Summer exhibition 2008 ASK
Ü60 - New art by old-timers
Siegerland Artists' Workgroup
Ü60 - Junge Kunst von Alten Hasen
May 15 to June 8 2008
Municipal Gallery Haus Seel, Siegen
Press preview May 15 2008, 4.30pm
Opening Thursday, May 15 7pm
Welcome speech by the mayor of the city of Siegen,
Kirsten Witt, cultural scientist, Remscheid
The ASK brings to your attention its next exhibition at the municipal gallery Haus Seel in Siegen under the title Ü60. Ü60 on cheaply designed, sensational posters, in all-capital letters on a bright neon orange background, in an obvious allusion to the phenomenon of mega-parties aimed at thirtysomethings, who are lured into the clubs at the weekend in search of life or of a life partner. Saturday after Saturday Ü30, and now Ü60? The observer may wonder. But the ASK is more interested in the follow-up question: and why not? What is it that our society offers the those over 60? The evening talk on living with Alzheimer's and a slide show about Dolomites?
Ü60 is intended to show that "the elderly" are not merely a target group for cultural events, but that they themselves can populate the front row as actors. The ASK is an old association not only in view of the fact that hardly any other artists' association in Germany can point to nearly as long a lifespan, as the Workgroup has existed since 1922. Also - in part - demographically: 7 of its currently around 30 members, as it turned out during the planning stage, fulfill the criterion for participation in this exhibition of not only being active and successful artists, but also being older than sixty. They are: Aki E. Benemann, Günter Hähner, Renate Hahn, Elisabeth Jeck, Margret Judt, Helmut Riekel, Helga Seekamp - well-known names that have stood for quality work for Siegerland art lovers for decades.
From May 15 to June 8, these old-timers will display a cross-section of their current production in the fields of painting, graphics, installation art and sculpture at Haus Seel in Siegen.
As an introduction to the exhibition and in order to contextualize our exhibition concept, we would like to enter into a debate about the role of older people in the current cultural sector. The opening lecture will therefore be given by Kirsten Witt from the Institute for Cultural Education in Remscheid, where the European Center for Culture and Education in Old Age operates under the label KUBIA. Demographic change, the "society of longevity" and the participation of older people in cultural production and reception are researched and divulged there - not at all in a sedate, but a pleasingly assertive way, showcasing projects titled things like "Unfolding instead of Lifting".
A special opportunity will present itself as part of the exhibition on May 21. Under the motto "Ü60 meets U6", children from the Siegen pre-schools will be invited to meet two of the participating artists: Helmut Riekel, Renate Hahn and Margret Judt will answer the youngest children's questions about their pictures, paintings, drawings, colors, shapes, ideas and anything else that might interest U6. Ü60 was included in the program of the Siegen Art Summer 2008 by the Kunstverein Siegen.
