Emulating the business model established in many other capitals around the globe, the Art Week was born with the aim to concentrate the biggest number of art events in just a week, taking advantage of the already existing art fairs and the numerous visitors related to the art world expected to attend. Furthermore, this week the 9th Berlin Biennale (BB9) is closing its doors, thus the goal is to attract collectors, gallerists, museum directors, and all those interested in art and culture to the German capital, and turn Berlin into the centre of the international art world during these days.
In the spotlight of contemporary art, and any subject that interests artists today ranging from science and technology, social processes and political developments, to pop culture and advertising, this week Berlin guests can visit a wide variety of individual exhibitions, like Sven Drühl’s underlying significant landscape paintings at Haus am Waldsee, Yvonne Roebs’ human and animal hybrid sculptures at Schering Stiftung, or Gordon Parks’ exhibition presented at C/O Berlin – the first African-American photographer to achieve world fame, whose photographs documenting black people’s protests shape the show. As for group shows, the Collectors Room presents a set of abstract paintings. Deutsche Bank KunstHalle has Common Affairs, contemporary art from Poland on display. Also from Poland comes artist Goshka Maguca, whose robot sculpture is exhibited at Schinkel Pavillon, where the humanoid slowly declaims the inadequacy of human beings. nGbK drives urban development through art and brings it to the periphery of the city with its action.
The real kick off is today, when the following events –listed more or less in chronological order– will take place: starting at noon and till midnight, the 9th Berlin Biennale will close with a grand finale, presenting a 12-hour marathon of performances, lectures and music. The Neue Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) will be dedicating a solo exhibition to Turkish artist Halil Altındere, who developed the Space Refugee-Project, ironically proposing outer space to host refugees given the European fear of being overwhelmed by foreigners. Altındere’s pieces Köfte Airlines and Homeland –this last one specially created for the BB9 and also on view at AdK– will be shown as well at HAU2. For its part, Haus am Lützowplatz will present the show Christian Jankowski – The Legend of the Artist and other Sites of Construction.