{"id":36110,"date":"2025-05-22T21:40:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T19:40:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/?p=36110"},"modified":"2025-05-25T22:37:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T20:37:09","slug":"art-place-conference-in-saarbrucken-a-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/2025\/05\/art-place-conference-in-saarbrucken-a-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Art & Place Conference in Saarbr\u00fccken – A review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Art & Place Conference<\/a> took place in Saarbr\u00fccken from May 1 to 4, 2025. It brought together leading international experts from the fields of street art, graffiti and art in public space to exchange views on current developments and (new perspectives on) historical interpretations. The focus was particularly on the site specificity of the art forms and subsequent practices. The event was organized by the  Unlock Bureau<\/a> (Javier Abarca),  Stiftung Wissensart<\/a> (KP Fl\u00fcgel) and art historian Dr. Ulrich Blanch\u00e9<\/a> from the University of Heidelberg, who also curated the exhibition \u201eILLEGAL: Street Art Graffiti 1960-1995\u201c<\/a> at the Historisches Museum Saar. The event was accompanied by a varied supporting program, including film screenings at Saarbr\u00fccken\u2019s arthouse cinema Achteinhalb<\/a>, a book fair<\/a> (Unlook Book Fair, Le Gran Jeu, etc.), art interventions (OX<\/a>, Antonio Gallego<\/a>, Mathieu Tremblin<\/a>) and guided tours of selected locations such as the V\u00f6lklinger H\u00fctte and the aforementioned \u201cIllegal\u201d exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A wide range of lectures: from aesthetics to appropriation to institutionalization <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 20 speakers from Europe, America, and Australia \u2013 including Barrett Zinn Gross, also known as Vandal, the legendary New York subway artist of the 1970s \u2013 presented a wide range of perspectives on street art and graffiti<\/a>. These included topics such as the aesthetics of female street art in Russia, outsider art, interventions in public spaces, cultural jamming, musical interconnections, as well as issues of gentrification and appropriation. The conference theme, the site-specificity of street art and graffiti, was sometimes more, sometimes less in focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reference became obvious in the first session \u201cAbstract paintings on trains\u201d. Nicolas Ciarlone shed light on the relationship between railway infrastructure and train writing using the example of Cannolo Merce<\/a>\u2019s train works \u2013 with a special focus on production sites, production practices and aesthetics. Merce\u2019s train works are characterized by simple lines, which are condensed in monochromatic and minimalist work (series). According to Ciarlone, Merce\u2019s train works are explicitly not abstract graffiti in terms of formal aesthetics. Rather, they reflect the linear infrastructure of the railroad system \u2013 or as Ciarlone put it: \u201cthey echo the site of production.\u201d However, site-specificity is not only reflected in the aesthetics, but also in the underlying production practices. Navigating railway infrastructure requires specialized knowledge: entrances must be located, long distances often need to be traversed, and even the rhythm of one\u2019s footsteps must adapt to the prevailing conditions (e.g., the tracks). This infrastructure, therefore, not only shapes the work on a formal-aesthetic level but also imposes a physical or production-aesthetic dimension. In conclusion, Ciarlone poses the question: Can we truly still refer to such production sites as public spaces? And if not, what are they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Luca Giocosa links up with this and brings another dimension into play: Photography. As a photographer, he accompanies a befriended writer during his activities and develops a very special connection to places \u2013 be it the fog-shrouded train yard at night, which requires a very special use of light and shadow, or the train station, where he sometimes waits for hours, even days, until he gets the desired object \u2013 the painted train \u2013 in front of the camera lens. For Giacosa, the artwork is only completed in the photographic documentation, which captures time, place and emotional situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discussion became particularly lively during the final panel on the topic of institutionalization. The panelists discussed what constitutes good curation, how \u2018the street\u2019 can be translated into the interior (or not) and what active role institutions play in the street art and graffiti ecosystem. Is a (freelance) curator per se a representative of the institution? Or is he or she not just as dependent on the structural framework conditions of the art system, the city, etc.? What tensions does the curator navigate, and what expectations and attributions need to be balanced, without throwing their own convictions and values overboard? Ultimately, there were more questions than answers \u2013 but they did provide some refreshing and thought-provoking impulses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final panel thus ultimately reinforced what was already apparent in the previous panel on \u201cStreet Art and Gentrification\u201d: understanding street art and graffiti requires far more than a (purely) formal aesthetic analysis. Rather, it is essential to examine their site-specificity and situational context, as well as the practices of production, reception, (re)appropriation, instrumentalization, and institutionalization that surround them. This includes the consideration of their extension into media space. The conference theme thus addressed one of the central breaking points in the discussion on street art and graffiti right from the beginning by focusing on site-specificity and its multi-layered implications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cILLEGAL: Street Art Graffiti 1960-1995\u201d<\/strong> exhibition at the Historisches Museum Saar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his \u201cIllegal\u201d exhibition<\/a>, renowned art historian Dr. Ulrich Blanch\u00e9 devoted himself to in-depth research into the early history of street art and graffiti, even before it became a public and commercial phenomenon. Blanch\u00e9 dispelled a number of myths that persist in the scene. For example, that the inspiration for the British street art star Banksy did not come from the French pioneer Blek le Rat, as is often claimed. Rather, the connections and sources of inspiration run along completely different, surprising paths, according to Blanch\u00e9 on his guided tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The exhibition proved to be a carefully curated, multimedia \u2018Gesamtkunstwerk\u2019: projections on walls and floors, videos, record covers, detailed replicas and original stencils created an authentic atmosphere. The expertise and enthusiasm with which Blanch\u00e9 guided visitors through the exhibition was particularly refreshing: he frequently pointed out intersections and drew connections between content, dates, events, and artifacts \u2013 opening up completely new perspectives. With his groundbreaking exhibition and research into early street art before 1995, Blanch\u00e9 developed a multi-layered network of connections and revealed artistic and cultural interdependencies that had previously remained undiscovered. Blanch\u00e9 succeeded in writing a whole new chapter in art history with his research into the early history of street art. His detailed analysis will henceforth be considered the status quo in the historiography of street art, and his accompanying exhibition catalog will become an indispensable reference work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Between urban art and street stories: V\u00f6lklinger H\u00fctte x Die Gesellschaft der Stadtwanderer <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UNSECO World Heritage Site V\u00f6lklinger H\u00fctte is worth a visit even without the ongoing \u201cUrban Art Biennale<\/a>\u201d \u2013 but even more with it. The guided tour through the huge industrial monument with its unique, rough aesthetics opened up many photo opportunities and lead past some well-known and some less well-known (monumental) murals. No less interesting, however, was the walk along the studios of the local art academy, which provided an authentic insight into the creative process of the students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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But while the V\u00f6lklinger H\u00fctte is an impressive monument to industrial history and an encounter with art, French artist and curator Matthieu Tremblin made clear that the true story of V\u00f6lklingen is not only told within this cultural space. In his guided tour, Tremblin deliberately drew attention away from the World Heritage Site and into the town of V\u00f6lklingen itself \u2013 taking us past the giant shopping mall \u201cGlobus\u201d, which for years has marked a physical and symbolic boundary between the town and the museum. The route led through districts with disused stores that bear witness to economically more vibrant times, through narrow alleyways and hidden courtyards to seemingly abandoned, so-called \u2018non-places\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The background? In 2024, Tremblin launched the project \u201eDie Gesellschaft der Stadtwanderer\u201c<\/a>, during which a group of international artists carried out seventy subtle interventions in V\u00f6lklingen\u2019s urban space. Inspired by anonymously shared micro-stories from local residents, these works were documented on a publicly accessible open-source map, inviting people to rediscover the city from a new perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These subtle interventions deal with the historical and cultural identity of the city. They expand this identity with individual and collective narratives and open up new perspectives on what memory and belonging can mean in urban space. At the same time, they are characterized by a finely balanced execution: The degree of physical intervention remains minimal and often reversible, so that they do not represent provocative damage to property, but enter into a dialog with public space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tremblin\u2019s project \u201cDie Gesellschaft der Stadtwanderer\u201d shows how art is not only to be found in museum spaces, but can be subtly and elegantly interwoven with the inconspicuous places of everyday life. It shifts the focus to seemingly unremarkable places in V\u00f6lklingen, offering them a renewed perspective \u2013 and in doing so, it revitalizes the spirit of community and remembrance within the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unlook Book Showcase<\/a> and Artist Residencies: Interdisciplinary text and image fragments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A small book fair ran alongside the conference, offering visitors a curated selection of publications and collector\u2019s items, some of which were exclusively available. The selection ranged from academic publications to illustrated books, magazines and catalogs, inviting visitors to browse, read and buy. It was a real feast for enthusiasts of street art and graffiti publications. The fair was organized in collaboration with the renowned Parisian bookstore Le Grand Jeu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile in Saarbr\u00fccken, various street art pioneers provided subtle artistic interventions: French artist\u00a0OX\u00a0<\/a>installed a series of commissioned works on pillar-shaped billboards. His works, which are known for their playful use of advertising and urban forms, fit seamlessly into the cityscape and invited viewers to perceive the space in a new way. At the same time, OX was also represented in the Kunstraum Automat<\/a>, allowing his works to bridge the gap between art in public and museum spaces.\u00a0Antonio Gallego<\/a>, a member of the historic French collective \u201cBanlieue-Banlieue\u201d, merged archive-based art and site-specific interventions in urban space: His works, which were based on historical documents and urban narratives, reflected both the past and the present of urban space, thus emphasizing the interaction between history and contemporary art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art & Place Conference, Saarbr\u00fccken, May 2025 \u00a9Katja Glaser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In this way, the book fair and the artistic interventions served as complementary elements of the conference program, providing participants with direct access to the visual and material culture of these scenes \u2013 supplementing the theoretical and discursive exploration of street art and graffiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A cinematic closing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conference concluded with a multifaceted film program that showcased the diversity and societal impact of urban art from a variety of perspectives, sometimes offering entirely different angles. One notable example was the film \u201eWritten in Chalk. The Echo of Arthur Stace\u201c (2022)<\/a> by Australian producer Richard Attieh, which explored the history of the iconic \u201cEternity\u201d lettering, recognized far beyond Sydney\u2019s city borders. The film documents the personal story of the man behind this iconic word and shows how its seemingly simple message is deeply embedded in the city\u2019s cultural identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or the film \u201eHere and Not Elsewhere\u201c (2023)<\/a> by director Kristina Borhes<\/a>, which chronicles the evolution of the French festival Bien Urbain in Besan\u00e7on. Borhes not only reflects on the motives and values that define this renowned festival but also delivers a cinematic homage to the artistic and social dynamics that shape its identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With \u201cWith One Eye Open\u201d (2024), Dutch curator Jasper Van Es<\/a> steered the film program in an entirely different direction. Created as an extension and companion piece to the exhibition of the same name<\/a>, the film weaves together graffiti, photography, and cinema into a creative dialogue \u2013employing a completely different film-aesthetic vocabulary. Through a multi-perspective reflection on the role of photography within graffiti, the film explores how documentation not only extends the work of art but also becomes an artistic process in its own. Put differently, the film presents itself as a multi-faceted homage to photography\u2019s role in graffiti, artfully staged through the lens of the video camera. Its visual narrative deliberately plays with aesthetics, perspective, and emotion, creating an engaging intersection between these distinct disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Art & Place: Echo and vision <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cArt & Place\u201d conference in Saarbr\u00fccken provided the international academic street art and graffiti community with a valuable platform. Through its diverse program \u2013 ranging from in-depth historical analysis and fresh perspectives to creative venues like the V\u00f6lklinger H\u00fctte, film screenings and a book fair \u2013 the conference highlighted the rich and multifaceted nature of urban art studies. It encouraged attendees to view street art and graffiti as integral parts of a broader cultural narrative; layered, dynamic, and consistently engaged in dialogue with contemporary discourses. Ultimately, however, \u201cArt & Place\u201d was, above all, what gatherings of this kind are truly about: Exchange. Community. Inspiration. And a vision that has gradually, yet thoughtfully, been institutionalized \u2013 without becoming rigid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Art & Place Conference took place in Saarbr\u00fccken from May 1 to 4, 2025. It brought together leading international experts from the fields of street art, graffiti and art in public space to exchange views on current developments and (new perspectives on) historical interpretations. The focus was particularly on the site specificity of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":36103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1224,1260],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-germany","category-highlights-en"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urbanpresents.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}