Global Groove

The exhibition Global Groove at the Museum Folkwang highlights modern dance and the contact between Asia, Europe and the United States. In keeping with the tradition of the Folkwang collections and the working method of its founder Karl Ernst Osthaus, the project investigates dance and its cross-cultural influences between the West and Asia and the images that shape artists’ perception and imagination of the other culture. The exhibition is designed as an obstacle course consisting of a prologue, five settings and an epilogue, highlighting numerous examples of intercultural exchange and contact. It examines early global constellations and how they have influenced modern history and the modern art canon. Who were these first transnational ambassadors? How important were their messages for contemporary art and dance? The exhibition focuses on key moments of art and dance history, in which artists from Far Eastern and Western societies focus on and refer to the other culture. This allows one to explore the boundaries of the genre and gain insight into the international and cross-cultural influences in dance and how it overlaps with art, design, performance and fashion. International artists turn the museum into a stage and supplement the exhibition with regular performances. The museum is also planning a collaboration with the Ruhrtriennale, for which it will commission a work from a contemporary artist or artists’ collective.

Director: Peter Gorschlüter
Curators: Anna Fricke, Christin Losta, Brygida Ochaim, Marietta Piekenbrock

Artists: Raden Mas Jodjana – Mary Wigman, Hijikata Tatsumi – William Klein, Nam June Paik – Merce Cunningham, Michio Ito – Simon Starling, Yoko Ono – PROVOKE and others