The »Pazifik« working group was founded in autumn 2022 in the German Artists' Association by Katja Brinkmann, Alice Dittmar, Michael Kress, Rebekka Reich, Andreas Schmid and Marcus Vila Richter. Other members are Adib Fricke and Susanne Jung.
The development of new ideas within the artistic work in relation to transcultural aspects between South-East Asia and Europe (Germany) is the basic concern of the working group. The members are often connected by many years of experience with individual countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The working group is a place for joint exchange through discussions, workshops and projects. Our current project »NAWIAT« is a several week long trip to Taiwan with artist talks and a variety of encounters to initiate a process-oriented dialogue between the two countries.
We see an urgent need to talk about a dialogue-based artistic practice that no longer follows the Western concept of universality in the global art discourse. The working group would like to see constructive interaction across borders. We are looking for an open and friendly-critical debate on the difficult questions of concepts of art and its essence, in order not to leave their definition solely to the global market and distribution, but to contribute a perspective that comes from artistic practice itself.
Project website NAWIAT: https://nawiat.org
The »Kunst im öffentlichen Raum | Kunst am Bau« (art in public space) working group at Deutscher Künstlerbund brings together artists with a shared interest in engaging with public space.
Meetings focus on an open exchange of information and support, including critical discussion of current calls for tender and competition procedures.
The positions developed by the working group aim to improve the conditions of artists who work in public space and to increase visibility for their role. The results are communicated to the board of Deutscher Künstlerbund, from where they find their way into the relevant political committees where they may ultimately make a positive impact.
The working group was founded in 2016 and meets every two months on the premises of Deutscher Künstlerbund in Berlin (by video conference since summer 2020).