OCTOBER 28 – NOVEMBER 01, 2009

For the first time, the Bielefelder Kunstverein has publicly called for proposals for a project supporting new models and programme-content for a Kunstverein. The jury of experts – made up of Florian Waldvogel (Hamburger Kunstverein), Astrid Wege (European Kunsthalle, Cologne), Suse Wiegand (FH Bielefeld, Dept. of Design) and Thomas Thiel (Bielefelder Kunstverein) – chose the project »Des Pudels Kern« [the title is a well known adage in German, making reference to Goethe’s drama »Faust«, in which a stray poodle transforms into Mephistopheles, thus showing its »core«] by the Hamburg Galerie ohne Raum / noroomgallery, which will be carried out from October 28 until November 1 at the Bielefelder Kunstverein.

In total, more than 70 suggestions for projects were submitted – evidence of considerable regional, trans-regional and international participation. In terms of the criteria set out in the call for proposals, the Galerie ohne Raum / noroomgallery submitted a simple and coherent proposal which was, amongst the numerous submissions, conceptually the most interesting. For »Umbauraum«, the Galerie ohne Raum / noroomgallery suggested fitting the Kunstverein’s entrance door for the duration of the project with an electronic combination lock, the code of which is communicated only to members of the Kunstverein. With this in place, the Kunstverein is going to be open around the clock (24 hours) for five days and, therefore, at the disposal of members. The Galerie ohne Raum / noroomgallery’s »Umbauraum« becomes a way of working, which focuses on the institution itself and on the way the Bielefelder Kunstverein is organised. Consequently, many questions remain open: Is there to be an exhibition or will the rooms remain empty? In how far will the members avail themselves of their exclusive right of use? What is going happen? The thinking about the function of the project and the active use of the Kunstverein can begin from 28 October onwards.

The Galerie ohne Raum / noroomgallery was founded by Jan Holtmann as an artistic project in Hamburg in 1997. At that time, the Hamburg project made it its objective to develop new forms of presentation in the area of exhibitions. The name of this non-commercial project also describes its agenda – accordingly its manifesto proclaims, among other things: »The noroomgallery does not produce content, but forms of displaying and spaces for comparison, no what but rather a how.« and »Within the architecture of the noroomgallery there are still some places to be had.«

Website: www.noroomgallery.com