As part of the Biennale O19, there will be satellite exhibitions starting 11th June 2019 in Dresden institutions such as the Ausländerrat Dresden e.V., Goethe-Institut, Gedenkstätte Bautzner Straße, art´SAP and the Alte Feuerwache Loschwitz | e. Kunst- und Kulturverein in Dresden in addition to the main exhibition.

The OSTRALE in its 12th edition is dedicated to the guiding principle of "-ism".

11th  June to 8th September 2019

Gedenkstätte Bautzener Straße
Bautzner Str. 112A, 01099 Dresden
daily from 10 am to 6 pm
Tram 11 Angelikastraße

12th Junie to 1st September 2019

Goethe Institut
Königsbrücker Str. 84, 01099 Dresden
Mo - Fri  from 8 am to 4 pm
Tram 7, 8 Tannenstraße

13th June to 1st September 2019

Ausländerrat Dresden e.V.
Heinrich-Zille-Straße 6, 01219 Dresden
Mi - So from 10 am to 6 pm
Tram 9, 13 Wasaplatz

28th June to 18th August 2019

Alte Feuerwache Loschwitz | e. Kunst- und Kulturverein
Fidelio-F.-Finke-Straße 4, 01326 Dresden
Mon, Wed, Thurs 10am-4pm / Tue 10am-6am / Sun 2pm-6pm
Bus 61,63,84, 309 Körnerplatz

03. July until 01. September 2019

Historische Tabakfabrik f6 Striesen
Schandauer Str. 66-68, 01277 Dresden
Mo - Fr from 10 am to 7 pm, Sa/So from 11am to 8pm
Tram M10 Gottleubaer Straße

art´SAP
Postplatz 1, 01067 Dresden
Mo - Fr from 8am to 6 pm
Tram 1, 2, 4, 11, 12 Postplatz

OSTRALE - Zentrum für zeitgenössische Kunst
Zur Messe 9, ehem. Futterställe, 01067 Dresden
Mo - Fr  from 10am to 7 pm, Sa/So from 11am to 8 pm
Tram M10 Messe

On occasion of the opening of the OSTRALE Biennale O19
on 03.07.2019 in the Historische Tabakfabrik f6, Striesen-Dresden

Photo © Peter Fischer

Distinguished...,

As you know, we live in highly complex times, not to say difficult: growing potentials for violence and destruction of individuals, groups or states, newly emerging nationalisms – even in the arts (see Tellkamp or Neo Rauch) – growing anti-Semitism, right-wing extremism, racism and xenophobia are only some of the burning contemporary problems that are represented in Dresden, for example by the Pegida movement.

Debates such as on gender and MeToo – while legitimate and necessary at their core – lead to new forms of repressive morality and political correctness, which leads to isms, sanctions and rigidities and to anticipatory obedience.

Meanwhile, the development of the capital markets, the constant maximization of profits, a belief in growth and progress that has long been absurd, continues unabated. I could continue this series. I think you all know what I am talking about.
The ideal landscape of Arcadia, which I represent as an ambassador, is linked to different ideals. Virgil's pastoral poems are connected with the ideal of a peaceful world in which people may live idly in love and harmony, without alienated work, without social pressure to adapt, without war, free from civilizing constraints, in peace, with love in the sense of social coexistence, with a life beyond social constraints.

Obsession with work, which is only necessary for the spiral of profit maximization to continue to function, is countered by idleness. In other words: free and self-determined action in the sense of Kant.

Arcadia is associated with dignity and respect towards other people.

But the principle of rivalry, which is obviously deeply rooted in us humans, leads to ever worse conditions. It's about power and constantly rising profits. The world becomes more and more inhospitable. Many people fall by the wayside.
In Arcadia all people are equal. There is no division between rich and poor. Money does not matter.

As Arcadian ambassador, I therefore call upon you to intervene. A spiritual revolt is urgently needed! We must reconsider our current economy, question it and not constantly subordinate ourselves to it. Permanent growth cannot remain an irrevocable creed! The world of commodities which is compulsively kept alive by the economic system generates only competitions and fears, which in turn lead to social constraints, to stress factors in everyday life, which in addition becomes more and more unstable on all levels – economically as well as psychologically. There are also economic aspects that lead to violence and war, because the principle of the stronger is inherent in capitalism. We must reconsider hierarchy and social systems, basic security, false privatisations, the responsibilities of the community.

Art and science can only be understood Arcadically, as free experimental fields and laboratories. It is the task of the arts native to Arcadia to bring interventions, sabotages, question marks and prickles into the world.

It's time to shake it up. I therefore call for collective idleness! – and I repeat myself: to a spiritual revolt!

Just do nothing, resist, be lazy and idle!

It is our common task to reshape the world.

Arcad Arcad

(Delivered by performance artist Peter Kees, whose work "Arkadische Landnahmen"
can be seen at the OSTRALE Biennale O19 exhibition.)

A German-African cooperation between the cities of Dresden (Germany),
Kampala (Uganda) and Nairobi (Kenya)

Exhibitions | Workshops | Symposia | Residencies | Artist Cooperations | Exchange

WomanISM is an international project consisting of exhibitions, workshops, artist residencies and artistic cooperations, aiming to examine and encourage the dialogue on women's rights and women's position in the art world and in society in general, with a special focus on women of color and from other marginalized groups in the context of the situation of German women in art. It is the joint endeavor of curators and organizers Syowia Kyambi (Nairobi, Kenya), Teesa Bahana from the 32°EAST / Ugandan Arts Trust (Kampala, Uganda), Antka Hofmann and Andrea Hilger from the OSTRALE Center for Contemporary Arts (Dresden, Germany).

The OSTRALE Center for Contemporary Arts has been organizing international exhibitions in Dresden, Germany and abroad since 2007. Throughout the years, the OSTRALE Biennale has grown to be Germany's third largest contemporary exhibition, with satellite exhibitions in more than 15 European cities abroad. Its cooperation with European Capitals of Culture focuses increasingly on exhibitions abroad. It is not a sales exhibition per se, which gives it the freedom to discuss socially relevant issues in a different way, regardless of market developments. OSTRALE's guiding principles, such as peaceful coexistence, acceptance of the stranger/unknown, respect for each other, religious diversity and internationality, are always reflected in the exhibitions. OSTRALE is part of the WOD (Weltoffenes Dresden) initiative of cultural institutions for an open-minded Dresden, and the network of the independent cultural scene of the city (Netzwerk Kultur Dresden).

The 2017 edition of the OSTRALE Biennale has seen a record number of 30,000 visitors, among them 9,500 students from local schools. The OSTRALE Biennale O19 will feature more than 250 works of 130 artists from more than 30 countries, presented in 9 different venues across the city of Dresden.

14 Artists from Germany and Africa were selected by the curators to participate in the project:
JANICE ICHE (Janice Mwalwala, 1995 / KEN)
NANCY MTEKI (1989 / ZWE)
REHEMA CHACHAGE (1987 / TZA)
IMMY MALI (Immaculate Mali Anderu, 1990 / UGA, NL)
SONIA E BARRETT (1975 / UK)
USHA (Usha Seejarim, 1974 / ZAF)
NATHALIE BERTRAMS (1968 / DE, BEL)
FRENZY HÖHNE (1975 / DE)
CAROLIN KOSS (1986 / DE, FIN)
ANASTASIA OBAREGBE (1982 / DE)
HANNA NITSCH (1974 / DE)
RAMONA SEYFARTH (1980 / DE)
GO PLASTIC COMPANY (CINDY HAMMER, 1989 & SUSAN SCHUBERT, 1986 / DE)

14 female artists from Germany and Africa have been selected by the curators to take part in the project. They will be presented in cadre of the OSTRALE Biennale O19 in Dresden between 11 June and 1 September 2019, and most of them will participate there in an Artist in Residence program between 11 June and 4 July. During their residency, the artists will get to know each other, take part in workshops and symposia, and lay the foundation of the concept of their artistic work that they will realize during a residency in Kampala at the 32°EAST / Ugandan Arts Trust between 1-10 February 2020. These artworks will be then exhibited in Kampala from 10 February and in Nairobi as well, from 25 March. Both in Kampala and Nairobi, symposia and workshops will be held during the months of February and March 2020 as accompanying programs to the project.

The WomanISM-Artists who cannot be personally present either in Dresden or in Kampala, can follow the events via Skype or e-mail. Attendance at the symposia and workshops can also happen via Skype, which demonstrates the wide possibilities of new media. While working out the concepts for next year together, artists who are not present can nevertheless be part of the process through their ideas. This example shows how new media can be understood as a language of networking and how different ways of communication and artistic collaboration can be explored through new technology.

The 12. OSTRALE stages its second Biennale under the leading thought of "-isms". While boundaries between reality and fiction are increasingly blurred by digital revolution and virtual reality, the demand for long established "isms" is on the rise. They are consulted to protect "our" values and worldviews, defend them and give them more support. Isms are most commonly applied as dogmas, confrontation, artistic categories or social values. Always manmade, they also pose as distinction to "other" worldviews. Nonetheless, or possibly even due to this power of individual spirit and collective bonds, "isms" can also be seen as a form of "liberty" to redefine values, or to serve the dogmatic interests of power.

In this broader context, with WomanISM we ask what lies beyond ism and what new perspective can be brought into the discourse, as opposed to just showing a representative sample of African art an international exhibition. The works at the exhibition of contemporary arts in 2019 will be presented as equal contributions in relation to the other "isms". Within the topic of WomanISM, the focus is on the dialogue between the contributions of the female artists of African and of German origin, to discuss cultural policy issues in the context of one's own work, to give a voice of the voiceless, and to assert their existence in the world and their presence in different spaces, as well as the work of repairing oneself and thus reaching equality instead of differences. The burden of representation is also a topic that shall be explored further in the panel talks organized within this project and hosted by OSTRALE and 32°EAST / Ugandan Arts Trust.

In 2019, the OSTRALE Biennale is staged as a decentralized exhibition, with the Historic Tobacco Factory f6 in Dresden as its core venue, and several exciting exhibition spaces all around the city. The different venues and opening dates of the decentralized exhibition are as follows:

OSTRALE Biennale O19
Goethe Institute Dresden (focus WomanISM) 12th June - 1st September 2019
Ausländerrat Dresden e.V. (focus WomanISM) 13th June - 1st September 2019
Historische Tabakfabrik f6 (CORE EXHIBITION) 3rd July - 1st September 2019

The detailed program points of WOMANISM, 2019 phase in Dresden are as follows:

11 June – 3 July (OSTRALE presmises)
Artist in Residence program where the artists get to know each other and lay the foundations of their collaborative works to be realized in Kampala in February 2020.

12th June, 6pm (Goethe Institute Dresden)
Opening ceremony of the decentralized exhibition in Goethe Institute Dresden

13th June, 6pm (Ausländerrat Dresden)
Opening ceremony of the decentralized exhibition in Ausländerrat Dresden

17th June, 3pm (Goethe Institute Dresden and Ausländerrat Dresden)
Meet and greet session with the participating artists, internal discussion of projects with the artists and curators. Present: Teesa Bahana, Syowia Kyambi, Andrea Hilger, Antka Hofmann, all artists of the AIR program, and guests of the Goethe Institute and the Ausländerrat

4th July, 2pm  (Historic Tobacco Factory f6)
Public presentation of the concepts developed by the artists and curators, closing discussion round with sociologists and linguists, with audience participation

The selection of artworks in two of these exciting exhibition spaces, the Goethe Institute Dresden and the Ausländerrat Dresden is especially focusing on artists participating in the WomanISM project, and will also serve as venues for the project's workshops and symposia. Both of these venues are institutions already connected to the themes of intercultural dialogue between Germany and the world and strive to establish respectful relations with people of other cultures both domestically and internationally.

The Goethe Institute Dresden is the venue of language courses for German as second language, and is often the first point of contact with German language and culture for foreigners coming to live and work in the city. On the other hand, as a federal institution, Goethe Institut has a long history of grants and programs supporting the participation of German artists in international residencies and exchange programs. Ausländerrat Dresden is an NGO focusing on the integration and counseling of people with migrational background living in Dresden. They organize language and music courses, discussion evenings and other cultural events, with special offers for women and families. At both of these venues and at the core exhibition at the Historic Tobacco Factory f6 in Dresden, it is important for us that the artworks of the African and German participants of the project, as well as of other international artists, are presented as equals and in dialogue with each other.

Syowia Kyambi is the main curator of the WomanISM project from the African side. She is an alumnus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has been the recipient of several awards, grants and fellowships. Her work examines how our contemporary human experience is influenced by constructed histories, creating installations that include a performative practice to narrate stories and activate objects; exploring cultural identities, linking them to issues of loss, memory, race, and gender. Syowia Kyambi practices both artistic and curatorial outputs. Her work has been shown in museums in Belgium, Finland, Kenya, Mali, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Zimbabwe, France, South Africa and the USA. Syowia Kyambi has also been part of the curatorial team that selected the artists to be exhibited at the OSTRALE Biennale O19.

Teesa Bahana is the main organizer of the WomanISM project from the African side in Uganda, and currently the director of 32°EAST / Ugandan Arts Trust, an art centre established in 2012 for the creation and research of contemporary art in Uganda. Teesa Bahana took over the leadership of the organisation in 2016 and since then has overseen 26 residencies, four exhibitions and the establishment of new programmes such as KLA ART Labs, a series of workshops around public art and audience engagement, and Palate, a supper club for the arts.

Antka Hofmann is an artist, cultural manager and curator of the WomanISM project from the German side. Born in 1977 in Großenhain, she lives and works in Dresden and Heiligendamm. She studied painting and graphics at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (Hochschule für Bildende Künste, 1996-2002); and did her MA studies there as well (2002-2005). After a Research and Teaching Grant (2002-2003), she was member of the Produzentengalerie Komet Berlin (formerly Rakete Berlin 2007-2009). She is also co-founder of OSTRALE, board member and part of the exhibition building team since 2013. As and artist, she had solo exhibitions in Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden; as well as various group exhibitions in Germany, Poland, Russia, Belgium, Spain and Malta. She has also been part of the curatorial team that selected the artists to be exhibited at the OSTRALE Biennale O19.

Andrea Hilger is the founder and artistic director of the OSTRALE Center for Contemporary Arts, and the main organizer of the WomanISM project from the German side. Born in 1970 in Leipzig, she is also the founder of TANZart Dresden (1997) and HILLUMINATION – Light + Stage Design (2001), board member of Tanzbühne Dresden e.V. since 1999, and dancer of several German opera houses, among them the Semperoper Dresden up to this day, as well as stage and costume designer at numerous theaters in all Germany. She is the 2009 recipient of the Förderpreis of the City of Dresden, and member of the organizational team of the Konferenz der Konkurrenten (Conference of Competitors) in preparation for the European Capital of Culture 2025.

Concept

WomanISM wird gefördert im Fonds TURN der

Performance in public space

We cordially invite you to the artistic performance The Honey Project by Nezaket Ekici and Shahar Marcus. The performance will take place on July 4, 2019 at 5 pm on the corner of Taschenberg and Schlossstraße in Dresden.

The performance-installation The Honey Project deals with language, culture and religion. The two artists Nezaket Ekici (Turkey/Germany) and Shahar Marcus (Israel) integrate different cultures and languages of the world. It is not the intention to create the "colorful sound" of many cultures. The work should go one step further: It is about internalizing the cultures and languages of the world to think about the peace that people achieve when they understand each other.

In Berlin, Ekici and Marcus found 13 migrants from different cultures representing various linguistic regions of the world. The performers are: Turkish, German, Hebrew-Chinese, Spanish, English, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Italian, French and Korean.

The physical "Honey Scriptures" are inspired by the Old Testament and Jewish religion. So the letters, which stand for the Bible, should get directly into the body. On the tongue, the Bible tastes sweet like honey. The performance anticipates an utopian world in which there are no longer any differences between cultures, languages and religions.

The project is supported by the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony (Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen). It is also co-financed by tax money on the basis of the budget decided by the deputies of the Saxon state parliament.

We are looking forward to experiencing the performance together with you!

The OSTRALE Biennale 2019, supported by the Stiftung Kunst & Musik für Dresden, is currently exhibiting works by the Iranian artists' group Borjass from the northern Iranian city of Amol. The works of art can be shown here - also with the help of the Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen - for the first time ever outside Iran.

On 10 August (Saturday) at 15 o'clock a special guided tour through the main exhibition of the OSTRALE Biennale O19 will take place at the Historische Tabakfabrik f6 in Striesen-Dresden, focusing on the presented Iranian artists and also on other exhibited works, which connect with the theme of how art crosses borders and builds bridges between cultures and political differences.

The artists Hamid Asadzadeh, Zeinab Fatemi, Ali Fazeli, Hamed Ghasemi, Banafsheh Motevalli, Akbar Nematirad, Foroozan Soleymani, accompanied by director Andrea Hilger and the curator of the group exhibition, Bettina Renner, present their works themselves.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GUIDED TOUR'S LANGUAGE IS GERMAN.

The guided tour is free of charge, only a normal exhibition ticket is required.
No previous registration necessary. Meeting point in the garden of the Historische Tabakfabrik f6 (Schandauer Str. 68.) at 15 o'clock.

Please remember to buy your exhibition ticket and deposit your backpacks at the cash desk before the meeting.

You can see press photos of the exhibition here.

After the special tour, at 17 o'clock, a dance performance will take place in the exhibition space on the second floor of the Biennale. The artistic intervention of the South Korean group Cie Yu Dans, supplemented by Dresden dancers under the direction of choreographer YeonA Yu, will enter into dialogue with the works shown in the art space and their background, such as the opposition between North and South Korea, capitalism and socialism etc.

About the performance:

BORDER-ISM

The past, present and future potential of the division of Korea, seen from today's perspective, combines the absolute pain and the pain of separation that borders cause. Among other things, the theme "ismus" of the OSTRALE Biennale O19 also deals with borders, not only the borders of isms, but most importantly, especially in this day and age, also global and social borders. We follow the energy of circulation and the future-oriented meaning of the past, which is still divided today. The desire for freedom breaks through many hidden boundaries and requires a discourse that is still relevant now as well.

About the artist group Borjass

In 2010, a group of artists settled in Amol, an Iranian city, with the same way of thinking and independently of each other, with the same goal of developing the language of critique. They founded the Isoo Gallery in 2015 and in recent years have shared their ideas and visions with Iranian and international artists and created contemporary art projects such as paintings, video art, performances, spoken word and assemblages to reflect their ideas.

Exhibiting artists: Hamid Asadzadeh, Zeinab Fatemi, Ali Fazeli, Hamed Ghasemi, Farzaneh Gholizadeh, Zeinab Hoseinzadeh, Mostafa Masoumi, Banafshe Motevalli, Akbar Nematirad, Shaghayegh Shabani Omran, Foroozan Soleymani, Documentation: Bettina Renner

About the dance group Cie Yu Dans

"Walking barefoot on rice, you can follow the historical traces of Korea. Rice, which affects all the senses, is the desire of our people. It stands for life, but also for a historical era and an ethnicity. It is like a little house in the stars, a nation rooted in the ground, which in daily reality is also divided by schisms and borders into disintegration and symbiosis. But life, always in the circulation of constant transformation, is renewed through thousands of virtues. Dance goes beyond the structural form, constantly alive, nervous, breathing in history. The continuity of life has an infinite potential for good; it is accepting and flexible. The symbolic concept of countering boundaries with existential values is combined with movement to bring peace across Korean borders." (YeonA Yu)

The Choreographer YeonA Yu explores the invisible and the transparent below the surface. Using the example of the border between North and South Korea, the common human origin of both countries, their social similarities and differences, yearnings and connections, and the possibilities of crossing borders, their common historical origins and cultural landscape, as we step on the rice and through the barbed wire, our awareness is raised and a mental horizon of possible actions is opened.

Paintings on the photo above © Mostafa Masoumi „Preachers"
Photography above © Peter Fischer

Photography below: Cie Yu Dans with choreographer YeonA Yu

Community experience – Enjoy art with all the family!

This summer, the international OSTRALE Biennale O19 invites you to discover contemporary art through various creative workshops and exciting activities for children and the whole family.

Musical event

Chrononaut from 14:00 in the Event Room (2nd floor)
sonic skylines / timescapes / live soundtrack

Music can be a message through time, the atlas of a journey or an archive of the feelings of foreign cultures and past epochs.
Every now and then it gives us a glimpse into the future.
And it is an expression of an everlasting transformation, marked by encounters and exchanges, in which new sounds constantly emerge, become alienated or familiar and disappear again.

Chrononaut is a project of Dresden musician Jan Heinke.
A cello made of steel, resounding fossils from ethnological collections and found objects from the acoustic surroundings of the venue connect with the real flow of time, weaving a soundtrack that can be experienced in passing. Everyday life becomes a film.

Discoveries for Children

13.00 to 17.00 - Painting workshop for the whole family with Marion Neumann, Event Room
Shapes, lines, dots and more!
We listen to exciting stories from the magic world of colours and create our own work of art. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PROGRAMME'S LANGUAGE IS GERMAN.

ALL DAY - Children's Art Exhibition, Event Room
Kleine Sommer-Kinder-Kunstgalerie (Small summer children's art gallery)
Children's art is a thing of its own! The results of the OSTRALE children's art project "Kinderblicke kunterbunt - WIR, die Friedrichstädter!" are exhibited in the painting workshop, inspiring the viewers to enjoy art with all the family and become creative together.

13.00 to 17.00 - OSTRALE Treasure Hunt
Be ready to embark on an adventurous journey to unveil the secrets and magical figures of this unique OSTRALE art exhibition. Meet the golden angel, the wooden dwarf or the living dolls that playfully introduce you to the world of contemporary art!

You will get your treasure hunting map at the cash desk.

If you have everything right, you can pick up small prizes in the Event Room (Rundgang 2) directly after each treasure hunt.

From the age of 3 together with parents, grandparents and siblings.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PROGRAMME'S LANGUAGE IS GERMAN.