Modernity's Home

Leipzig is a perfect example of an East German city where institutions and independent groups work together on projects far more extensive than short-term festivals. The project "Modernity's Home" places particular emphasis on Leipzig's urban culture.At various events, artists, curators, writers, composers and urban planners discuss the processes of city shrinkage and economic status-symbol projects. A policy for dealing with socialistic modern architecture is also an important aspect of the discussions.

For many people, post-war modernity has become an architectural eyesore in cities all around Germany. This especially applies to Leipzig where the largely vacant central post office on Augustusplatz, built from 1961 to 1964 and now listed for preservation, and three residential high-rises on Brühl are slated for demolition, a fate similar to that suffered by the trade fair office on the marketplace several years ago. The project Modernity's Home (HeimatModerne), which will take place in Leipzig from February to September 2005, intends to address the question of how important the architectural, social and cultural heritage of modernity is for the city's identity today. Through its funding of Modernity's Home, the Federal Cultural Foundation is supporting a new cooperative venture, initiated by various institutions and independent groups in Leipzig which want to create a new understanding of urban culture through artistic, journalistic and urban development approaches. The programme includes an exhibition at the Leipzig Gallery for Contemporary Art which will investigate the relationship between home and utopia. The group General Panel is working on a publication to examine modern concepts of time. In summer, the winning entries of a short-film competition based on the theme of protest culture will be shown in an open-air presentation on Augustusplatz, while at the same time, an exhibition will highlight the architectural history of the square in the 20th century. The small town blues xxl is being developed for the residential high-rises on Brühl and will feature slide show journeys through German towns and personal biographies, split up over ten storeys. Visitors will also be able to ‹walk through› a new opera piece by Mela Maierhans, composed especially for Brühl, where the house Richard Wagner was born had stood until 1886.
Artists:
Via Lewandowsky, Sean Snyder (USA/D), Josef Dabernig (AT), Mick Harris (GB), Jens Carstensen and others

Participating organizations:
GfZK Leipzig, Büro für Urbane Projekte, Forum Zeitgenössischer Musik Leipzig e.V., niko.31/1990ff, Schauspielhaus Leipzig

Venue:
Leipzig

Schedule: March - December 2005