From Where I Stand

I had the immense pleasure to curate the Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie taking place in six museums in Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg from 19 March till 22 May 2022.

Introduction

From Where I Stand explores how a more sustainable, inclusive and empowered future can be achieved. The 21st century way of living is profoundly influenced by the complex interdependency between people, the environment and technological processes – these interrelations are reflected from the perspective of 35 artistic positions, which are presented in six exhibitions across three cities.

The selected artists work at the crossroads of contemporary art, journalism, and activism: the ability to imagine something new is as strong as as their quest for facts and the need to engage in public debate. They are aware of where they stand and give room for the views of those with whom they collaborate intensively. In this context, the photographic image functions for the artists as a tool for visual research in times of urgent change.

With a variety of global and local stories, with which our daily lives and decisions are closely intertwined, the collected artistic visions could potentially accelerate a much-needed transition towards a greater balance between man, nature, and technology. From Where I Stand shows the necessity of a multitude of perspectives for this transition and wants to activate the mind to think and act differently.

The Biennale website is archived here. And a very nice overview was made, find the PFD here.

Images ©Lys Y. Seng

Biennale to go

Short and sweet or very detailed, from home or on location. Find the talks on Spotify.

A sparkling series of podcasts Biennale to Go were created by Alexander Hagmann (Die Motive) to connect the different locations in the cities via conversations with the following artists: Matthieu Gafsou, Thomas Kuijpers, Michal Iwanowski, Giya Makondo-Wills, Anna Ehrenstein, Kelebogile Ntladi, Lisa Barnard, Douglas Mandry, Rune Peitersen, Katja Stuke & Oliver Sieber, Silvy Crespo and Małgorzata Stankiewicz. Additionally, Alexander and I walked to record two episodes about the exhibitions at Kunstverein Heidelberg and Port 25.

Additionally the conversations with Silvy Crespo, Rune Peitersen and one of my walks were filmed.

>> Digital Dialogue Day

During the Digital Dialogue Day I had the pleasure to talk with Nepal Picture Library represented by Diwas Raja Kc, the collective Sara, Peter & Tobias, and furthermore with Rohit Saha, Gloria Oyarzabal and Felipe Romero Beltrán and in between I ‘walked through’ the VR tours to introduce the different exhibitions.

>> Confucius Institute Heidelberg

In collaboration with the Confucius Institute at Heidelberg University I had the opportunity to dive deeper in Yan Wang Preston’s project Forest and gain insight in Make me Beautiful of Yufan Lu.

Exhibitions and selected artists

Works indicated with a (*) premiered at the Biennale.

Bodies in (e)Motion - Kunstverein Ludwigshafen Archive of Public Protests | Felipe Romero Beltrán – Dialect* | Michał Iwanowski – Go Home, Polish | Giya Makondo Wills- They Came from the Water while the World Watched | Mashid Mohadjerin - Freedom is not Free | Gloria Oyarzabal – Women go no’gree

Collective Minds - Port25 – Raum für Gegenwartskunst, Mannheim Anna Ehrenstein – Tools of Conviviality | Anouk Kruithof – Universal Tongue | Kelebogile Ntladi – Cobra

Shaping Data - Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen Mónica Alcázar-Duarte – Second Nature* | Heba Y. Amin – Project Speak2Tweet | Alexandra Davenport – Plassein* | Matthieu Gafsou - H+ | Thomas Kuijpers – Volumes | Yufan Lu – Make me Beautiful | Paulien Oltheten – La Defense, the Venturing Gaze | Sara, Peter & Tobias – The Merge | Salvatore Vitale – The Shielding*

Changing Ecosystems - Heidelberger Kunstverein Alexandra Baumgartner – How like a leaf I am | Eline Benjaminsen – Footprints in the Valley | Antoinette de Jong & Robert Knoth – Tree and Soil | Douglas Mandry – Monuments/The Waters In-between* | Rohit Saha – A Field Guide to a Contaminated Wonderland | Maria Sturm – How to Kill a Tree*

Narratives of Resistance - ZEPYHR Mannheim – Raum für Fotografie in den Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim Poulomi Basu & CJ Clarke - Centralia:Ghostdance | Silvy Crespo – The Land of Elephants | Nepal Picture Library - The Skin of Chitwan

Contested Landscapes - Kunsthalle Mannheim Aàdesokan – Waste Identity: Bola Bola Land* | Lisa Barnard – The Canary and the Hammer | Awoiska van der Molen -The Living Mountain* | Rune Peitersen – RAABJERG* | Yan Wang Preston – Forest | Małgorzata Stankiewicz -Viriditas XXI* | Katja Stuke & Oliver Sieber – China Express* | Misha Vallejo Prut – Secret Sarayaku

Train stations in Mannheim and Heidelberg Anna Ehrenstein – Tools of Conviviality | Eline Benjaminsen – Footprints in the Valley | Misha Vallejo Prut – Secret Sarayaku

>> In the BLOG section of this website you’ll find a description of each of the exhibitions and installation shots of the works.

Exhibition catalogue

The catalogue draws on my working method of visually mapping the projects, images and topics of the selected projects alongside descriptions of all 6 exhibitions and the 35 individual projects.

24 x 32 cm / 108 pages /colour / softcover / isbn 978-90-831658-9-9 / Edited by Iris Sikking and published by Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie in collaboration with Fw:Books / Design by Leonie Rapp (images ©Fw:Books)

Order via the online shop of the Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie or buy a double package with Trigger Magazine via Fw:Books.

>> Sustainability in artistic photography and exhibition practice

In their practice Silvy Crespo and Małgorzata Stankiewicz deal with anthropogenic influences on nature and the environment. Crespo illuminates the environmental degradation associated with lithium mining in Portugal. Stankiewicz visualises the man-made increase in blue-green algae blooms in the Baltic Sea. We had a conversation about the possibilities, visions and challenges of sustainable photography and exhibition practice. The talk is part of the event series "Photography and Sustainability", which is a collaboration between the Heinrich Böll Foundation Baden-Württemberg/Rhineland-Palatinate and the Institute for European Art History at Heidelberg University. Find the conversation on YouTube.

>> Goethe Institut

When Misha Vallejo joined us in Mannheim to install his work Secret Sarayaku in the Kunsthalle Mannheim, I had a conversation between with him about his first contact with the Kichwa community in the Ecuadorian Amazone forest, and the importance of the mutual exchange of knowledge. (conversation with Spanish subtitles)

>> City of Mannheim collaboration

Katja Stuke and Oliver discuss their work La Cartographie Dynamique, which they began in 2017 and have been expanding for the Biennale. Alongside Duisburg, Liège and Rotterdam, Mannheim is another stop on the ramified rail network that is constantly being used to transport electrical goods, car and machine parts, tombstones and much more from China to Europe. (in German)

>> Biennale launch of the program

Early November 2021 I introduced the program of the Biennale in an online conversation with Rune Peitersen, Michal Iwanowski and Mashid Mohadjerin.