Islands & Ghettos

On its way to globalisation, the world is now confronted with a new reality. The conventional, state-territorial boundaries are increasingly being replaced by new, private, economic and security-technical borders. The international project Islands & Ghettos addressed the phenomenon of territorial borders that both enclose and exclude. In an exhibition featuring works by 35 artists, the Heidelberg Art Association examined two examples of the social "islandization" trend - the artificial archipelago in the waters of Dubai which represent an aesthetic extreme of social demarcation, and the "gated communities" of Caracas where the upper and middle class live, protected from the poverty of the "barrios". The participating artists discussed the results of their joint research with local architects and urban developers at various symposiums.

Artistic director: Johan Holten (DK)
Curators and researchers: Stefan Horn (D), Kevin Mitchell (USA), George Katodrytis (GR), Hubert Klumpner (A) and Alfredo Brillembourg (YV)
Artists: Alexander Apostol, Atelier Van Lieshout, Anette Baldauf and Dorit Margreiter, Sabine Bitter and Helmut Weber, Sandow Birk, Caracas Urban Think Tank, Peter Coffin, Alice Creischer and Andreas Siekmann, Stuart Elster, Harun Farocki, Peter Fend, Kristjan Gudmundsson, Armin Linke, Francesco Mattuzzi, Alessandro Petti and Eyal Weizman in cooperation with Renato Rinaldi, Raul J. Mendez, Luis Molina-Pantin, Multiplicity (Stefano Boeri, Matteo Ghidoni, Stefano Graziani and Francesca Recchia), Marjetica Potrè, Javier Téllez, Vangelis Vlahos, Silke Wagner in cooperation with Beate Anspach, Carey Young, Michael Zinganel and Michael Hieslmair

Schedule and venues:
14 March - 26 April 2009 Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, Berlin