Le Grand Magasin

When art is used in a department store, it normally follows the dictates of the economy - i.e., it serves the interest of the business (for example, in advertising, design or architecture). With its project Le Grand Magasin, the Cultural Affairs Department in Neukölln wished to examine and intervene in the social context of the economy, particularly by focusing on the issue of ownership in production.
From September 2008 until December 2009 the temporary department store Le Grand Magasin selled goods (clothing, technology, furnishings, music/media), that have been exclusively produced by cooperatives. The project not only emphasized well-known, environmentally and socially friendly labels such as TransFair, but also highlighted grass-roots organizational business structures and the distribution of ownership among the producers at such companies. The products helped increase public awareness of how businesses can operate based on the principle of solidarity.

The department store served as a venue for numerous events, discussions, lectures and artistic presentations until the end of 2009. Four exhibitions in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Germany presented the results of the collaborative venture between artists and selected production cooperatives.

Schedule and venues:

September 2008 - December 2009 Le Grand Magasin, Galerie im Saalbau, Karl-Marx-Straße 141, 12043 Berlin-Neukölln

Exhibitions:
May-July 2009 Trafo Gallery / House of Contemporary Art, Budapest; Institute for Contemporary Art, Dunaújváros; September-October 2009 University JEP - Faculty for Art and Design, Ústí nad Labem; November-December 2009 Berlin