The Artmix exchange programme, held annually in the past (11th edition in 2019), has been given an overhaul for 2023. In addition to artists, the programme will now also include curators.
At its meeting on Monday, 23 October 2023 at Cercle Cité, the six-member jury selected this year's participants for the Artmix programme, selecting one artist each from Luxembourg and Saarbrücken as well as a curator.
The jury was made up of representatives of the art and culture scene from Luxembourg and Saarbrücken:
- Bob Seyler, neimënster/Luxembourg
- Alexandre Bugnet, neimënster/Luxembourg
- Charles Rouleau, Casino Display/Luxembourg
- Anastasia Chaguidouline, Artistic Director, Cercle Cité/Luxembourg
- Leo Scheidt, Freelance curator/Saarbrücken
- Katharina Ritter, M.A., Artistic Director, Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken
After extensive discussions, the jury selected Noé Duboutay (they/he) (LUX) and Darja Linder (DE), along with curator Ira Yeroshko (DE). Each of the two artists selected may invite one additional artist. Noé Duboutay has chosen Sophia Lökenhoff (they/them) and Darja Linder has added Hannah Mevis to the new Artmix artist team.
The jury's aim was to create a group that would work together on an exhibition project with press and public relations work, documentation and an educational programme. To complement the project, an open studio or workshops will be set up during the residencies in Luxembourg and Saarbrücken. This will provide opportunities for new forms of cooperation and professionalisation, and promote regional networking among neighbouring art scenes and across different specialisms.
The successful candidates responded to the open Artmix concept with very strong applications. The two artists work with very different media. At the same time, it was not just their expressive and contemporary aesthetics that resonated with the jury, but also the themes they tackled, such as identity and social norms. Both artists share an interest with curator Ira Yeroshko in telling new stories. On past projects, Yeroshko has sought to connect different voices within the community. In terms of political relevance, the jury also wanted to highlight how artistic formats can offer a platform for meaningful encounters, regardless of the backgrounds of the participants.
All five participants are just starting out in their careers and will be able to continue their professional development through the Artmix project. According to the jury, the power of the very different artistic positions selected lies in their examination of current socio-political issues and their aesthetic dimensions.
Noé Duboutay:
Noé Duboutay (born in 1995 in Luxembourg) is a performance artist and author who lives in Berlin and Luxembourg. He performs with his body and voice, makes installations and props, and writes scripts, poems and prose. Through his work, he explores the entanglements of human identities with non-human entities and materialities. Noé Duboutay's art operates in the intersection between bodily experiences and forms of embodiment, asking what makes a body intelligible. Through fictional and autobiographical worlds of writing and movement, Noé Duboutay finds ways to forge queer connections, allies and kinships, and creates space for fragile uncertainty and softness.
Noé Duboutay has selected Sophia Lökenhoff:
Sophia Lökenhoff (born in 1989 in Essen, Germany), a trans-disciplinary performance artist from Berlin, creates immersive performances that involve bodies, time dimensions, spaces, objects, sounds and their relationship to the invisible. Since 2020, Sophia Lökenhoff has been working on an ongoing performance cycle (op. {{*}} 001-005) that explores the transitions of a fictitious character called IAGA. IAGA coexists in sympoiesis with and through many bodies and explores the remnants of the triple goddess deities in contemporary knowledge systems. Special focus is placed on the queer, gender-fluid and non-binary regeneration of the magical sphere. The format of the performances oscillates between workshops, play and ritual, inviting the audience to become part of a multi-layered experience.
Darja Linder:
Darja Linder (born in 1992 in Telmansky, Russia) lives and works in Saarbrücken. Her work focuses on human interaction and telling individual stories. She creates visual worlds that go beyond personal portraits and also address issues of social and identity politics. Linder's work is largely focused on painting, although she also uses other media to get closer to people and their stories, by writing, recording conversations and taking photographs.
Darja Linder has selected Hannah Mevis:
Hannah Mevis (born in 1989 in Heidelberg, Germany) lives and works in Saarbrücken and Brussels. Through her work, she engages with ways of visualising physical perception and placing it in the context of historical and socio-political events. Mevis works contextually and conceptually, unbound by a specific medium, but always with an interest in the physical experiences of the viewer, striving to create situations in which people can become immersed.
Ira Yeroshko:
Ira Yeroshko (born in 1994 in Lutsk, Ukraine) is currently completing her Master's degree in Curating and Exhibitions at the Saar Academy of Fine Arts. In recent years, she has curated several exhibitions and projects dedicated to social and political discourses. Her art focuses in particular on making the stories and experiences of Ukrainians visible.
More about the Artmix project
After the Artmix project was temporarily suspended due to the pandemic, it returns to Luxembourg in 2023 with a new concept and new partners. The exchange programme, held annually in the past (11th edition in 2019), has been given an overhaul for 2023. In addition to artists, the programme will now also include curators and teams of curators.
The project, which has been running since 2005, brings together artists from the Greater Region. The aim is to promote regional networking among neighbouring art scenes and across different specialisms. This will create scope for new forms of cooperation and professionalisation.
Introducing the participating cultural institutions
Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken
The Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken promotes contemporary art and culture. Visitors can experience a variety of free events throughout the year. Operating from the centre of the city, the Stadtgalerie is involved with other artistic projects in the urban space.
Since April 2021, Katharina Ritter, M.A., has been working on establishing the Stadtgalerie as a place of critical confidence. Through diverse exhibitions and projects, she has been collaborating with many others to develop a desirable future. The Stadtgalerie strives to make Saarbrücken more diverse – hand in hand with artists, creatives and other participants with varying degrees of professionalisation. The Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken also works with various cooperation partners to provide intergenerational art education and programmes for schools and extracurricular groups.
Cercle Cité
Cercle Cité is one of Luxembourg's major cultural venues, located in the heart of Luxembourg City. Thanks to its geographical location, Cercle Cité reaches a wider public, including both locals and tourists. An accessible space with plenty to discover thanks to its cultural programme: from concerts and lectures to film screenings, performances and exhibitions.Its exhibition space, the Ratskeller, offers a selection of exhibitions of local and international contemporary art by up-and-coming and established artists 362 days a year. As a versatile venue, Cercle Cité actively contributes to the diversification of Luxembourg City's cultural offering and gives visitors the chance to engage with contemporary art and cultural heritage.
neimënster – Neumünster Abbey Cultural Centre
The Centre Culturel de Rencontre Abbaye de Neumünster – neimënster for short – is a unique venue in the heart of Luxembourg's capital. It is an imposing architectural ensemble located in Luxembourg City's Old Town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
After four centuries of turbulent history, the abbey grounds are now dedicated to cultural projects, proving that a former place of suffering can become a place of exchange and creativity. Known in Luxembourg – and beyond – for its music programme, neimënster hosts festivals and jazz concerts, as well as exhibitions and artist residencies all year round. The artists benefit from a new kind of setting, which includes workspaces that are tailored to their needs, but also from the logistical and technical support and the communication resources available there.
Casino Display
For three years, Casino Display has been a place for work, research, dialogue and guidance, with the aim of promoting and supporting young emerging artists and students at the end of their university studies and further developing their ideas and work. It is located in the premises of the former "Konschthaus beim Engel", which was previously managed under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. In the absence of any art schools and places to study contemporary art in Luxembourg, it was essential to build a platform aimed at promoting the newest creativity and supporting the young creatives of today and tomorrow. The Casino Display programme is organised by Casino Luxembourg – Forum d'art contemporain.
