The human need to conquer new worlds has led to great adventures and discoveries. But as we know: also lead to very big problems. And when private companies now start conquering space after Earth, you have a bad feeling there too. It’s better to stick to art. Because it can also open doors to new worlds. And sometimes you don’t even have to move from the spot. In case of “I Hear a New World“But you have to take a few steps, namely to Villa Stuck. The festival of the same name takes place there, which for almost a week turns the Munich museum into a walk-in installation, DIY workshop, colorful ghost train and a “panopticon of idiosyncratic figures, Shapes and Sounds”.
The start of this is February 27th. And from then until March 3rd you have the opportunity to visit the exhibition rooms in the villa again before the renovation, which is scheduled to take place by summer 2025. These will change daily. Because that’s one part of “I Hear a New World”: that the artists invited design the rooms and perform performances in them. The “Alien Bar” will also open daily at 3 p.m. with beer, café, snacks and playing records. On Friday and Saturday there are concerts for which there is a different program Tickets needs. The whole thing ends on Sunday at 1 p.m. with a free concert by the wedding band.
The wedding band is also partly behind “I Hear a New World”. That means more precisely: Markus and Micha Acher, who are also from the Munich indie rock institution The Notwist and who curated the festival together with Anne Maar from Villa Stuck. The title is borrowed from a record by Joe Meek groundbreaking experimental pop work from 1960, which has the subtitle “An outer space music fantasy”. The Acher brothers had already borrowed this title in 2022. That’s where the first edition of “I Hear a New World” took place, inspired by one at the time Exhibition on Gustav Mesmer. Now the reason is the upcoming technical repairs to the museum. As well as the farewell program “Last Exit Villa Stuck”, which includes the second edition as a program item.
Another item on the program was the “Toy Tonics Pop Up Gallery” last weekend. Another is the “The Marble Rolls” workshop, which also starts daily from February 27th at 3 p.m., where young and old can build a huge marble run together. And then the “Political Foyer” will take place on February 27th at 7 p.m. A conversation on the topic of “Art and Politics” moderated by the writer Dana von Suffrin, in which the dramaturg Sebastian Huber, the art historian Mira Anneli Naß and the head of the literature department of the Kunststiftung NRW Jan Valk take part. In terms of content, it should primarily be about activism. Becoming active is also a central idea of the do-it-yourself scene, which finds its forum in “I Hear a New World”.
Dana von Suffrin moderates a conversation on the topic of “Art and Politics”.
(Photo: Tanja Praske)
“We were so fascinated by the idea that people also implement this DIY idea in art and music, that is, they build a lot themselves and create their own worlds, both in terms of sound and as paintings or buildings or as sculptures.” This is how Markus Acher describes the motivation for the new edition of the small festival on the phone. “But we have now rethought this concept, which was more musically oriented at the time, or expanded it to include artists who also work visually.” Or “somewhere between sculpture and painting, sound and performance.” Like Katsura Mouri from Kyoto, who, according to Acher, “actually has a record store.” But she also uses the turntable as a musical instrument and also creates three-dimensional works and video works.
Asuna also comes from Japan and performed at a “big room concert” on Friday. 100 toy keyboards in position and works with acoustic phenomena such as interference sound and moiré resonance. In turn, they stand for an electronic-psychedelic new version of cumbia Romperayo from Colombia, who will perform on Saturday. Some people may already know Mat Fowler and Aimée Henderson from the “Alien Disko”, also organized by the Acher brothers. The British musician and artist couple work experimentally with everyday noises, household objects, drawings, paintings, guitars, loop pedals and live projections. The Brit Adam Higton also weaves together several media with drawing, collage, carpet weaving, animation and music.
Bear Kenchingtonalso from Great Britain, has been working on a constantly evolving pedal orchestra for years. Toby Messenger from Glasgow is planning a “live band installation made from recycled materials”. The Munich noise artist Rumpeln does what he always does: a lot of hype. And then there are the illustrators Anna Kaufmann, Claudia Lieb and Barbara Yelin, who appear as “living portrait automatons”. The special thing: All artists get their own room. And as I said: you can watch them design it there every day. For Markus Acher it is important that it is not “as sacred and holy” as is often the case in art, but rather colorful and entertaining. And that we can conquer this colorful world together.
I Hear a New World #2, February 27th to March 3rd, Villa Stuck, Prinzregentenstr. 60, www.villastuck.de