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ARTBASE Festival 2019

, by Katia Hermann

The Urban Art Festival in an abandoned psychiatric ward in Brandenburg 30.08.2019-01.09.2019


The history of the lost place

The spacious complex of the former Landesirrenanstalt is located next to the Domjüchsee (lake) near Neustrelitz and was designed as a large sanatorium in the countryside. The buildings were erected between 1899 and 1902 and included an administration building, a kitchen building, a water tower with an attached boiler house and machine house, an agricultural building with a section room and a mortuary room. In addition, four small hospitals were built, with a maximum of 180 patients divided into men and women, as well as light and seriously ill patients. Beside the complex there were agricultural areas of 12 ha, which were cultivated for own use. A small cemetery is still part of it today. In the 2nd World War from 1939 onwards the place became a transit station for many sick people on their way to Schwerin (Sachsenberg), which meant a death sentence for many. In 1943 it was converted into a tuberculosis hospital and after the invasion of the Red Army the Soviet troops took over the facility until the fall of the Berlin Wall. After the site had been cleared of military equipment, the property was up for sale. It has been in private hands since 2005/2009. By the support of an association it succeeded to stop the further decay. A part of the historical area was equipped for 25 years by the municipal utilities with a photovoltaic system on the side of the street.


The story of ARTBASE

In 2019 the ARTBASE will take place for the 4th time at this historical, partly ghostly place, which is situated in a beautiful environment. Organized by the agency go2know, which has been dealing with lost places since 2009 and offers photo tours, walks and more, in deserted, impressive places, this facility was once again a great find for Urban Art. The agency’s founders have been dealing with this art phenomenon since around 1992 – at the time mainly with graffiti writing. And on these abandoned walls murals, stencils, graffiti and installations, whether inside or outside, come into their own and enliven the gray crumbling walls with colors and forms.

In Neustrelitz, too, the artists could work freely at some of the still accessible buildings. Some have also dealt thematically with the location.

The first ARTBASE organized by the founders took place in 2011 in Oranienburg, in a former lung sanatorium, and attracted many emerging artists at that time and many visitors. In 2012 the festival followed on the Teufelsberg in Berlin and parallel in Klosterfelde. In 2018 there was a kind of mini-festival in Mensch Meyer and in the White Villa on Lake Constance. The festival has so far been created without public funding or sponsoring, like for 2019, when the ARTBASE is back with countless urban art artists, a full music program, live acts and workshops. The artists’ line-up came about through direct invitations to the  “basis” of 2011 and an Open Call, which ran until June 2019 to promote young talent.

So it has become a great mixture of international artists and Berlin street art veterans like SP38, Alias, Lake Oner, El Boccho and writers like Dejoe or Cren as well as younger protagonists.

The weekend promises a mix of art, music, parties, workshops and relaxation in a beautiful mysterious place by the lake in the Brandenburg countryside.

The Artbase is supported by „Street Art Berlin“, „Kultur-Späti“ (KUS) and „we did nothing wrong e.v.“.

All information under:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1067206223470588/
https://www.artbase-festival.com/



Line-up of Urban Art Artists 2019 :

Age Age, Albino One, Ale Senso, ALIAS, Amanda Arrou-tea, Angry Koala, Anna Schellberg, Armadillogic, ARMX / ADULTREMIX, Ben Mergelsberg, Ben Smith, Bernadette Schweihöfer, BeveR, Bobbie Serrano, Boing, Bona, Born to die in Berlin, Bust the Drip, busta_170er, Cany The Kizard, Caro Pepe, Caz.L, Christian Rothenhagen (deerBLN), Claudio Fuente, CokyOne, Cren, Damian Rohde, Dejoe, Denise Alheit, Devid Schwarz, Devita, DR. YO, El Bocho, Emess, EULEN HEULEN, Felix Gephart, Fly, Frieda Angenehm, Gerdtrud und Marini, Kartoffeltierchen, Guido Palmadessa, Guillermo S. Quintana, Haevi Styles, Herr Eifel, HkdNs, howtokillagraffiti, Hoya, individualicevirtualice, IKARUS (Berlin Kidz/ÜF), Johannes Ehemann, Julia Pandit, Julia Rehme, Kim Köster, Kobe Eins, KoeOne, Kuba, l7Matrix, Lacuna, LAKE Oner, L.E.T., MATE, Marshal Arts, Mary Cula, Matthias Gephart (Disturbanity Graphics), Michelle Hoogveld, NASCA, nohatefamily, Nomad, Ost.Up (Selfmadecrew), Otto Schade, Parisurteil, Paula Marie Kuhn, Pilar, PLANETSELFIE, PlasTick (Tick One), Rabea Senftenberg, Ringo Mollinger/Artdrenaline, RIOT 1394, RON MILLER, Sam Crew, Seboh Creation, Sei Leise, Señor Schnu, Snub23, SNYDER, Soniconer, SP 38, SPRITE, Sr. Papá Chango, TAPE OVER CREW, The Krank, Thi (AT-8), Tobias Starke, TOBO, TONA, Trixi Yatee, Vanessa Karré, Wake, YAT, Zonenkinder, ZooN

Katia Hermann
French-German art historian, curator and writer. After her studies of art history and cultural management in Paris, Katia moved to Berlin in 2001. For twenty years, she has worked as a freelance exhibition-maker/curator, cultural manager, writer and translator. After working for documentary film- and exhibition productions, she curated thematic exhibitions of modern & contemporary art and photography for institutions, project spaces and galleries. She always endeavors to promote artists with contemporary relevant topics, new visual languages, and tries to mediate to a wide public. After her research grant for fine arts with the topic Urban Art Berlin (Berliner Senate Department of Culture and Europe) in 2017, she initiated and coordinated the Urban Art Week in Berlin in 2018 and 2019. The photo exhibition BERLIN: WRITING GRAFFITI started 2019 to tour to Brussels with a publication. Beside her curatorial practice, Katia gives art tours and writes about urban art, contemporary art, and in particular about post-graffiti painters for magazines and blogs.

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