Sunday, 7. May, 12 am
OPENING of the sculpture ensemble
Greeting: Thomas Hollkott, Karl Sasserath, Auftraggeber / Felix Heinrichs, Mayor of the City of Mönchengladbach / Dr. Hildegard Kaluza, Head of Department for Culture in the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of NRW / Kathrin Jentjens, Mediator NEUE AUFTRAGGEBER / Ruth Buchanan, Artist
Moderation: Lea Fembacher, Schülerin Stiftisches Humanistisches Gymnasium / Susanne Titz, Direktorin Museum Abteiberg
Musik: AG-Band HUMA
Arbeitslosenzentrum Mönchengladbach e.V. (Garten), Lüpertzender Str. 69, 41061 Mönchengladbach
On May 7, 2023, a new kind of public artwork will be unveiled on Abteiberg hill in Mönchengladbach. The artwork, created by New Zealand artist Ruth Buchanan, is an ensemble of walkable steel sculptures located in the center of the city. The sculptures serve as bridges, providing access to a garden that will now be open to the entire urban community.
This is the first artwork in Rhineland commissioned within the New Patrons program – a network that enables civil society groups to undertake forward-looking art projects. The ensemble was commissioned by staff and visitors of the Arbeitslosenzentrum Mönchengladbach e.V., a nonprofit association that supports the unemployed, as well as students and teachers from the nearby Stiftisches Humanistisches Gymnasium, a secondary school. After four years of collaborative planning, the group has accomplished its goal: Mönchengladbach has a socially conscious work of art that challenges divisive social hierarchies.
A joint project of the Kunststiftung im Museum Abteiberg, the Stiftisches Humanistisches Gymnasium and the Arbeitslosenzentrum Mönchengladbach e.V. as part of the New Patrons program.
The conceptual phase was funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, while public funding agencies, companies and foundations, as well as numerous individuals, continue to support the project through donations, contributions in kind, and work. We are deeply grateful to all of them, including those who wish to remain anonymous.
