What is Kunsthalle Barmen Lab?
The Kunsthalle Barmen becomes Kunsthalle Barmen Lab, a research institution of the University of Wuppertal. Kunsthalle Barmen Lab is a laboratory of cultural education, a meeting place for the locals of Wuppertal, visitors of the Kunsthalle Barmen and students. Kunsthalle Barmen Lab has a flexible exhibition architecture, has mobile laboratory equipment and provides a barrier-free access to the exhibition. At the Kunsthalle Barmen Lab, we develop and evaluate mediation formats and enable direct access to art through research and teaching.
Kunsthalle Barmen Lab is active, creative and fast. We are responding to current and pressing social issues, the politics of the day, exhibition themes and ideas from participants and visitors. We cooperate with schools, institutions and the local inhabitants. At the Kunsthalle Barmen Lab, we have an intergenerational approach and research the broader concept of mediation.
Take part!
Kunsthalle Barmen Lab is aimed at a broad and diverse audience. We cooperate with educational establishments, social initiatives, institutions, and the public. We offer events for families, children, adolescents and families on a regular basis. Moreover, we develop a programme for schools, students and other groups.
How to participate
For further information on the Kunsthalle Barmen Lab programme and the individual formats, please check the website of the Kunsthalle Barmen. With regard to questions and bookings, please contact us via email: lab@kunsthallebarmen.de
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November
Ministerin Ina Brandes
as a guest in the newly opened Kunsthalle Barmen
During her tour of the opening exhibition ‘Shared Spaces’ on 8 November, Ina Brandes, Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, was impressed.
The ‘Kunsthalle Barmen’ in Wuppertal’s magnificent historic building has been open for a few weeks now. During her tour of the opening exhibition ‘Shared Spaces’ on 8 November, Ina Brandes, Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, was impressed by the quality and range of international contemporary art presented here and the educational programmes developed by students.
Culture Minister Ina Brandes: ‘With the “Shared Spaces” exhibition, the Kunsthalle and the Faculty of Design and Art at the University of Wuppertal have succeeded brilliantly in combining contemporary art and cultural education. This has whetted the appetite for art and culture of people who are not regular visitors to museums and exhibitions. I am sure that cultural education programmes will help to turn our exhibitions and museums into a campfire where everyone can come together – regardless of origin, skin colour, gender, physical limitations, age or sexual identity.’
Guided tour through an exhibition with socio-political impetus
Ina Brandes was welcomed by Prof Dr Birgitta Wolff on the prestigious staircase of the old and new cultural temple. ‘We are delighted that the Minister is personally inspecting this project, which will represent a real tour de force for the University of Wuppertal over the next three years,’ said the Rector of the University of Wuppertal, recognising the enormous commitment of the faculty. Its initiator Prof Katja Pfeiffer and Artistic Director Isabelle Meiffert not only guided their guest through renowned neon and light installations, videos and sound works, but also across the forecourt of the Kunsthalle, past the ‘Hot Cube Public Luxury’, a sauna with integrated bar by Baltic Raw Org and a fountain installation by Raul Walch, which have already become popular social meeting points.
‘The exhibition explores the tension between social cohesion and the feeling of being thrown back on oneself. It is an invitation to explore the strengths of communities and to encounter each other anew,’ says Isabelle Meiffert, explaining the idea behind the “Shares Spaces” exhibition, which she curated for this location and occasion.
Initiator Prof Katja Pfeiffer also reaffirms the impetus behind the launch of the ambitious project: ‘We can chalk up our endeavours to breathe new life into this traditional cultural location as a success if we manage to negotiate socially relevant topics within three years just as courageously and unruly as the Barmer Kunstverein once did.’
Image: Minister Ina Brandes was shown around the Kunsthalle Barmen and the ‘Shares Spaces’ exhibition by curator Isabelle Meiffert, Rector Prof. Dr Birgitta Wolff and Prof. Katja Pfeiffer from the University of Wuppertal (from left to right). // Photo Michael Mutzberg