ENDLAND TEIL I

– Rethinking Abandoned Places in Thuringia – Place-based Projects in the Thuringian Area and an Exhibition in Weimar

Thuringia 2050: a non-cultivated landscape zone with an unclear socio-spatial future, halved in its density of use? Rural exodus? Aging? Housing vacancy? ENDLAND? A Thuringia-wide Open Call calls on all citizens until mid-July to identify places where the abandoned is present. In this interdisciplinary double project, three Thuringian performance and visual artists and two authors each selected a location from numerous proposals received at the Kunstfest Weimar and develop visions of the future for these locations, either alone or together with interested citizens. What will these places look like in 10, 30, 50 years? These artists, integrated in their presentations and installations, will guide vis- itors through the places to be revived. In view of the abandoned places, citizens address and reflect on the realities of their lives from their everyday social experience in order to develop new perspectives for the revitalization of these places. A round of commu- nication, art and performance, in order to be able to develop designs for a future living together and coexistence in rural areas in an exemplary way by means of a community experience. The exact locations and the artistic design will be determined between the end of the Open Call and the beginning of the art festi- val. More information on the project will be available online from mid-August and in the Kunstfest's sup- porting program flyer, which will be published for the festival. The venues will not be independently acces- sible, but only visitable as part of the bus tours already announced here.

An exhibition at the ACC Galerie Weimar will also pro- vide a thematic framework, introduce the artists and the abandoned places, act as a source of information and broaden the view to other Thuringian, global and cosmic Lost Places.

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Short biographies of the participating artists

Tommy Neuwirth

Tommy Neuwirth, music worker and media artist. Since 2013, performative concerts under the name »The Worldwide Network for an unconditional basic income«, in which he juggles all alone with the sounds and their origins, so that one loses the deaf listening and the ears of the audience discover their diverse connections to various brain regions, to the laugh muscles, the tear sacs and the dance legs. Other are- as of activity include performance, video and theater, and radio play music. 2021 Grantee of the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Thuringia in the field of visual arts.

\/\/\/

\/\/\/ is an artist collective consisting of Willie Gurner (USA) and Víctor del Oral (Mexico). Its practice uses performance, sculpture, workshops, and texts to explore ideas of communication and its failure, mis- understandings, mistranslations, and the fallibility of memory. The duo lives in Weimar and has exhibited their work in Mexico, France, Spain and Germany. 2022 Participation in the Kunstfest-Weimar project »Dirty Talking – Thuringian Seductions«.

Kristin Wenzel

Kristin Wenzel lives and works in Bucharest and Go- tha. She is co-founder of the artist initiative Template in Bucharest. Solo exhibitions include »LOVERS IN THE NIGHT« (2021, Goethe-Institut Bucharest), »The Coin« (2021, Herzogliches Museum Gotha, collabora- tion with ACC Galerie Weimar and Kunstfest Weimar), »wild orchids« (2020, SOX Berlin) and »The Near and the Elsewhere« (2020, Suprainfinit Gallery Bucharest). As part of her art practice, she curates and initiates ex- hibitions,including»Protectyourheartatwork«(2022, Rezidenta BRD Scena9, collaboration with Goethe-In- stitut Bucharest) and »MEANS OF ESCAPE« (2021, Kunsthaus Erfurt).