Series of events: Platz nehmen

A series of events for a free culture of debate at Schillerplatz by Academy | Art | Public Sphere.

The Schillerplatz has always been a place where different paths come together. At the same time, as a small park, it is a place where one can linger. In this respect, the motif of encounter, exchange and negotiation is inscribed in Schillerplatz from the ground up.

Conceived by the Academy | Art | Public Sphere department, the series of events with different focal points is intended to bring the teaching taking place at the building to the outside world and invite public debate on socially relevant topics. The focus is on involving and generating a public at Schillerplatz. As a central signal for these meetings, set-up tables will provide a setting that is staged and designed by students and lecturers from different studios, together with invited institutional cooperation partners and international guests. Once a semester, we want to debate different key topics together and openly for everyone at Schillerplatz. The public is cordially invited to take part in the discourse.

As a prelude, the first event at the beginning of October focused on the two historical figures on the square, Friedrich Schiller and Johann von Goethe, and actively worked with various program contributions on the historical legacy with which we as a contemporary art institution and society are confronted in many respects. The next events at the end of June and beginning of October will deal with questions of democracy from different perspectives in the election year. On the one occasion, architecture students will construct a scenic parliament on the square and try out a culinary discourse tour; the next time in the fall, the Institute of Fine Arts will explore the event with artistic contributions by students and an open Communal Walking Experience by Hamish Fulton, exploring how visual art can use its means to convey the concerns of democracy, the public and public space and invite participation.

We invite you to the table and to a public exchange!