For his solo exhibition at the Kunstverein für Mecklenburg und Vorpommern in Schwerin, Dutch urban planner and artist Ton Matton (*1964, The Netherlands) will temporarily transform the Kunstverein into the Potemkin Art Academy Schwerin. In earlier projects such as Große Potemkinsche Straße Wittenburg, Tribsees‘ Zukunft machen, and Vereint euch! in Blieskastel, Matton has engaged with urban environments through an improvised and performative methodology, prompting residents to collectively contemplate future and particularly more sustainable forms of coexistence.
For the Potemkin Art Academy Schwerin, an extension of his Wendorf Academy, Ton Matton adopts this methodology and reconfigures the Kunstverein premises into an installation that emulates the structure of an art academy, featuring a lecture hall, library, gallery, workshop, and cafeteria. This academy format serves as a speculative framework that not only integrates numerous works from his expansive practice but also fosters a participatory learning and teaching environment where all participants simultaneously become both professors and students.
The Potemkin Art Academy Schwerin will be animated through a series of lectures, seminars, and workshops facilitated by Ton Matton and invited scholars from diverse disciplines. These events aim to enhance interdisciplinary exchange and provide novel perspectives on contemporary societal issues.
Exhibition text (Download)
Deutschlandfunk radio report (listen here [German])
Photos: Fred Dott.
With kind support:
For his solo exhibition at the Kunstverein für Mecklenburg und Vorpommern in Schwerin, Dutch urban planner and artist Ton Matton (*1964, The Netherlands) will temporarily transform the Kunstverein into the Potemkin Art Academy Schwerin. In earlier projects such as Große Potemkinsche Straße Wittenburg, Tribsees‘ Zukunft machen, and Vereint euch! in Blieskastel, Matton has engaged with urban environments through an improvised and performative methodology, prompting residents to collectively contemplate future and particularly more sustainable forms of coexistence.
For the Potemkin Art Academy Schwerin, an extension of his Wendorf Academy, Ton Matton adopts this methodology and reconfigures the Kunstverein premises into an installation that emulates the structure of an art academy, featuring a lecture hall, library, gallery, workshop, and cafeteria. This academy format serves as a speculative framework that not only integrates numerous works from his expansive practice but also fosters a participatory learning and teaching environment where all participants simultaneously become both professors and students.
The Potemkin Art Academy Schwerin will be animated through a series of lectures, seminars, and workshops facilitated by Ton Matton and invited scholars from diverse disciplines. These events aim to enhance interdisciplinary exchange and provide novel perspectives on contemporary societal issues.
Exhibition text (Download)
Deutschlandfunk radio report (listen here [German])
Photos: Fred Dott.
With kind support: