Kempten - The art arcades are history.
A catalog now provides information on all artists, exhibitions, artists in residence and events.
The Kempten artist Guido Weggenmann, "with whom it all began", as Manfred Hegedüs, Chairman of the Board of Management of Sparkasse Allgäu said, is holding the hot off the press documentation of the Kunstarkaden project in his hands.
The exhibition catalog has turned into an extensive book that can be bought from Saturday.
It is January 18, 2018: Weggenmann and Hegedüs are having an initial conversation about what could happen to the premises in the Sparkassenarkaden.
It was clear, according to Hegedüs, that something had to be done with the rooms, and the impulse had already been given to give the art scene the chance to “bring up ideas of its own”.
Weggenmann remembers the conversation well.
He speculated and considered, and finally talked about it with friends.
From then on, the project continued to grow.
Two years instead of half a year
It finally turned into a major project: instead of the six months originally planned, the Kunstarkaden Kempten offered artists space and opportunities for networking and exchange for two years.
The sales aspect has taken a back seat.
Nevertheless, according to Weggenmann, the aim was to focus on full-time artists, "those who make a living from it or at least really try to make a living from it".
In the large exhibition space, national artists were mostly to be seen as a double show painter / sculptor.
A total of ten exhibitions with a total of 19 exhibiting artists enriched the city's cultural life.
Local and "international"
The producer gallery showed the works of Weggenmann's team: Gabriele Abler (catalog design, print media, website), Winfried Becker (sculptor), Markus Elhardt (sculptor), Joram von Below (painter), Heidi Netzer (painter) and Guido Weggenmann (sculptor) .
Thanks to the “Artist in Residence” program, guest artists were able to live, work and exhibit on site.
Funded by the cultural office of the city of Kempten and with an apartment and a studio provided by the Sparkasse, the artists used the four to six weeks to work, for artist talks and to present the works they had created on site.
Fruitful exchanges
Weggenmann fondly remembers the encounters that have occurred over the course of the two years, especially the opportunity to look into the studios of other artists, “was my win”.
The time was very “bubbly”, says Weggenmann, “but that's just how life is”.
So now the documentation that traces how a savings bank area became an art space.
Weggenmann documented a lot right from the start, sometimes simply with a cell phone camera.
To pack this material in a book, turn the project around again and show that "you can liven up any room".
However, there will be no sequel that directly follows the project - at least no direct new edition.
"Even the phoenix burns at some point, so we celebrate the funeral and bury the whole thing," says Weggenmann.
All artists, exhibitions, opening speeches, artists in residence, events and sponsors are summarized on 300 pages with 250 images.
The catalog costs 15 euros and can be ordered at
arkadenkatalog@gmail.com
.
