Die Akademie Schloss Solitude erarbeitet und erprobt ein neues Kulturelles Leitbild zur Kunst- und Kulturvermittlung

As an international artists’ residency, Akademie Schloss Solitude views itself not only as a site of encounter and exchange for artists from all over the world, but also as a place for artistic research and a laboratory for the exploration of innovative themes. Akademie Schloss Solitude regards the resulting diversity of artistic and scientific content as an opportunity to open itself up to different social groups and to share its knowledge in its capacity as a state institution. The goal is the gradual transformation of the Akademie into a place of encounter by all and for all, where artistic access is renegotiated in community via diverse formats.

What form does this process take?

The targeted funding of the project »Junge Perspektiven« within the framework of the »Weiterkommen!« program by the new Zentrum für Kulturelle Teilhabe Baden-Württemberg (ZfKT – Center for Cultural Participation Baden-Wuerttemberg) enables the development of a mission statement for the currently emerging field of artistic and cultural mediation at Akademie Schloss Solitude. »As part of the support program, Akademie Schloss Solitude will formulate new strategies for opening up the Akademie together with young actors in order to enable people from the city to participate directly and actively in artistic work in the future«, says Elke aus dem Moore, Director of Akademie Schloss Solitude.

Further steps

From autumn 2022 onward, the new mission statement will be tested in the field of artistic and cultural mediation, featuring the involvement of a wide range of individuals and perspectives from migrant self-organizations, associations from the LGBTQ+IA scene and initiatives with a decolonial perspective, such as Stutt:Ard e.V., Queerdenker* Stuttgart, ISD-Initiative Schwarze Menschen Ortsgruppe Stuttgart (Initiative for Black People in Germany, Stuttgart local chapter) and an intercultural promoter for the Stuttgart region at Afrokids International e.V., as well as pupils and students of the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart (ABK Stuttgart).

From 2023 onward, exchange-based exhibition formats will be developed with people from the local community in a range of age groups, so that participation becomes a central component of artistic mediation at Akademie Schloss Solitude. Here, the focus is placed on the joint design of exhibitions by fellows and actors from the local community. In this way, participants are given the opportunity to work together interdependently during productive encounters aimed at the development of diverse formats.

Cooperation and networking

July 2020 saw the organization of the festival Die Irritierte Stadt (The Irritated City) as part of Tanzpakt Stuttgart. Stuttgart’s local community was invited to explore social questions with the aid of contemporary art within the context of this event format, realigning or updating their view of their own city. At the Fragile Solidarities – Fragile Connections festival in May 2022, fellows from Akademie Schloss Solitude’s digital division, Digital Solitude, and local artists from Stuttgart’s off-scene explored the question of solidarity in times of digital transformation.

In Bad Boll, artists from the Akademie staged a meadow performance on September 24 through 25, 2022, that served as a venue for citizens and visitors to the community to jointly test the future of a new culture of care in public space. »Acting Care! – A Performance on the Meadow« is a production of Bureau Baubotanik within the context of the festival ÜBER:MORGEN, hosted by the KulturRegion Stuttgart, and is taking place in cooperation with the municipality of Bad Boll, WALA Heilmittel GmbH, the Evangelische Akademie Bad Boll, the Stiftung Lebenshilfe Zollernalb and the fellowship program »Under Utopia« initiated by Akademie Schloss Solitude and the artist duo Geers/Drescher.

Funded within the framework of the »Weiterkommen!« program of the Zentrum für Kulturelle Teilhabe Baden-Württemberg.