NYAB Event - “Free River Zones : An artistic inquiry” Exhibition

“Free River Zones : An artistic inquiry” Exhibition

Goethe-Institut Wyoming Building

This event has ended.

The Goethe-Institut New York and the Galerie für Landschaftskunst present Free River Zones: An artistic inquiry. The project by six participants from the US, India and Germany is inspired by the ideas, visions and academic practice of Alexander von Humboldt within an experimental artistic format: field trips on New York’s waterways, collaborative art work, and a series of talks about rivers worldwide will culminate into the declaration of a “Free River Zone” in New York and an art exhibition at the Goethe-Institut Wyoming Building.

The point of departure is Humboldt’s river voyage with Aimé Bonpland on the Orinoco and the Rio Negro in South America in 1800. Based on this historical event, the exhibition will present a contemporary take on Humboldt’s legacy and is related to the exhibition “The Unity of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt and the Americas” at the Americas Society.

The idea of a “Free River Zone” is an experimental inquiry about the preconceptions and usage of rivers, aimed at overcoming antiquated definitions and developing new perceptions of landscape. It consists of acts of self-authorized “artistic declaration”, which have been accomplished through interdisciplinary research and public discussions about the possible meanings and consequences of a “Free River Zone” status. For each river area, specific modi operandi are chosen—technical, political, ecological, cultural, poetical or non-logical ones—to displace them from purposes of societal functions.

Free River Zones: An artistic inquiry will be a forum for discussions and collaborative art work, as well as for field trips to locations in and around New York City and its waterways. The artists will discuss and select an area as an experimental case study for a declaration of an urban “Free River Zone”.

In parallel, a series of talks will explore related existing projects with the river Elbe in the Hamburg port area in Germany as well as the river Yamuna in India and others.