The OSTRALE – Biennale is the third largest exhibition for contemporary art in Germany. It is not a sales exhibition per se, which gives us the freedom to discuss socially relevant issues apart from the market development. OSTRALE’s guiding principles, such as peaceful coexistence, acceptance of the stranger / unknown, respect for each other, religious diversity and internationality, are reflected in the exhibitions.
There is close cooperation with Dresden institutions, collectors and galleries as well as with international curators, biennials and cultural institutions. This is how new ways and possibilities are opened up to go abroad. Among other things, we will be in the European Capital of Culture in Valletta (Malta) in 2018.
Furthermore, we maintain good contacts with Saxon schools, which use the OSTRALE for educational purposes. 9,300 pupils and students were at the OSTRALE in 2016 alone. In addition to the exhibition, we offer an extensive framework program (music, dance, performance, etc.). The barrier-free infrastructure, a blind and hearing-impaired app, as well as targeted workshops with special target group participation, enable socio-cultural participation.
„re_form“
By definition a reform is a systematic and non-violent change of existing conditions without ignoring the essential intellectual and cultural foundations. The aim of a reform is improvement. Contemporary Art can ask questions and generate solution approaches in a nessecary re_form-process. The guiding theme „re_form“ deals especially with the question of organised change of existing cultural policy and cultural systems in Europe, Germany and particularly in our town, that is preparing to apply as „European Capital of Culture 2025“.
1. Ideas for a re_form concerning ourselves
By switching from an annual exhibition to a Biennale-concept OSTRALE itself is in a state of re_form. Furthermore, the special exhibition space of OSTRALE in the heritage protected buildings of the outstanding architect Hans Erlwein have to be rehabilitated after the exhibition in order to enable a further use.
2. re_form in Art
re_form is a basic element of Art and essential feature of creativity and artistic work. The pieces of Art function as mediators. Unlike the times of the Avantgardes it seems today that statements of novelty in Art are mostly based on rediscovery and forerunnership. What moves artists to turn increasingly to role models and how do the associated homages, references, quotations and appropriations reveal in the respective piece of Art? Which prospects emerge for the future from studying the past?
3. re_form: A question of identity
The 11th edition of OSTRALE will take up an essential topic of the European Capitals of Culture: We raise the questions about human identity and new spaces in light of the refugee and migration movements in past and present, an amplified tendency toward nationalism as well as the dissolution of the European community of values (e.g. „Brexit“). Could Art in its materiality be a bridge between different identities, that overlap but don’t merge?
Team of the curators
Mykola Dzhychka, Oliver Kratz, Detlef Schweiger, Holger Wendland, Andrea Hilger
Artists
Faig Ahmed
Marleen Andreev
Paolo Assenza
Bence Bakonyi
Till Ansgar Baumhauer
Katerina Belkina
Nathalie Bertrams
Peter Blase (NSK STAAT)
Recycle Group
Yuriy Borynets
Kerstin Junker
kamarade.A (NSK STAAT)
Carsten Busse (NSK Staat)
Fernando Sánchez Castillo
Christian Chrobok (NSK STAAT)
COOP
Kevin Cooley
Elisa D'Urbano
Klasse Deggeller
abitalbero
Henri Deparade
Constanze Deutsch
Said Dokins & Leonardo Luna
Heinz Bert Dreckmann
Diamante Faraldo
Viola Fátyol
Feng Lu
Parastou Forouhar
Kerstin Franke-Gneuß
Michiel Frielink
Manuel Frolik
Rao Fu
Karen Gäbler
Giovanni Gaggia
Mavi Garcia
Max Gehlofen
Julius Georgi
Philipp Gloger
Marianna Glynska
Michael Goller
Yuliya Gomelyak
Philine Görnandt
Urban Grünfelder
Marlet Heckhoff (NSK STAAT)
Ulrich Heemann
Daniel Heil
EA011665 Jennifer Renee Hoffert (NSK Staat)
Frenzy Höhne
EA011521 Marco Horn (NSK STAAT)
Sergij Grigorjan
Matthias Jackisch
Anya Janssen
Martyna Jastrzebska
Thomas Judisch
Arne Kalkbrenner
Kay Kaul
Committee for Unsolicited Business (CoUB) (Luk Sponselee & Werner Klompen)
Jarosław Klupś
Inside Job
Katrin König
Piotr Korzeniowski
Carolin Koss
Rostyslav Koterlin
Ales Pushkin / Janak Kouzel
Melanie Kramer
Salokin Ztark
Thomas Kretschel
Lutz Krutein
Olga Kukush
Julia Kurek
Kamil Kuzko
Serge Feeleenger
Sonja Lambert
Hanif Lehmann
Anka Leśniak
Jonas Lewek
Chris Löhmann
Andrea Lehnert
Stephanie Lüning
Peter Makolies
Ruhepuls
Dawid Marszewski
Stephanie Marx
Moe Matsuhashi
Yuri Mechitov
Geert Mul
Ulrike Mundt
Małgorzata Myślińska
Jakub Najbart
Pawel Napierala
Lili Anamarija No (NSK STAAT)
Dani Nordt
Alexander Nym (NSK STAAT)
Karin Odendahl
Iwona Ogrodzka
Franciszek Orłowski
Institut für analytische Kryptometrie (NSK Staat - Protektorat Drježdźany)
Marcin Owczarek
Denizhan Özer
Francesco Palluzzi
Parasite
Pätzug/Hertweck
Pereklita Igor
Sergiy Petlyuk
Cristiano Petrucci
Dmytro Petryna
IRWIN (NSK STAAT)
Jens Pfuhler (NSK STAAT)
Vj group CUBE
Liliana Piskorska
Stefan Plenkers
An Pervere (AnPee) (NSK Nürnbach-Laiberg)
Viacheslav Poliakov
Stephan Popella
para[sic]ma (NSK STAAT)
Synchrodogs
Sergii Radkevych
Olga Razhnaya
Verena Rempel
Jean Xavier Renaud
Stephanie Rhode
EVOL & Johannes Göbel
Gaspar Risko
Bernadett Ritter
Petro Ryaska
Marcin Ryczek
Luc Saalfeld
Yevgen Samborsky
Jürgen Schieferdecker
Sammlung Schirm
Symboter
Michael Schreckenberger
Daniel Schubert
Lamettanest und Frieda von Weißenfels
ANONYMUS
Detlef Schweiger
EA012009 (NSK Staat - Protektorat Drježdźany)
Ran Slavin
Rose Stach
Stefan Nestler _ Holger Stark
Otto Berndt Steffen
Elena Subach
Lajos Sváby
Mark Swysen
Michał Szlaga
Nomadic State
Keiichi Tanaami
Ekkehard Tischendorf
Volodymyr Topiy
Bronislav Tutelman
Wiola Ujazdowska
KIYOMI+TETSUHIRO UOZUMI
Stefan Voigt
Gabriela Volanti
Corwin von Kuhwede
DEREVO UG
POSTGRAVITYART (NSK STAAT)
