Day-long opening: Sunday, May 5
3 p.m.
Greeting: Ina Brandes, Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia
Speeches: Felix Heinrichs, Mayor of the City of Mönchengladbach
Christine Peters, Head of Performing Arts at Kunststiftung NRW
Ursula Wißborn, Board Member, Foundation for Art, Culture, and Social Affairs of the Sparda-Bank West
Introduction: Susanne Titz & Gian Marco Hölk
The KUNSTHALLE FOR MUSIC is a nomadic institution dedicated to creating musical, experiential spaces in visual arts venues and public settings. Founded in 2017 by American composer and artist Ari Benjamin Meyers and touring internationally ever since, it is now making its debut in the context of a museum collection. A dynamic live music exhibition will take shape, establishing connections with the expanded art concepts of the 1960s and 70s.
Over a period of seven weeks, from Thursday to Sunday, the KUNSTHALLE FOR MUSIC ensemble will present a repertoire of musical pieces from Ari Benjamin Meyers’s Songbook. It contains the artist’s own compositions alongside works by Ei Arakawa, John Baldessari, Jonathan Bepler, Marcel Duchamp, Julius Eastman, Philip Glass, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Christian Marclay, Yoko Ono, Laure Prouvost, Terry Riley, Anri Sala & Franz Ferdinand, Erik Satie, and Superflex, among others.
Meyers’s project KUNSTHALLE FOR MUSIC is based on a deep engagement with the possibilities, qualities, and contexts of music. Solos, duets, and group pieces encourage listening and occasional participation on the part of visitors. The exhibition choreography and score leave room for variation and new works will continue to be added, ensuring that each visit is a unique experience.
Meyers has commissioned three international guests to create new work for the KUNSTHALLE FOR MUSIC: Irmin Schmidt, a student of Karlheinz Stockhausen and co-founder of the band Can, formed in 1968; Melika Ngombe Kolongo (also known as Nkisi), Congolese-Belgian music producer, artist and DJ; and the British artist and activist Rory Pilgrim. Their new compositions will be rehearsed in public before being incorporated into the exhibition score. The KUNSTHALLE FOR MUSIC in Mönchengladbach will also be complemented by selected works from the ANDERSCH COLLECTION/ARCHIVE, the extensive Fluxus collection compiled by Erik and Dorothee Andersch. The ANDERSCH COLLECTION/ARCHIVE has been housed in the Museum Abteiberg since 2018.
PROGRAM:
Sunday, May 5: Opening and introduction of the first new commission by Irmin Schmidt
Thursday, May 16, 5–11 p.m.: Sparda Night on the Third Thursday with guided tours, talks, and concerts (admission free)
Friday, May 17 – Sunday, May 19: Introduction of the second new commission by Melika Ngombe Kolongo
Friday, May 31 – Sunday, June 2: Introduction of the third new commission by Rory Pilgrim
Thursday, June 20, 7 p.m.: Exhibition talk with the ensemble
Sunday, June 23, 12 p.m.: Finissage on Museum Abteiberg’s 42nd birthday
KUNSTHALLE FOR MUSIC Mönchengladbach ensemble:
Chiara Cecconello (ensemble head, flute), Maria del Mar Ribas (cello),
Benjamin Enders (guitar, bass, percussion), Patrick Hänsler (guitar), Sung Mi Marina Kim (violin), Christian Löffel (piano),
Christopher Loy (cello), Dominik Schmitt (guitar, bass), Roland Sonnabend (guitar, bass, percussion), Enrico Taubmann (saxophone),
rehearsal director & creative dramaturge: Sandhya Daemgen
The exhibition is made possible with support from the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Kunststiftung NRW,
the Foundation for Art, Culture, and Social Affairs of the Sparda-Bank West, the Hans Fries Foundation and the Museumsverein Abteiberg.
Fig.: KUNSTHALLE FOR MUSIC in Mönchengladbach, Act II, Workshop, Museum Abteiberg, 2024, Photo: Carlos Albuquerque