From June to October 2017, Münster will be hosting the fifth edition of public art exhibition, Skulptur Projekte Münster.

This internationally renowned, large-scale exhibition, which began in 1977 and takes place every ten years, invites artists from around the world to create and present locally specific works in public spaces. Perceived as provocation in 1977, this exhibition format has meanwhile catapulted the Westfalen-Lippe Association and the city of Münster to one of the best-known venues of contemporary sculptural art in the world. Hundreds of thousands of art enthusiasts from around the world converge on Münster every ten years for an exhibition that dominates the cultural life of the city and region for over 100 days.

As an artistic long-term study, the exhibition takes a fresh look at current sculptural works and considers processes of change, evident in public space and the artworks presented in it. Most of the former participants have become renowned artists themselves, such as Bruce Naumann, Claes Oldenburg, Rebecca Horn, Jenny Holzer, Joseph Beuys, Jeff Koons and Donald Judd.

The curatorial team, presently made up of Kasper König, Britta Peters and Marianne Wagner, has invited artists from all over the globe to investigate the relationship between art, the public realm, and the urban environment; asking them to develop new, site-specific works.

Selected projects are realized in the urban space, which activate its historical, architectural, social, political and aesthetic contexts.

The upcoming show will address current issues of global relevance, reflect on contemporary concepts in sculpture, and explore the fundamental conditions of the public sphere in times of increasing digitalization.

In addition to fixed installations, such as Justin Matherly’s monumental sculpture of the so-called “Nietzsche Cliff”, a number of artists plan on producing works that originate from the field of ephemeral and living arts.

For example, Alexandra Pirici is developing a performance on the theme of “National Memory” for the Hall of Peace in the historic city hall, while Michael Smith will offer a tattoo service for people over 65 and Emeka Ogboh will compose a site-specific sound work that makes reference to the former musician Moondog, who is buried in Münster. Themes surrounding the notion of ‘digitality’ and communication are being explored by artists Aram Bartholl and Andreas Bunte, whilst artists such as Alexandra Pirici and Xavier Le Roy are devoting their performance works to the relationship between body, sculpture and city.

Find the full List of artists here

Artistic director: Kasper König
Curators: Britta Peters, Marianne Wagner
Project director: Imke Itzen

www.skulptur-projekte.de