Republic of Spirits — 2019,
On Friendship and Art
We have become a collective of trust. A safe environment for everyone to share their thoughts without any hesitation or shame. We dare to try. This means that we also dare to fail. Our working process is a practical act of democracy that can be tough and exhausting. We aim to provide a beneficial ground for ideas to grow as we treat them cautiously and with genuine interest. Our motivation is to see them thrive. We judge ideas, not people.
While some may argue that friendship and artistic practice can be contradictory, we find strength in this union. Friendship is powerful beyond imagination, quite literally.
When the university teaching begins repeating itself, it is our duty as students to change that. This exhibition is our counterproposal. A statement against institutional narcissism and for collaboration across all artistic disciplines. More matter with more art.
Collaboration is our response to the growing pressure of competition. A form of resistance. A countermovement within the capitalist art world. Artistic collaboration is always a political statement: We show that things can be done differently. We are convinced that fulfilment cannot solely be drawn from making art. As social beings, we have an inherent need for the other. Social interaction becomes especially vital to us since there is hardly anything less self-evident than being an artist in the society we live in.
On this foundation day of the Bauhaus, we decided to show art. Works that only came into being because of our friendship. We built an idealist space demonstrating our approach to a welcoming culture. An inspiring atmosphere in which we share our enthusiasm. An island of art.