Urban Strategies. Art in Urban Development Areas
An international symposium, Munich, 17 – 19
October 2003
Art today faces new challenges. Particularly in
Germany, many cities are undergoing a far-reaching
transformation that involves redevelopment of public
spaces. Sites formerly occupied by industrial, transport
and military facilities are being turned into residential
districts. Making art an integral part of these
physical and social developments is a difficult
task, but one that offers unusual opportunities.
This aspect of art in public places is the subject
of a three-day symposium, “Urban Strategies.
Art in urban development areas”, to be held
in Munich from 17 to 19 October 2003. The symposium,
which will be open to the public, marks the end
of four years during which kunstprojekte_riem has
initiated art projects in a new suburb taking shape
on the site of the former Munich airport. Artists,
architects, urban planners, landscape architects,
art educators, representatives of local government
and members of the public are invited to discuss
the place of art in urban development, its opportunities,
strategies and limits.
The economic, political and physical conditions
pertaining in selected urban developments will be
described as a basis for further discussion. This
will involve examination by sociologists, planners
and artists of their own and the public’s
expectations with regard to art and to culture in
general in these new surroundings.
A major focus of the symposium will be the possibilities
open to art to contribute actively to the development
of urban districts and to the life of the communities
living and working in them. Artists who have worked
successfully in this field will discuss their approaches.
A further issue to be debated will be cooperation
among artists, architects and planners. Representatives
of all three disciplines will speak on their attitudes
to one another, on their experiences in this area
and how they see future developments.
Finally, a number of arts projects devised specially
for new urban districts in Germany and abroad will
be presented and discussed.
The symposium is organised by kunstprojekte_riem,
an undertaking funded by the City of Munich, in
association with Munich’s Goethe-Forum and
Bauzentrum. It is being supported by the Kultur-stiftung
des Bundes.
Further information kunstprojekte_riem
Dr Claudia Büttner and Christina Kaufmann
Erika-Cremer-Strasse 3, 81829 Munich
tel. +44(0)89-94379849, fax +44(0)89-94379845
kunstprojekte.riem@ems.muenchen.de
www.kunstprojekte-riem.de