03/02/2021 MISS YOU - AN EXHIBITION IN THE MIDST OF THE CITY
52 ARTISTS 18 PHOTOGRAPHERS
2 – 16 MARCH 2021
BERLIN / HAMBURG / BADEN-BADEN
MISS YOU is a photography exhibition in the midst of the city that brings artists of all genres to the people. It is on view March 2nd – 16th in the heart of the cities Berlin, Hamburg and Baden-Baden. The pictures show actors, musicians, artists, dancers, etc. from the established cultural sector as well as from the so-called free or independent scene in settings far removed from their usual public. There are well-known artists among them, including Katharina Thalbach, Lars Eidinger, Anne Imhof, Max Raabe, Thomas Struth and Cristina Gómez Godoy, as well as less famous artists from the independent scene ranging from a jazz trombonist, a DJ, choreographers or music producers to a couple of puppeteers. The exhibition sends a signal: We miss you and we’re looking forward to seeing you again soon. And it also shows: we all belong together.
The cultural lockdown has us all in its grip and we feel once again the significance that culture has for us, how important the social contacts, conversations and thoughts are that come to us from all sections of the arts. In this respect we have been surrounded and
spoiled for decades by this vast wealth of inspiration which we have taken for granted and from which we have all profited.
For years we have immersed ourselves in so many wonderful exhibitions, concerts and evenings in the theatre. We could enjoy the visual arts or be provoked by them, surrender ourselves to music that moves our hearts, be carried away or thrilled by a performance or by the suggestive effect of artistic works. And we have been missing all this for months and months.
Before this backdrop, would it not be a good idea to bring to mind the people who have created all this richness for us? What are these artists doing now in lockdown?
The exhibition wants to shine a light on artists, now that they have been out of sight for months, and the cultural institutions have been closed. 18 photographers from the OSTKREUZ agency have portrayed artists from the established cultural sector and the off-scene at locations far removed from their public: in their ateliers, rehearsal spaces, in the kitchen, or wherever.
The OSTKREUZ agency was formed collectively in 1990, modelled on the legendary photo agency Magnum. The initiators were seven East German photographers who took the name from a traffic hub in East Berlin. Their credo: instead of individualist rivalry, strength through mutual cooperation in uncertain times. Today OSTKREUZ is one of the most important photo agencies in Germany. Their members contribute to GEO, Der Spiegel, the New York Times or Newsweek and exhibit their work in Paris, Madrid and Berlin.
Produced specially for MISS YOU, these photos will be displayed for 14 days (2 – 16 March) in large, back-lit showcases in the midst of Berlin and at the same time in Hamburg and Baden-Baden, as well. In this way we are bringing ballet dancers and actors, puppeteers and concept artists, painters and sculptors, jazz players and classical musicians, and many others to the people.
MISS YOU sees itself as a sign of life from the artists and a call from the public to the artists, which in both cases means: We’re thinking of you and are hoping to see you soon, in other words: We miss you guys: MISS YOU, and we mean it.
This spring, the photographs are a positive statement, later a document of contemporary history.
MISS YOU is a symbol of the importance that art and culture have for us: as an economic and locational factor and as indispensable nourishment for the mind and soul.
Without the financial support of the commercial enterprises, MISS YOU would not have been possible. They deserve out heartfelt thanks, first and foremost Siemens AG / Siemens Art Program and WALL GmbH.
The Artists & Performing Artists
Tora Aghabayova, painter; Emanuele Crotti, concept artist; Oxana Chi, dancer; Laura Daede & Steffi Frech alias Children, musicians; Verena Roth & Florian Erlbeck alias Muckemacher, musicians; Lars Eidinger, actor & ensemble member of Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, Berlin; Ruth Rutkowski & Carsten Hentrich & Alexandra Faruga & Melanie Huke & Heino Sellhorn alias Fenster zur Stadt, theatre company, Hanover; Christian Lorenz alias Flake, keyboarder with Rammstein; Khan Of Finland, musician and producer; Thomas Friemel & Andreas Diefenbach, founders of Freitagsküche and artists, Frankfurt am Main; Cristina Gómez Godoy, solo oboist at Staatsoper Berlin; Lexia Hachtmann, painter; Anne Imhof, artist; Carolin Jüngst, choreographer and performer, Kampnagel Hamburg; Alexandra Kamp, actress; Johannes Kersthold, pianist; Klaus Killisch, artist; Paula Kober, actress and ensemble member of Volksbühne Berlin; Katharina Kohlmann alias Nichtseattle, musician; Toni Krahl, singer with Band City; Landerer & Company, dance ensemble Hanover; Johanna Lemke, dancer; Margarete Lindau, artist; Andrei Loginov, artist; Ata Macias, DJ and manager of the club Robert Johnson, Frankfurt am Main; Francisco & Javier Sanchez, choreographers and dancers; Volker März, sculptor; Philip Kojo Metz, concept artist; Natalie Mukherjee, actress; Carsten Nicolai, artist and musician; Aya Okumura, solo dancer at Staatsballett Berlin; Alexandra Polina, photographer; Max Raabe, singer and founder of the Palast Orchester Berlin; Elena Raquet, puppeteer; Erika Ratcliffe, stand-up comedian; Stefanie Reinsperger, actress & ensemble member of Berliner Ensemble; Hajo Schüler & Michael Vogel, actors alias theatre group Familie Flöz, Berlin; Tilman Strauss, actor & ensemble member of Schauspielhaus Hamburg; Thomas Struth, artist; Mila Teshaieva, photographer; Katharina Thalbach, actress; Andrej Ugoljew, Jazz-musician & composer; Be Van Vark, choreographer; Suse Wächter, puppeteer.
The Photographers
Jörg Brüggemann, Espen Eichhöfer, Sibylle Fendt, Johanna-Maria Fritz, Annette Hauschild, Harald Hauswald, Heinrich Holtgreve, Tobias Kruse, Thomas Meyer, Frank Schinski, Jordis Antonia Schlösser, Ina Schoenenburg, Anne Schönharting, Stephanie Steinkopf, Mila Teshaieva, Heinrich Völkel, Maurice Weiss, Sebastian Wells.
Organiser: up art e.V.
Concept and Realisation:
Susanne Rockweiler, Jürgen Reiche.
In cooperation with OSTKREUZ. AGENTUR DER FOTOGRAFEN.
Made possible by:
SIEMENS AG / SIEMENS ARTS PROGRAM and WALL GmbH.
With generous support from:
Berlin Senate Department for Culture and European Affairs, Klaus Groth Stiftung, visitBerlin, East Side Mall, WITTE Projektmanagement GmbH,
Bikini Berlin
Media partners:
radio eins (Berlin-Brandenburg Radio), Der Tagesspiegel
Public Relations:
ARTPRESS - Ute Weingarten Alexandra Saheb
Tel +49 30 484 963 50 Saheb.artpress@uteweingarten.de