can strongly relate to each other, as well as to a cause, through feelings. Thus, it wants to create a feeling in the viewer, rather than a rational observation. It looks at subjects not as an “observation from the outside” but rather as “action from within.” In this way it treats acute political issues, allowing for a more subtle, complex, and poetic relationship with the viewer. At the same time, there is a critical relationship towards the subject matter, expressing the artist’s attitude to it.

Humor, often underestimated, plays a crucial role that can be interpreted both as a survival tactic and as a power tool. It is interesting to consider it as a means to communicate one’s position strategically.

A fun aspect can be when one says one thing and means the opposite or when bizarre aspects that usually go unnoticed are highlighted.

In “U Scantu”: A Disorderly Tale (2022), Sicilian artist Elisa Giardina Papa brings together ceramic sculptures and a large-scale video installation to explore the Sicilian myth of the ‘donne di fora’ – ‘women from the outside and beside themselves’.