2024 Future Media FEST-Singularity Embracing the Dawn of the Singularity

In the heart of the 21st century’s digital revolution, technological advancements are reshaping human existence—our lifestyles, thought processes, and societal structures. Underpinning this transformation is the captivating concept of the Singularity, a theory both alluring and profound.

The Technological Singularity, as envisioned by mathematician and computer scientist Vernor Vinge in 1993, designates a pivotal moment when machine intelligence eclipses human intellect. This event is predicted to trigger an exponential surge in technological progress, irrevocably altering the trajectory of civilization. The academic community further understands the Singularity as an inflection point where artificial intelligence reaches a certain threshold, catalyzing a cascade of technological disruptions and an “intelligence explosion.”

What is the Ruhr area? An exciting metropolitan region centred around the major cities of Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg? Or a collection of scattered towns and villages from Alpen to Xanten? Or both? Does it consist of tranquil river landscapes along the Ruhr, Emscher and Lippe or is it hopelessly damaged by the scars of heavy industry? Ruhrpott, example of transformation, poverty zone – how can art open up, change and enrich this diverse region?

Urbane Künste Ruhr wants to find out and is launching the Grand Snail Tour in autumn, an artistic-performative journey through all 53 cities in the Ruhr region. Because this is an ambitious endeavour and Urbane Künste Ruhr has set itself the goal of getting to know local players, forming bonds and establishing sustainable networks, this is a three-year project.

Kick-off Grand Snail Tour in Xanten
Urbane Künste Ruhr is launching the Grand Snail Tour in autumn, an artistic-performative journey through all 53 cities in the Ruhr area. The kick-off event will take place on 26.9. in Xanten.

Staged at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Völklingen Ironworks, the Urban Art Biennale is one of the world’s largest exhibitions of this anarchic form of art. Departing from a conventional white cube aesthetic, the entire site of the Völklingen Ironworks is given over to a fruitful dialogue with an art form that has evolved from street art or graffiti. Established in 2011, the 2024 edition will focus on participatory urban art projects as well as political works in situ.

The World in My Hand explores the smartphone as both object and aesthetic inspiration for artistic creation. It comments on public debates surrounding the many uses of smartphones: from always-on media consumption to digital detox, from swiping and matching to ghosting and blocking, from language atrophy to information overload, from resource depletion to status symbol.

The curators, Dr Jörg Garbrecht and Katharina Wenkler, have chosen a narrative approach to the exhibition. In eight chapters, they summarize various aspects and debates surrounding the smartphone, ranging from the launch date of our daily digital companion to its characteristic touchscreen and the contractions of time and space it enables. Deeply personal moments – such as Ai Weiwei’s selfie at the moment of his arrest or Sergey Melnitchenko’s photograph of his son during a blackout in Kyiv – appear alongside themes of perception and presentation of the self, as realized in the glass sculpture Stability by Julija Pociūtė. Other subjects include: looking for love online, as in Ariane Forkel’s Casanova’s Kabinett or John Yuyi’s Tinder Match; the complexities and pitfalls of digital communication, for example in the works of James Akers or Alejandra Seeber; and the smartphone as a means of staying in touch during pandemic lockdown isolation, for instance in the work of George McLeod. Edward Burtynsky’s photograph of lithium mines in the Atacama Desert calls attention to the topic of raw materials for electronic devices.

With works by:
Tornike Abuladze, James Akers, Ai Weiwei, Kate Baker, Aram Bartholl, Tillie Burden, Edward Burtynsky, Yvon Chabrowski, Julia Chamberlain, Rachel Daeng Ngalle, Erwin Eisch, Ariane Forkel, Shige Fujishiro, Valentin Goppel, David Horvitz, Artem Humilevskyi, Gudrun Kemsa, Zsuzsanna Kóródi, Brigitte Kowanz, George McLeod, Sergey Melnitchenko, Jonas Noël Niedermann, Julian Opie, Cornelia Parker, Katie Paterson mit Zeller & Moye, Julija Pociūtė, Rebecca Ruchti, Karin Sander, Jeffrey Sarmiento, Alejandra Seeber, JanHein van Stiphout, Jolita Vaitkute, Sascha Weidner, John Yuyi, Jeff Zimmer

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Die Stiftung Springhornhof wurde gegründet, um das Lebenswerk der 1998 verstorbenen Ruth Falazik weiterzuführen. Als Galeristin hat sie bereits in den 1960er Jahren aus dem historischen Spring­ hornhof einen Ort für zeitgenössische Kunst ge­ macht. Als spätere Kunstvereinsleiterin gelang es ihr, namhafte internationale Künstlerinnen und Künstler in das Heidedorf zu locken, um neue Werke im Dialog mit Natur und Landschaft zu entwickeln.

Die obere Etage gehört den Künstlerinnen und Künstlern des Ensembles von mittlerweile mehr als vierzig frei zugänglichen Skulpturen und Installa­ tionen, das vom Springhornhof stetig weiter ent­ wickelt wird. Großzügig haben sie Fotografien, Skulpturen und Objekte für den Verkauf zugunsten der Arbeit der Stiftung zur Verfügung gestellt. Die Schau führt eindrucksvoll vor Augen, welche Band­ breite künstlerischer Positionen die Neuenkirchener „Kunst­Landschaft“ mittlerweile umfasst:

Elmgreen & Dragset, Rupprecht Matthies, HAWOLI, Gabriela Albergaría, Hartmut Stielow, Mutter/Genth, Martin Reichmann, Kaori Tomita, Verena Issel, Aram Bartholl, Ulrich Eller, Harald Finke, Stefan Kern, Micha Ullman, Rolf Jörres, Timm Ulrichs, Christiane Möbus, Volker Lang, Carl Vetter, Anna Guðjónsdóttir, Will Beckers, Gisela von Bruchhausen und viele mehr.