Evacuate

The Künstlerhaus Mousonturm in Frankfurt has organised a three-week co-production with the Festival/Tokyo, featuring artistic installations and interventions at some 30 tram stations operated by the Rhine-Main Transportation Authority which connects the cities of Mainz , Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Offenbach and Frankfurt am Main. The cooperation partners included a number of regional institutions, such as the state theatres in Darmstadt and Mainz, and the Hessian Theatre Academy. The artistic works have been created in a region, characterised by functionality, efficiency and work-related transportation and movement of commuters. The working methods used by the participating artists and artist collectives aim to redefine public space. For example, the artist group OPOVOEMPÉ from São Paulo develops choreographic works which they have presented in commuter trains and shopping centres in the Brazilian metropolis. The international award-winning group LIGNA develops shows, interventions and installations in public space. The curator and artistic director of this project was the Japanese director Akira Takayama, currently one of the most innovative young directors in Japan. With his evacuation plan for Tokyo, presented at the Festival/Tokyo in 2010, he succeeded in redefining the junctions of everyday transit. At the time, he staged various artistic interventions and encounters at various tram stations in the Japanese capital.
Visitors had to explore the individual stations by themselves. As they visited more and more stations and became familiar with the evacuation plan, they also became insiders who could gain access to special sites and meetings.

Artistic director: Akira Takayama (JP)
Artists: Chris Kondek, LIGNA, Leonardo Moreira (BR), Carlos Motta (US), OPOVOEMPÉ/Cristiane Zuan Esteves (BR), Mariano Pensotti (AR), Hendrik Quast und Maika Knoblich, Nuno Ramos (BR), Rhizomatiks (JP): Daito Manabe and Motoi Ishibashi