Every two years, Kempten is transformed into one big gallery for one night, as is the case on Saturday, September 21st. At 60 locations spread across the city – in museums, but also in alleys, courtyards and squares – visitors can discover works by more than 75 artists during the art night (7 p.m. to midnight). In addition to painting, sculpture and installation, there is also performance, dance and music.
“On the one hand, we want to offer regional artists a platform and thus promote the regional cultural scene,” says Nadja Kuban, project manager of the art night. “On the other hand, we also want to invite national artists to present in Kempten and thus bring other impulses to the Allgäu.”
In order to give representatives of the regional cultural scene the opportunity to implement larger and unusual projects, a special funding program was introduced for the first time at the 2022 Art Night. Since then, the city has supported ten selected art projects with up to 2,000 euros each. “We don’t want the artists to have to work for free, we would like to support everyone, but of course that’s not possible, but in this way we are at least creating a certain appreciation for the artists,” says Nadja Kuban.
This year, the motto of the art night in Kempten is “encounters,” which is reflected in many different ways in the projects supported. The four-person jury has primarily selected projects that break down barriers to access or highlight the artistic perspectives of artists with disabilities. The organizers have also developed a barrier-free route through the art night.
In order to ensure the special atmosphere of the art night, the city traditionally awards two commissions that are intended to form the framework of the event. There is the “Habibi Dome” by the artist collective Franziska Wirtensohn, Michael Wittmann with Obada Hamza and Habibi.Works – a spatial sculpture and platform for interactive exchange (St. Mang Square). Workshops and intercultural cooking, for example, take place here.
The second project will be on display at Hildegardplatz. The performative installation by the artist collective Nikolaus Faßlrinner, Daniela Grömke, Dorothea Klug and Karl Pompedie entitled “Artistic Intelligence – Now also analogue” can best be described as a bizarre drawing mobile that will interact with visitors. And then, for the first time, another artist was commissioned: Jonas Maria Ried. The 2021 art prize winner of the Swabia district is showing his video work “Talking to Cows” in St. Mang Church. He plays a self-made instrument, a hybrid of an alphorn and a didgeridoo. His audience are cows.