Architecture Symposium
Architecture
Symposium
A museum develops
Yesterday. Today! Tomorrow? - Architecture Symposium 2023
From the museum of late modernism, its history and its future, monument protection, the “third place” or climate box versus climate crisis.
The Kunsthalle Bielefeld was built according to plans by the US architect Philip Johnson (1906-2005) and opened in 1968. It is its only museum building in Europe, a landmark of the city of Bielefeld and significant historical monument. In order to remain viable as a museum, however, after more than fifty years it is now time for a fundamental and future-oriented renovation and modernization. In the introductory blog post Kunsthalle Bielefeld – developing for the 21st century: refurbishment/expansion, our director Christina Végh explains in more detail what such a refurbishment means and what its aims are.
This is not just about technical innovations, but many aspects have to be taken into account: How does one deal with the history of the Kunsthalle and the preservation requirements of its architecture? How can the renovation itself be ecological and promote sustainable museum work? And what should be considered during the conversion so that the Kunsthalle can meet today’s requirements for museums?
Today, the tasks of museums are no longer limited to the classic areas of collecting, preserving, researching and communicating. Museums today also see their responsibility in being a so-called “third place”. They want to serve as meeting points for our increasingly diverse urban society, to be an open and dialogue-oriented place of encounter and knowledge production for all.
In a three-part symposium in 2023, we held three parts on 21. + April 22, the 1. + September 2 and the 27. + October 28, together with national and international experts, the diverse issues and findings from the planning process were discussed in public.
Recordings of the presentations and further information are available in our journal.
Part I: Good Spirits, Bad Spirits:
Facing the history of the Kunsthalle
Program Part I: Friday, April 21, 2023
18:30
Greeting
Karin Schrader, Mayor of the City of Bielefeld
Introduction
pivots Kunsthalle Bielefeld
Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
To the blog post and video recording
19:30
Lecture
Years of Construction. Impulse Kunsthalle Mannheim.
Architecture, Concept, Digital Strategy
Dr. Ulrike Lorenz, President of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar
To the blog post and video recording
Program Part I: Saturday, April 22, 2023
10:00
Introduction
pivots Kunsthalle Bielefeld
Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
10:30 a.m.
keynote address
Philip Johnson’s 1968 Bielefeld Art Gallery:
a challenge for German architectural criticism.
Prof. Dr. Fritz Neumeyer, Technical University of Berlin, Architectural Theory, em.
To the blog post and video recording
11:00
keynote address
Repeated finally “discussed out”!? – Biographical and Memory Cultural Observations on Richard Kaselowsky
Dr. Jochen Rath, City Archive and Regional History Library Bielefeld
To the blog post and video recording
11:30 a.m.
keynote address
Art has WUMM – The Kunsthalle and its naming as a place of civil society debates and artistic interventions
Dr. Irene Below, art historian, Werther
To the blog post and video recording
– Coffee break –
12:30
Discussion
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Eduard Führ, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg, Chair for Theory of Architecture (retired), Honorary Professor for Architectural Education and Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
– Lunch break –
14:30
keynote address
The public museum as a monument
(Das öffentliche Museum als Monument)
Dr. Andrea Lissoni, Haus der Kunst Munich (in English)
To the blog post and video recording
15:00
keynote address
The Passions of Philip Johnson
(Die Leidenschaften Philip Johnsons)
Prof. Dr. Jeffrey Lieber, Texas State University (in English)
To the blog post and video recording
15:30
keynote address
Moral communication in architecture. About Philip Johnson and Others
Prof. Dr. Stephan Trüby, University of Stuttgart, Fundamentals of Modern Architecture and Design
To the blog post and video recording
– Coffee break –
16:30
Discussion
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Eduard Führ, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg, Chair for Theory of Architecture (retired), Honorary Professor for Architectural Education and Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
In Part I, we confront the good and evil spirits of Kunsthalle Bielefeld’s history. More informationen about the participants on april 21st and 22nd and recordings of all presentations can be found on our blog here.
Part II: What next? More and more is not enough.
Best Practice in Dealing with Redevelopment, Expansion, Rededication in Reflection of the Expanded Museum Function of the "Third Place."
Program Part II: Friday, September 1, 2023
18:30
Greeting (video message)
Ina Brandes
Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Introduction
Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
19:30
Lecture
Make Museums Great Again?
The future of museum architecture
Prof. Dr. Philip Ursprung, ETH Zurich, History of Art and Architecture
To the blog post and video recording
Program Part II: Saturday, September 2, 2023
10:00
Introduction
Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
10:30
keynote address
“Invisible” Museums. or: The invention of the new as the discovery of the existing.
Prof. Dr. Stanislaus von Moos, University of Zurich, em.
To the blog post and video recording
11:00
keynote address
Form versus function. The solution rarely lies in the middle.
Examples from the renovation of the Neue Nationalgalerie.
Dr. Joachim Jäger, New National Gallery Berlin
To the blog post and video recording
11:30
keynote address
The overtaxed monument
Prof. Dr. Silke Langenberg, ETH Zurich, Institute of Architecture, Structural Heritage and Preservation of Historical Monuments
To the blog post and video recording
– Pause –
12:30
Discussion
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Philip Ursprung, ETH Zurich, history of art and architecture and Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
– Lunch break –
14:30
keynote address
Hanging up instead of hanging down? – Museum Spaces and the New Ethics of Communitization
Prof. Dr. Karen van den Berg, Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, Chair of Art Theory & Staging Practice
To the blog post and video recording
15:00
keynote address
Vulnerable Processes. Vulnerable Processes. A Curatorial Reflection on the Museum in Transition.
Prof. Dr. Doreen Mende, Dresden State Art Collections, HEAD Genève
To the blog post and video recording
15:30
keynote address
The spatial culture of museums
(titel original in english)
Prof. Dr. Kali Tzorzti, University of Patras, Institute of Architecture, Museology
(conversation in english)
To the blog post and video recording
– Pause –
16:30
Discussion
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Philip Ursprung, ETH Zurich, history of art and architecture and Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
In Part II, we ask how the rehabilitation of a historic building can help develop a museum into a “third place,” a meeting place for a diverse community. More information about this and the participants can be found on our blog.
Part III: Climate box versus climate crisis.
Fit for the future: the climate-neutral museum
Program Part III: Friday, October 27, 2023
18:30
Greeting
Britta Haßelmann MdB
Chairwoman of the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen parliamentary group in the Bundestag
Introduction
Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
19:30
Lecture
Rewilding the white cube:
the role of art museums in addressing climate emergency
(Rewilding the white cube: die Rolle der Kunstmuseen bei der Bewältigung des Klimanotstandes)
Frances Morris, Director Emerita Tate Modern, London
(conversation in english)
To the blog post and video recording
Program Part III: Saturday, October 28, 2023
10:00
Introduction
Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
10:30 a.m.
keynote address
Exhibiting and preserving as toxic paradigms.
Can cultural institutions negotiate the environmental crisis?
Prof. Dr. Peter J. Schneemann, University of Bern, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art History
To the blog post and video recording
11:00
keynote address
The city, the box, the art and the climate.
Attempt at a relational reassembly
Prof. Dipl. Ing. Bernd Kniess, HafenCity University Hamburg, Urban Design
To the blog post and video recording
11:30 a.m.
keynote address
Curating as Care Work: Of the Museum Climate in Planetary Interdependencies and Cultural Imaginaries.
Prof. Dr. Elke Krasny, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
To the blog post and video recording
– Pause –
12:30
Discussion
Moderation: Jacob Sylvester Bilabel, Network Sustainability in Culture and Media and Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
– Lunch break –
14:30
keynote address
Peace with Gaia – Perspectives, possibilities and limits of cultural institutions in the sustainability transformation process
Ministerialrat Ralph Zinnikus, Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia,
Unit 416, New Cultural Facilities, Sustainability
To the blog post and video recording
15:00
keynote address
Look up – the way to a green museum
Prof. Dr. Stefan Simon, Rathgen Research Laboratory Berlin
To the blog post and video recording
15:30
keynote address
The path to a climate-friendly museum
Prof. Peter Gorschlüter, Folkwang Museum Essen
To the blog post and video recording
– Pause –
16:30
Discussion
Moderation: Jacob Sylvester Bilabel, Network Sustainability in Culture and Media and Christina Végh, Director Kunsthalle Bielefeld
Part III addresses the question of how a museum can become fit for the future with a view to sustainability and climate protection. More information about this and the participants can be found on our blog.
The symposium is sponsored and supported by:
Kunsthalle Bielefeld Journal
In our blog accompanying the renovation and the architecture symposium, you can expect exciting interviews and a variety of insights beyond the museum rooms and exhibitions, as well as artistic contributions from students at the University of Applied Sciences.
Here you will find all information about the renovation of the Kunsthalle Bielefeld and the supporting program we have prepared for it. Stay with us and accompany us through this exciting time.
