OSTRALE O15

HANDLE WITH CARE

10.7. - 27.9.2015
66 days
180 artists
32 nationalities
20,000 visitors
SEE CATALOGUE (pdf)

Excess and waste, greed and exploitation dominate our planet and will inevitably lead to the destruction of our world. HANDLE WITH CARE is the appeal of the OSTRALE'015!

The aim of the OSTRALE as a market-independent platform is to give young, unestablished artists room next to already internationally recognized artists who express themselves in all artistic genres – from painting, photography and sculpture to dance and performance to video Art.

For the 9th time the OSTRALE presents on over 20,000 square meters of exhibition space international contemporary Art in Dresden, Ostragehege in the feed and small cattle sheds of the former Erlwein slaughterhouse area. An exceptional site close to the historic city centre which offers visitors to the OSTRALE a discourse between industrial monument and unique Art experience.

Exhibition venues: the Western and Eastern feeding stalls, the donkey shed, the outlands and House 11 in the historical Erlwein slaughterhouse of Dresden, Brühlsche Terrasse, Villa Baumgarten

Curators: Lydeke Schakel, Sybille Nütt, Miroslaw Jasinski, Harro Schmidt, Andrea Hilger

OUT of OSTRALE O15: Presentation of nine artists from Saxony in the St. Anne church in St.Petersburg on occasion of the German Week organized there.

The African Tree

African Proverb: "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best, now."
Even if a vibrant African Art scene emerged since the end of Apartheid in South Africa in 1994 and as a consequence of the ongoing globalisation, the Art scene in Africa is still small and foreigners have but limited access to it: "During the last fifteen years it was indeed considered that art from Africa was exhibited – but even so it was far too little since Western art production determines the market" said Julia Grosse, the deputy editor of "C&".

Nevertheless, in recent years African art has more and more found its way in the consciousness of Europe. Salah Hassan (Sudan) an Art historian of the Cornell University says: "I think this is due to a new openness in Europe, but also because art in Africa is so strong. Someday you will no longer talk of 'contemporary American art' and 'contemporary African, European and Asian art'. You will only talk of 'contemporary art' because art has much less to do with technique than with meaning."

African Fine Arts are no longer just in the periphery of the global art world but forge an exciting link between tradition and contemporaneity, between fear and hope, destruction and progress. African artists mix in their work the traditions of the global art discourse without, however, losing sight of their own roots, says Marcel Odenbach. "They work a lot with video, photography, performance, or the Internet. The boundaries of fashion, theatre, film blur." Such new forms of presentation and engaging art have not only a more relevant but also a greater chance of funding and effectiveness in the country as paintings, "that no one buys there anyway ".

The OSTRALE – International Exhibition of Contemporary Arts – approaches the topic as a three-year series of exhibitions. Referring to the book DEAD AID which points out the absurdity and destructiveness of foreign aid to African countries, published by the African Dambisa Moyo in 2009, they are titled DEAD AID. In the exhibition we want to look at Africa holistically OSTRALE O15, due to the size and diversity of the continent and its subsequent (especially) economic or political situations.

Under the slogan "The African Tree", the focus of the first year is on North, West and Central Africa. The OSTRALE O15 takes a look at Morocco, which has established a relatively advanced and stable political system in recent years – but also to the countries of Mali, Sierra Leone and the Congo, where partial Islamism, recurrent famines and civil wars determine the daily life.

The questions and objectives of the exhibition series can be summarised as follows: Where and what is the art of the African cosmos? What potential does Art have for the development of society? What is the connection between art, integration and African experience?

Artists and artist groups of OSTRALE O15

Jessica-Carmel Achel (CG), Jakub Adamski (PL), Ronex Ahimbisibwe (UG/NL), Ale & Lux (IT), Milena Altini (IT), Amir (DE), Andy K (DE), Änie (DE), Agate Apkalne (LVA), Artourette (DE), Youness Atbane (MA) & Anna Weissenfels (DE), Rochus Aust (DE), Steve Bandoma (ZA), Manja Barthel (DE), Matthias Bausch (DE), Alexander Belov (RU), Gianna Bentivenga (IT), Roberto Palma Benuz WAXER (MX/DE) & Christoph Drews Hardest Crew (DE), Zander Blom (DE), Boddy & Kralle (DE), Lőrinc Borsos (HU), Laure Boulay (FR), Agnieszka Eva Braun (PL), Anna Bujak (PL), Jean-Dominique Burton (BE), Klaus Busch (DE), Elio Castellana (IT), Nick Cave (US), Alexandra Centmayer (DE), Chez 186 (HR), Alexandre Christiaens (BE), Mark Chung (HKG), Mauro Cuppone (IT), Delicious Brains (SE), Gleba Deli (PT) & Gil Delindro (DE), Annedore Dietze (DE), Daniel Nicolae Djamo (RO), David Dollmann (DE), Davide Dormino (IT), Christoph Draeger (CH/ AT), Dr. Molrok (DE), El Bocho​ (DE), Erace (DE), Gustavo Espinosa (CO), Arina Essipowitsch (BRS/FR), Fat Crew Kiew (UA), Mounir Fatmi (FR), Simone Fezer (DE), Milosz Flis (PL), Jacqueline Friedrich (DE), Enrique Fuentes (MX/AT), Shige Fujishiro (JP/DE), Yoel Diaz Galvez (MX), Geisler & Nitschkowski (DE), Umberto Giovanini (IT), Philipp Gloger (DE), Joanna Golachowska (PL), Victoria Graf (DE), Paolo Grassino (IT), Artur Grochowski (PL), Marcelina Gron (PL), Urban Grünfelder (AT), Liu Guangyun (CN), Michael Guinand (DE), Olga Guse (RU/DE), Igor Gusev (UA), Nobert Gunthier & Matthas Bolz (DE), Doria Hansen (DE), Priscilla Hasenböhler (CH/AT), Marlet Heckhoff (DE), Ulrich Heemann (DE), Andreas Hetfeld (DE) & Suus Baltussen (NL), Hj Khairulanwar bin Hj Ibrahim (BN), Frenzy Höhne (DE), Elke Hopfe (DE), Kristian von Hornsleth (DK), Florian Huber (DE), Ana J Jagodic (SI), Albertyna Kacalak (PL), Janusz Kalinik (PL), John Kamicha (DE), Chun-Hyok Kang (KR), Gábor Király (HU), Till Klärenz (DE), Ludwig Kuckartz (DE), Kasia Kmita (PL), Tobias Köbsch (DE), Iva Kovic (LB), Elena Kristofor (UKR), Christoph Kugler (DE), Oleg Kuptsov (RU), Syowia Kyambi (KE/DE), Gilles T. Lacombe (FR), Julia Langhammer (DE), Larissa Leverenz (DE/AT), Less (FR), Sebastian Lübeck (DE), Weronika Lucińska (PL), Chris Löhmann (DE), Maïssa Maatouk (LB), Marcos Angel (ES), Mario Marino (DE), Hugo Mayer (DE), Max Meder (DE) & Miserable Face (PL), Alain Meert & Joria van der Borght (BE), Norbert Meissner (DE), Michael Mieskes (DE), Eugeniusz Minciel (PL), Miserable Face (PL), Veronica Montanino (IT), Tanja Mosblech (BE), Baudouin Mouanda (CG), Zwelethu Mthethwa (DE), Henry Mzili Mujunga (UG), Martin Paul Müller (DE), James Muriuki (KE/NL), Zhanna Nagoryanskaya (RU), Thi Dung Nguyen (VN), Oliver Niemöller (DE), Hanna Nitsch (DE), Julian Öffler (DE), Uche Okpa-Iroha (NG), Olivië (NL), [on:] (DE), Ostgen-Kollektiv (DE), Tom Palluch (DE), Constantinos Papadoukas (GR), Denis Patrakeev (RU), Cameron Platter (ZA), Oldrich Pliva (CZ), Giovanna Prandi (IT/DE), Daria Pravda (RU), Jan Prazan (CZ), Aleksandra Prusinowská (PL), Tanja Pohl (DE), Stephan Popella (DE), Philip Pusch (DE), Quintessenz (DE), Helmut Reinelt (DE), Verena Rempel (DE), Juan Miguel Restrepo (CO/DE), David Rochkind (USA), Michael H. Rohde (DE), Sandra Rosenstiel (DE), Rob Roy - Rob Kowansky (PL), Piotr Rymko (PL), Mustafa Sabbagh (JOR), Asri Sayrac (TR), Klaus Schafler (AT), Schleupner-Ortlepp (DE), Stefan Schleupner (DE), Peter Schmidt (DE), Heinz Schmöller (DE), Anton Schön (DE), Daniela Schönemann (DE), Andreas Schröder (DE), Ramona Seyfarth (DE), Tomasz Skórka (PL), Jolanda Spagno (IT), Lukas Troberg (DE), Kristina Steiner (DE), Olaf Stoy (DE), Detlef Schweiger (DE), Pascal Tassini (BE), Juan Miguel Retrepo Valdes (CO), Ute Vauk-Ogawa (ID/DE), Gabriele Walter (DE), Marcel Walldorf (DE), Wall Meetings: Chez186Riot1394Skenar73 & Skur.ill & Slider (INT), Beatrice Wanjiku (KE), Małgorzata Warlikowska (DE), Susanne Wawra (DE/IRL), James Webb (ZA), Maurice-Matar Wehbe (LB), Dennis & Patrick Weintert (DE), Fabian Wendling (DE), WiksKats (DE), Claudia Wissmann (DE), XY ankamierzejewska (PL), Marcin Zawicki (PL), 1+1+1=1: Kevin Kandetzki Sokar Uno & Robert Richter & Christian Manss (DE)