artistic venture at the point of intersection between art and society

CURATING DEGREE ZERO ARCHIVE
revisited by REINIGUNGSGESELLSCHAFT

Halle fuer Kunst, Lueneburg

Project in co-operation with the University of Lueneburg/Cultural Studies Faculty

Special approaches are called for to exhibit an archive. What contents are to be included? How are these contents to be sorted and presented, how are they to be made accessible and how can they be expanded?

Barnaby Drabble and Dorothee Richter have built up an open archive compiling new approaches to curatorial practices with a special focus on critical and experimental trends. Up to now, the archive comprises materials (catalogues, articles, videos, CDs, images, and websites) dealing with the approaches of around 60 international curators and curatorial groups.

Since 2003 the archive,as well as the website www.curatingdegreezero.org belonging to it, have been worked up and presented in the form of a travelling exhibition. It could have been viewed in Basle, Geneva, Bremen, Linz, and Bristol. After Lueneburg, the tour will continue to Birmingham, Sunderland, London, Berlin and Edinburgh.

The underlying idea of the archive is to gather and make available information that is difficult to access. The website provides a navigation structure for the users of the archive, which serves as a basis for scientific and practice-oriented research.

In contrast to the stops until now, the archive will be presented by an artist-duo in Lueneburg. Since 1996 Martin Keil (D) and Henrik Mayer (D) have been working under the name of REINIGUNGSGESELLSCHAFT. They will newly sort the archive and make it more easily accessible and useable for the interested public for various study purposes by means of a specially arranged exhibition display.
The REINIGUNGSGESELLSCHAFT grasps itself as an artistic group working at the interface of art and society. The group pursues a curatorial practice focussing on education and research and, in this context, presents forms of artistic self-organisation in Japan. On the occasion of the opening, the REINIGUNGSGESELLSCHAFT will present their current publication "Autonom ist noch nicht einmal der Mond (Not even the moon is autonomous)" created during their research stay in Japan.

Concept CDZA: Dorothee Richter and Barnaby Drabble
Production Lueneburg: Halle fuer Kunst eV and Kunstraum of the University of Lueneburg
Exhibition display: REINIGUNGSGESELLSCHAFT
Selection of participants: Bettina Steinbruegge, Ulf Wuggenig and REINIGUNGSGESELLSCHAFT
Co-operation: Katrin Glinka, Anja Hitze, Ines Meyerhoff, Britt Narr, Catharina Rahlff-Mackeprang, Cora Verfuerth (students of the University of Lueneburg)
Music: Mental Groove Records, Geneva