From recycling art to tree bark sculptures
art KARLSRUHE 2023 under the sign of sustainability
Karlsruhe, 30.03.2023 - From sculptures and paintings made from recycled materials to the long-term support of artists and reusable carpeting that adorns the four light-flooded halls: sustainability can be experienced in many places at art KARLSRUHE 2023. On the occasion of the upcoming 20th edition of the international fair for classical modern and contemporary art, Messe Karlsruhe wants to offer all friends of art a particularly sustainable fair experience from 4 to 7 May. In doing so, art KARLSRUHE benefits just as much from the commitment of the exhibiting galleries as from the efforts of Messe Karlsruhe, which has been actively promoting the issue of sustainability for some time now.
From catering to green electricity: sustainability as a multifaceted field of activity at Messe Karlsruhe
"We have recognised sustainable action as an important global social issue and are aware of its strategic importance for the trade fair, congress and event business," says Britta Wirtz, Managing Director of Messe Karlsruhe. Messe Karlsruhe's actions are guided by the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 and set targets for a better future. In addition to climate protection measures, gender equality and the creation of high-quality educational opportunities are among the aspects to which Messe Karlsruhe is already making a contribution today.
Like the entire event portfolio, art KARLSRUHE also benefits from Messe Karlsruhe's efforts to organise more sustainable events, for example by using appropriate building technology and infrastructure. For example, Messe Karlsruhe only uses certified green electricity from hydropower and regularly conducts energy audits to identify further potential savings. On the exhibition grounds themselves, cooling is exclusively provided by well water, while groundwater is used instead of drinking water for watering the green areas - such as the sculpture garden at art KARLSRUHE, which is sponsored by the Vollack Group.
Catering is another component of the sustainability concept. As a long-standing partner of Messe Karlsruhe, Gauls relies exclusively on regional suppliers for beverages, which are located within a radius of 100 kilometres from the trade fair venue. The same applies to food: regional suppliers "first". For ready-made food that has not been consumed, Gauls works together with food sharing companies that collect this food and make it available to social institutions. Leftover food that cannot be passed on is strictly separated from other waste and goes into organic waste. For this purpose, there are bins from the special supplier ReFood, which processes the organic residues into environmentally friendly energy and guarantees the traceability of the disposal - a procedure that is also used at art KARLSRUHE.
Sustainability at art KARLSRUHE
In the planning of art KARLSRUHE, the aspect of sustainability is first of all put into practice through the conservation of resources used: for the first time, the art fair will be completely equipped with sustainable Rewind carpeting beyond the company standards, the lighting system has been completely converted to LED technology and sustainability is also ensured in stand construction through the multiple use of walls. The fleet of VIP shuttles uses e-technology, and the print materials in the press and marketing areas are also being made more sustainable: for example, the number of printed products has been reduced compared to previous years and the remaining materials have been converted to FSC-certified paper.
"When planning the twentieth art KARLSRUHE, we not only paid attention to making our day-to-day business more sustainable in order to improve our ecological footprint, but also to making the topic of sustainability visible in the fair programme," explains Olga Blaß, Project Manager of art KARLSRUHE. The starting point for this is the fundamental idea of sustainability in the art business: to preserve art, to promote it and to make it accessible. These principles are ultimately also confirmed in the concept of art KARLSRUHE.
Offering sustainability a stage
A first measure to promote art is the traditional format of one-artist shows. On at least 25 square metres, a gallery dedicates its programme to a selected artist. This commitment of the galleries has always been rewarded by Messe Karlsruhe with reduced stand prices. Over the years, this has led to galleries increasingly dedicating a one-artist show to young, up-and-coming artists. A trend that will continue in 2023: Many of the 180 one-artist shows are once again dedicated to young artists, for example Joséphine Sagna (Galerie Schacher - Raum für Kunst). In her painting, the German-Senegalese artist repeatedly reacts to latent and open racism, which she was already confronted with as an adolescent in the white majority society.
Under the title "Reverberation and Sustainability: 20 Years of art KARLSRUHE", the ARTIMA art meeting also offers a stage for sustainability. In the traditional talk format, a total of six lectures will take place on 4 and 5 May 2023, which will combine the round anniversary of art KARLSRUHE with the aspect of sustainability. In addition to trade fair director Britta Wirtz and art KARLSRUHE curator Ewald Karl Schrade, the speakers will include action artist HA Schult, who has been promoting a conscious use of resources for decades. On the other hand, philosophy professor Uwe Voigt and his wife and cultural scientist Stefanie Voigt will speak about "Sustainability as a social obligation".
Sustainable art and art in the service of sustainability
The theme of sustainability is also reflected in the programme of the 207 exhibiting galleries, which will be making their way to Karlsruhe in May from a total of 15 countries.
At art KARLSRUHE, environmentally friendly artworks made of recycled materials can increasingly be found - an approach taken, for example, by artist Micky Focke (Galerie Jeanne). Focke follows an ecological approach and uses found materials, among other things, and thus addresses humanity's interaction with the world.
Artist Rainer Jacob (Yvonne Hohner Contemporary) is just as creative as he is sustainable when he uses the bark of old trees that have died as a result of global warming and drought to make sculptures. The artist Mechthild Ehmann (to be seen at Art-Isotope), on the other hand, shapes her artistic work in a resource-friendly way by making her solid glass sculptures from industrial waste from glass smelting.
The works of the artist Matthias Garff (on view at the Tobias Schrade and Tammen galleries) also turn out to be real crowd pullers. The animal sculptures by the Swiss artist, born in 1986, are also made of recycled material and found objects and are intended to draw attention to environmental protection and species conservation. At art KARLSRUHE 2023, for example, the statue of a donkey is waiting to be discovered by visitors. In addition to a water jug, it also consists of a thermos flask, a shoe, aluminium moulds, axe handles and a rubber boot.
The works of Katrin Fridiks (Circle Culture) offer a special reference to nature. The Icelandic-born artist is an advocate of environmental sustainability. Her latest series of works is an example of her commitment to using art as a tool for change. By incorporating environmentally friendly materials and processes into her work, Fridriks is pioneering a new era of conscious art production. Fridriks also uses a variety of recycled materials in her work, from old books and magazines to discarded industrial objects.
Some galleries are even dedicating their entire trade fair presence to the theme of sustainability. This year, our stand is themed "joie de vivre and sustainability", explains Holger Hegemann from the gallery of the same name.
Climate protection and painting women
However, sustainability is not only reflected in artistic creation, but also serves as a theme in its own right. At the stand of Galerie Brouwer Edition in Hall 4, art lovers will find works by Andreas Scholz, for example. Known for his landscape paintings, he will be showing climate-activist landscapes at art KARLSRUHE. For several years, the artist has accompanied the tree squatters of the Altdorf forest. Fascinated by their commitment, Scholz has paid tribute to the "activists" in the Altdorf forest in paintings.
A different facet of sustainability, on the other hand, will be featured at the stand of Dr. Nöth Kunsthandel. To strengthen female art, the Potsdam gallery is presenting the programme "Painting Women - Painted Women" at art KARLSRUHE 2023, thus paying tribute to the UN's sustainability goal of gender equality. The focus is on Lotte Laserstein's works across all her creative phases. In addition, there are works by Tamara de Lempicka, Jeanne Mammen, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Berthe Morisot, Suzanne Valadon and Gabriele Münter.
Female art can also be experienced elsewhere, such as the sculpture square of the Cyprian Brenner Gallery, which is designed with "Yolanda" by Miriam Lenk. The sculpture shows a female archetype, tall and powerful, liberated from all discipline, a figurehead for all those who feel they do not conform to the norm but live diversity. After the empowerment of female art has already been a major concern of art KARLSRUHE in previous years, visitors can also look forward to expressive positions this year.
Sustainability is a lived virtue for galleries
Just how far the commitment of galleries can go is shown by the "Galleries for Future" competition, in which the Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Industry awards prizes for sustainable gallery concepts. With the Belin galleries mianki and Kornfeld, two art stores are represented at art KARLSRUHE 2023, which received awards in the competition.
The everyday work of galleries is also becoming increasingly sustainable. "So far, we have implemented the topic of sustainability in business travel by no longer flying domestically and travelling by train to a large extent. Another aspect is the packaging material, which we are gradually making more sustainable," explains Roger Sonnewald from Galerie Heckenhauer, for example. Gallery owner Anja Knoess has also decided to largely avoid flights and encourages her collectors to do the same. When it comes to transporting art, she relies on additional loads and agreements.
Social aspects of sustainability are served by the artist Ulrika Eller-Rüter (Geißler-Bentler Gallery). The artist deals intensively with the topic of water by microscoping water drops from all over the world and putting them into the picture as fine art prints. Together with the Geißler-Bentler Gallery, Eller-Rüter supports well projects in Guinea and Ghana through the sale of her "Drops".
Galleries benefit from renewed funding
Thanks to the multifaceted efforts of art KARLSRUHE, the fair can once again look forward to receiving funding from the rescue and future programme Neustart Kultur. As a condition of the funding, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) requires a commitment to sustainability - which art KARLSRUHE successfully fulfils. As with the summer edition of the fair in 2022, the entire funding amount will be passed on to the exhibiting galleries in the form of discounted stand rents.
Last but not least, visitors can also contribute to the sustainability of the trade fair experience, for example, by carrying their trade fair ticket with them in digital form instead of in printed form, or by using the Messeexpress to get there. The shuttle service brings all visitors to art KARLSRUHE free of charge every ten or twenty minutes by shuttling from Karlsruhe main station to the exhibition grounds in Rheinstetten and back
