Das fliegende Künstlerzimmer – documenta

Crespo Foundation (CF): What does the Arts Educators in Residence programme have in store this summer as part of CAMP notes on education?

Susanne Hesse (SH): We’re really excited about being able to invite art mediators from an international context. With documenta project managers Pia Wagner and Esther Poppe, the Arts Educators in Residence programme will explore the question of contemporary formats and methods, hold discussions with artists, and research new perspectives and possible structures in the field of art mediation.  At the interface with the public, they will plan and implement their own activities in these contexts and work with selected learning groups in a targeted way in documenta fifteen’s collective exhibition.

CF: What kind of work will be done with and in the Flying Artist’s Room?

SH: The Flying Artist’s Room will the base for the Arts Educators in Residence. Initially it will be their place and space that they can use and perform in together. At various times, the space will be used for the public either in specific work with groups who make use of this space or other formats such as performances, series of talks or film screenings etc. This makes the Flying Artist’s Room an integral part of documenta’s programme.

CF: What makes it so exciting for documenta to host the Flying Artist’s Room as part of the Arts Educators in Residence programme?

SH: By hosting the Flying Artist’s Room, a place and space is available to us in which people can perform autonomously, and this has huge potential for individual independent perspectives in the area of documenta fifteen’s art mediation. What’s particularly great is having the opportunity for Arts Educators in Residence to exchange ideas and have the time to work with the exhibition for longer and reflect on it.

We’re particularly interested in the interface between institutional and non-institutional structures and methods in the field of arts education/art mediation.

By adopting a transnational perspective, we can be bold and consider new approaches and potential structural changes. This knowledge can represent a long-term gain, particularly for schools, and in the best-case scenario can have an influence on the development and role of cultural education in schools – the Flying Artist’s Room is predestined for precisely this kind of exploration.