OPEN URBAN ART EXCHANGE

OPEN URBAN ART EXCHANGE (ENGLISH):

Street Art, as an accessible form of art in public spaces, is one of the most burgeoning art movements of our time – globally! However, despite its high quality, relevance, and reach, the Street Art scene remains significantly underrepresented both nationally and internationally in the contemporary art world and lacks the necessary funding to fully realize its potential.

To address this issue, there is an urgent need for professional structures such as associations or sustainable networks to consolidate the accumulated knowledge and expertise of individual actors and institutions and foster new synergies.

That’s why STADT.WAND.KUNST invites you to the OPEN URBAN ART EXCHANGE from October 6th to 8th, 2023. Representatives from national and international Street Art projects and festivals will convene in Mannheim for the first time with the goal of creating a platform for exchange and collaboration with artists and cultural creators. The aim is to sustainably promote networking between artists and event organizers and facilitate the exchange of information and experiences.

In various exchange formats and panel talks, the current issues and needs of the Street Art scene and its stakeholders will be explored in depth, and future perspectives will be developed. Artists and organizers from countries including Finland, Jordan, the Netherlands, and Germany will participate. All organizers, curators, and Street Art enthusiasts are warmly invited to join and contribute their own perspectives.

PROGRAM

Whe 10/04 – Sun 10/08

Mural Painting 

@ Spinelli Sports Gym / Spinelliplatz 4 / 68259 Mannheim

with BARBARA HELMER (Rotterdam), DALAL MITWALLY (Amman), JUSSI27 (Helsinki)
+ Local heroes: CEON, CZOLK, JENS RICHTER, MEINER, PEREZ DTA 
+ Special Guests

Thu 10/05 – Sun 10/08

Mural Painting: GOLDEN GREEN

@ Mittelstraße 40 / 68169 Mannheim

Moritz Green, also known as GOLDEN GREEN, began spraying graffiti at the age of 12 and has never stopped. His favorite reading materials included atlases, maps of the solar system, globes and their meridian grids, city and subway maps, and the colorful legends explaining them. All that still fascinates him to this day. The collected impressions of graphic symbols and visualizations of underlying structures and systems form the connecting element in the abstract language of his artistic work. In his art, one can often find figurative references stemming from his engagement with the subject matter. GOLDEN GREEN completed his degree in graphic design in Hamburg, where he now lives and works. His creations have been showcased in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Germany and internationally.

Sat 10/07/2023, 10 am

“Represent Represent“- International festivals introduce themselves

(in englisch)

@ Studio Feuerwache / Brückenstraße 2 / 68167 Mannheim

Representatives of the international projects and festivals introduce themselves and their work, talk about goals, problems and future needs.

Included are:
ALL CAPS Rotterdam, Holland
Baladk Street Art Festival Amman, Jordanien
DUK Festival Čačak, Serbien
Helsinki Urban Art, Finnland
STADT.WAND.KUNST Mannheim, Deutschland

Sat 10/07/2023, 2 pm 

Keynote Hombre SUK „Don’t forget Graff!“
Followed by a discussion

(in english)

@ Studio Feuerwache / Brückenstraße 2 / 68167 Mannheim

The Mannheim-born artist HOMBRE SUK, also known as Pablo Fontagnier, is considered one of Germany’s most popular graffiti artists. His distinctive characters have taken him to nearly all major graffiti metropolises, and he is always a welcomed guest at the most renowned urban art and graffiti festivals worldwide. His worldwide graffiti crew STICK UP KIDS (SUK) brings together some of Germany’s most well-known graffiti artists while it is internationally recognized as an outstanding crew in terms of style and technique. During his panel at the OPEN URBAN ART EXCHANGE, HOMBRE SUK advocates for graffiti. He calls for a deeper exploration of the roots of today’s mural art and more spaces for the essential graffiti subculture.
“Murals are an integral part of urban spaces today. Street artists are provided with platforms worldwide to showcase their large-scale artworks to the public and contribute significantly to shaping the city’s silhouette. 

That is exactly what graffiti writers have been doing for over 50 years – unasked and unfiltered. Often forbidden and sometimes unloved. Yet, they did lay the foundation for today’s street art scene. Now, the fruits of that labor are being harvested, but surprisingly, very few graffiti pieces are found on the facades of the world. Not all muralists and street art organizations have delved into graffiti culture, experienced it themselves, or advocate for it. Nowadays, street art is often used as an alibi to avoid dealing with the complex subject of graffiti. If we allow and promote art in the public space, it should be curated, but not turn a blind eye to certain aspects. Art has always been allowed and, indeed, should be challenging and provocative. Being agreeable is easy; graffiti is not.” – Hombre SUK

Sat, 10/07/2023, 3 pm 

Keynote by Laura Knobloch:  “What does sustainable Culture mean?“ 

(in english)

@ Studio Feuerwache / Brückenstraße 2 / 68167 Mannheim

Climate change, weather disasters, and environmental pollution are topics that shape our time and don’t only concern politics and science. Awareness of the urgent need for sustainable action is massively growing in the field of culture and creative industries as well. The question of how we can work sustainably and resource-efficiently in the street art scene is becoming increasingly prominent. However, sustainability is more than just environmental protection; it also encompasses urgent social and economic aspects. Laura Knobloch, Transformation Manager for Sustainability, will provide us with a brief introduction to the complex topic. She will explain how sustainable practices can be achieved in the art scene and which steps will be necessary to have a positive impact on the environment, society, and the economy.
She will explain how sustainable practices can be realized within the street art scene and what steps are necessary to make a positive impact on the environment, society, and the economy.

mit anschließendem Panel Talk:

“Sustainability in Street Art”

with Laura Knobloch, Anna Lafrentz and Dalal Mitwally, 
moderated by Muath Iseid

(in english)

Laura Knobloch is an expert on sustainability and environmental management. She specialized in climate adaptation and resource management research at Humboldt University in Berlin. For years, she has been professionally, academically, and through volunteer work, engaged with issues and challenges at the intersection of human and natural environments. She is currently responsible for transformation management at the Enjoy Jazz Festival and believes in the crucial role of culture in the development of a sustainable society.

Anna Lafrentz is a trained art educator who works as a freelance project manager, production manager and curator in the fields of art, music and culture. Her focus revolves around a feminist perspective intertwined with radical honesty to advance the societal process towards greater justice. Based in Hamburg, she enjoys traveling the world with street art and music projects. She is currently co-initiating ‘sisterpool’ with Hera from Herakut.

Dalal Mitwally is a Jordanian public artist based between Rotterdam and Amman. Her drive is to create conversations within the public sphere through her public art interventions, primarily large-scale murals. Her work always comes from an extensive research practice when generating mural ideas. This has aided her message into creating works that try to speak and shine light on the stories of individuals and discourses that surround the environment of her work.

Text: Jaqueline Mellein; Grafik: © Alexander Krziwanie / STADT.WAND.KUNST

Text: Jaqueline Mellein