Events | Rooms with a view
Haus Kunst Mitte Berlin | June 14, 2024 – August 2, 2024
Exhibition of the Villa Aurora Art-Fellows 2023
Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House e. V. present an exhibition of its art fellows at Haus Kunst Mitte - House for Contemporary Art in Berlin-Mitte: Janine Eggert, Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani, Nieves de la Fuente, Paul Hutchinson, Annika Kahrs, Monika Orpik und Anke Völk.
The exhibition is curated by Curator: Dr. Anna Havemann, Artistic Director at Haus Kunst Mitte.
The Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House presents an exhibition of its last year's art fellows at Haus Kunst Mitte – House for Contemporary Art in Berlin-Mitte. Rooms with a view provides insight into the projects created in Los Angeles by the eight fellows and brings their artistic ideas and inspirations to Berlin. Each artist lived at Villa Aurora for three months in 2023, developing new artistic approaches and perspectives and raising questions about topics such as social issues, climate change, and exile. In the exhibition, the artists engage in a dialogue through their works and present their diverse perspectives on California – from everyday life on the West Coast to the multi-lane highway architecture, from views of the Pacific Ocean to the effects of climate change on the Salton Sea. The diverse impressions of the Villa Aurora fellows come together to form a prism, an artistic cartography of the multifaceted city of Los Angeles in California.
The Villa Aurora is an artist residency in Los Angeles. For more than 25 years, it has been a place of inspiration and artistic creation for fellows in the fields of film, literature, composition, and visual arts. Villa Aurora's mission is to promote cultural exchange between Germany and the United States and to contribute to an open society by engaging with issues such as migration and exile. This thematic focus originates in the history of the house: During the Nazi era, the writer Lion Feuchtwanger and the salonist Marta Feuchtwanger found refuge in the United States. In 1943, they purchased the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles, which soon became a meeting place for German-speaking exiles: their guests and visitors included Bertolt Brecht, Thomas Mann, and Alma Mahler-Werfel.
Today, Villa Aurora continues to be a meeting place for artists and a center of creative exchange. The focus is on the fellows, their artistic concepts, and their engagement with the dynamic U.S. culture and the unique Californian landscape.
Upcoming Events
Artist Talk | Wednesday, July 10 | 7 p.m. (CET) | Haus Kunst Mitte, Berlin
Join us for an insightful discussion on the life of Marta Feuchtwanger in Los Angeles, as part of the "Rooms with a View" exhibition.
Monika Orpik is an artist and 2023 Villa Aurora Fellow. Her video work Oh, to be able to speak! debuted at the exhibition and delves into Marta Feuchtwanger's life.
Marianne Heuwagen is a journalist and the Deputy Chairwoman of VATMH. During her time in Los Angeles, she conducted multiple interviews with Marta Feuchtwanger and even knew her personally. After Marta Feuchtwanger's passing, she played a crucial role in preserving Villa Aurora as a cultural landmark of exile and an artist's residence.
Note: The conversation will be held in English. On the day of the event, Haus Kunst Mitte will be open until 8 p.m. We warmly invite you to explore the exhibition before the talk. Admission is free.
Screening and Conversation | Wednesday, July 17 | 7:00 p.m. (CET) | Haus Kunst Mitte, Berlin
As part of the exhibition, Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House proudly presents Annika Kahrs' captivating video work Gravity's Tune, produced in Los Angeles. Join us after the screening as music curator Michael Rosen and the artist delve into an engaging discussion on the edges of sound.
Annika Kahrs is a visual artist and a 2023 Villa Aurora Fellow. During her residency in Los Angeles, she created Gravity's Tune, interpreting the acoustic signals of gravitational waves in collaboration with composer Louis d’Heudières and local musicians.
Michael Rosen is a curator and concert organizer. He founded the independent Kulturagentur Digital in Berlin in 2008. He also directs the MADEIRADiG Music Festival and the MMiFF, both held on the Portuguese island of Madeira and curates the Kiezsalon concert series in Berlin.
Note: The conversation will be held in German and English. On the day of the event, Haus Kunst Mitte will be open until 8 PM. We warmly invite you to explore the exhibition before the event. Admission is free.
Finissage & Discussion | Friday, August 2 | 6 p.m. (CET) | Haus Kunst Mitte, Berlin
In the context of Paul Hutchinson's work 21 Poems and 16 Pictures from L.A., artists Paul Hutchinson and Sabine Scho will discuss the interplay between poetry and photography. This conversation will take place during the exhibition's finissage on August 2.
Paul Hutchinson is an artist and 2023 Villa Aurora fellow. His photographic work and writings explore the social phenomena of urban life and the dynamics of social mobility.
Sabine Scho is an author working with photography and installations. She was a Villa Aurora fellow in 2003. Her texts lie at the intersection of photography, drawing, image, and installation. Her recent works include Haus für einen Boxer with Sebastian Felix Ernst and Golden Diskó Ship, Hatje Cantz 2021; The Origin of Values. 1 - Iceland with Matthias Holtmann, 2022; as well as installations and publications for Spreepark Art Space with Matthias Holtmann, 2021-24. She received the German Prize for Nature Writing in 2018 and the Rome Prize of the German Academy Villa Massimo in 2019/2020.
Info: The event will be held in both German and English. On the day of the event, Haus Kunst Mitte will be open until 8 p.m. We warmly invite you to explore the exhibition before the event. Admission is free.
Jun 14 – August 2, 2024
Opening Hours: Wednesday through Sunday: 12 - 6 p.m.
Admission: Regular 8 Euro / Discount 5 Euro / Free admission until 18 years of age
Haus Kunst Mitte, Heidestraße 54, 10557 Berlin
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