About
Stadtkuratorin Leipzig – Art in public spaces in the city of Leipzig
Stadtkuratorin Leipzig is a new program for art in public spaces on behalf of the Cultural Office of the City of Leipzig. The term “art in public spaces” covers a wide range of artworks that can be found in urban spaces and publicly accessible buildings. These include sculptures, monuments, installations, architectural ornament, and art on buildings from different eras, as well as ephemeral interventions, sound and media art, performances, art actions, and street art.
Leipzig has undergone constant changes since the political transformations in 1990. We ask ourselves what role art in public space can play in accompanying these spatial and social transformations. Public space is not just a physical place, it is a basic prerequisite for a democratic urban community: it is the place where we meet and exchange ideas!
Art in public spaces and on buildings creates a platform for communication and exchange where city dwellers, scenes, groups with different interests, communities, and the administration of the city itself can meet and enter into dialog with each other. Because of this potential for communication, the Stadtkuratorin Leipzig program focuses on the development of process-oriented and participatory forms, that involve the community in artistic processes and stimulate joint design, research and discussions. In the “UmRäumen – Urbane Kunst für Leipzig” series, ideas for future collaborative public projects are developed in various Leipzig districts, in collaboration with local initiatives, culture workers, and local residents.
Stadtkuratorin Leipzig also invites you to take a closer look at the existing historical monuments and contemporary art projects in public spaces and ask what significance they have for Leipzig's current social and cultural life. We are interested in what is still missing, and ask about the reasons for these absences.
An online library and media center on the topic of art in public spaces in Leipzig and elsewhere is being created, parallel to the program's online platform. In addition to publishing our own texts, a podcast series, and a video channel, we invite people from different backgrounds to reflect with us on the past, present and future of art in the city of Leipzig.
Strategy and guidelines Leipzig // City // Space // Art
The Stadtkuratorin Leipzig program is developed by curator, author and art educator Julia Kurz and her team on behalf of the City of Leipzig's Department of Culture. The development of this program was recommended in the strategy and guidelines Leipzig // Stadt // Raum // Kunst (Leipzig // City // Space // Art), which was adopted by the City Council in 2019. Based on these guidelines, the City of Leipzig developed objectives and frameworks for introducing art in public spaces and on buildings. This includes recording and communicating existing art in public spaces, developing contemporary and diverse artistic formats for art in public spaces and memory culture, and regulating the implementation of new public art, in open spaces and on buildings in municipal construction projects. The strategy and guidelines emphasize that creating a socially sustainable urban infrastructure and living spaces, including the design of public space, is one of the most important tasks in a dynamically growing city. The strategy and guidelines were drawn up in close cooperation between the City of Leipzig's Department of Culture and the City of Leipzig's Expert Forum on Art in Public Space and Art in Architecture.
You can find more information on the strategy and guidelines Leipzig // Stadt // Raum // Kunst on the website of the City of Leipzig.
