STAGE Bregenz Is Open: ‘A Regional Artistic Meeting Place with an International Quality’
Fair from 22 to 25.2 in the Festspielhaus Bregenz – the second edition is planned for March 2025
Bregenz, 22 February 2024 – Première for STAGE Bregenz: Between now and Sunday, a broad range of artistic formats is waiting to greet visitors to the Festspielhaus Bregenz, where 45 international galleries from nine European countries are exhibiting works by around 100 artists. The exhibition is complemented by the STAGE Treff, which is addressing the subject of sustainability, and a special exhibition of photographs from the collection of the Province of Vorarlberg. The second edition of the fair is already being planned for March 2025.
‘Our objective is to establish STAGE Bregenz as a regional artistic meeting place with an international quality and appeal,’ said Founder and Managing Director Renger van den Heuvel during the press conference that marks the opening on 22 February. The signs are very promising: STAGE Bregenz is closely cooperating with local cultural policy-makers and businesses, as well as cultural institutions in Vorarlberg and the neighbouring region. ‘This enables us to act independently from the global market. Sustainability is a fundamental principle of the new fair format, which we are also organising according to the guidelines of the Austrian Ecolabel’, emphasised Renger van den Heuvel. The entire programme of STAGE Bregenz in the Festspielhaus – itself a leading example of modern Vorarlberg architecture – illustrates all that the region has to offer. ‘In this way, STAGE Bregenz is an inspiring platform and gathering place for lovers of contemporary art, design and architecture’, adds van den Heuvel.
The main location of STAGE Bregenz is the Festspielhaus Bregenz, where 45 well-known galleries are presenting works in a wide range of artistic genres by around 100 emerging and established artists. The first edition features galleries from the region around Lake Constance, where four countries meet (D, A, CH, FL), as well as Belgium, France, Italy, Romania and the Czech Republic.
The curators Fiammetta Griccioli and Elise Lammer have each put together a section featuring solo presentations while Verena Kaspar-Eisert has curated a special photographic exhibition and Matylda Krzykowski a programme entitled STAGE Treff. Krzykowski also staged the entrance area and foyer with inventory from the Festspielhaus: Ballet mirrors, make-up tables and spotlights.
Perceptions of technology and nature
Fiammetta Griccioli, a curator at the Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan, has invited galleries from Italy, the Czech Republic, Romania and Austria. Her show ‘Influx and Efflux’ focuses on works by artists, whose art is rooted in adaptability, transformation and metamorphosis. ‘They share a common approach of challenging the threshold between the two-dimensional and three-dimensional fields and expanding that which is generally defined as painting, sculpture and installation’, explained Fiammetta Griccioli during the press conference.
In their interdisciplinary works, the selected artists question concepts such as technology and nature and encourage us to think about the most pressing questions facing contemporary society. The artist Vadim Fishkin addresses science and technology with a hint of irony. ‘His work resonates with the work of Laura Grisi and Constantin Flondor. Both artists researched the ways in which technologies influence our perception’, says Griccioli. The Viennese artist Judith Fegerl is fascinated by time-based processes of transformation and enhances sculpture by introducing invisible forces such as electricity.
Interaction with the works
The Swiss-Austrian curator and author Elise Lammer has brought together artists from the region stretching from Lake Constance to Italy for the programme ‘Interplay’. This is on show in the Seefoyer, which offers views of Lake Constance and the Seebühne. ‘The title “Interplay” points to the interaction between the public and the artworks, which are amplified as a result’, says Elise Lammer. The exhibition presents a multiplicity of multimedia practices that incorporate sculpture, painting, drawing and photography. ‘Ultimately, “Interplay” celebrates the unlimited sovereignty of art.’
Lammer’s concept was inspired by the Festspielhaus itself. She felt that there was something unsettling and, at the same time, deeply satisfying about the possibility of secretly stealing into an opera house. ‘In a building that is designed for seeing and being seen, every corner radiates theatricality. This unique quality played a decisive role in the concept, which is dedicated to the performativity in art’, adds Lammer.
The art of seeing
The Vorarlberg-born Verena Kaspar-Eisert, art historian and Head Curator of the MuseumsQuartier Wien, selected photographic and video works by eight Vorarlberg artists from amongst the latest art acquisitions made by the Province of Vorarlberg for her special exhibition SEE. She explains that the collection shapes the cultural (self-)image and reflects the status of art in a society. ‘It celebrates the beautiful as much as the ugly, tempts us to fantasise and exposes deception. Art reflects upon and questions the past, the present and the future’, states Verena Kaspar-Eisert.
The artistic diversity of the region is illustrated by both the broader collection and the range of the selected works: ‘While all the artists work with lens-based media, their approaches to form and content vary widely’, says the curator. The title of the exhibition SEE alludes to the Bodensee – Lake Constance. ‘There are many different forms of seeing. The “seeing view” describes an impartial, precise consideration of the work of art that doesn’t fall back on preconceived ideas’, explained Kaspar-Eisert. The presentation favours this way of seeing, which gives each work a lot of space and underlines its individuality and autonomy.
A dialogue about sustainability
The STAGE Treff is directed by the German-Polish curator and artist Matylda Krzykowski. Artists, curators, directors of cultural institutions and personalities from the region are focusing on sustainability from three perspectives: relationships, practices and environment. They are asking questions such as: Why do we need both freedom and constraints? What is my relationship with art and design? How do we introduce local potential globally? How can we contribute to sustainability? How do artists respond to sustainability?
Guests are invited to participate. ‘People who haven’t come into contact with these questions before can find a way of addressing them’, says a convinced Krzykowski. ‘It’s a story where we simply have to say: “On the stage, get set, go!” It could all turn into a theatre but we have to open up the stage for encounters so that dialogue can take place’. Whenever we are together with other people we have to listen, empathise and adjust our own perspective.
Special projects
The fair also features a series of special projects, including a work produced by James Turrell in cooperation with the Vorarlberg company Zumtobel. In a special edition of the opera workshop, the “Einblick Spezial” on 24 February, the Festival Intendant Elisabeth Sobotka, the artist Hugo Canoilas and Thomas D. Trummer, the Director of Kunsthaus Bregenz, will discuss the work involved in set design. Werkraum Bregenzerwald is also represented in partnership with Tisch Zwölf. A special installation by Gerwald Rockenschaub – a cooperative project involving Casino Bregenz, Magazin 4 and STAGE Bregenz – can be admired directly opposite the Festspielhaus. And on the opening day, many of Bregenz’s gastronomic establishments are taking part in STAGE Night, which combines culinary, musical and artistic enjoyment.
Cross-border programme
In addition to the fair in the Festspielhaus Bregenz, visitors can enjoy a broad cross-border range of work. There are parallel exhibitions and events in Vorarlberg: such as new shows in Kunsthaus Bregenz, Kunstraum Dornbirn and Dock20 in Lustenau. Special exhibitions are also being offered by international partners of STAGE Bregenz in, for example, St. Gallen, Rorschach and Chur (CH), Vaduz (FL) and Friedrichshafen and Ravensburg (D).
And all those who are convinced by the première can already look forward to next year: The second edition of STAGE Bregenz from 20 to 23 March 2025 is already being planned.
Info: www.stage-bregenz.art
About STAGE Bregenz
STAGE Bregenz is a new format of art fair that is based on regional strengths and a network that – thanks to its location on Lake Constance – crosses borders and brings together a wide range of disciplines. The fair is open to a wide audience interested in art and design. Participating galleries from a number of European countries are exhibiting works by regionally and internationally active artists. The overall programme of STAGE Bregenz in the Festspielhaus – itself a leading example of modern Vorarlberg architecture – illustrates all that the region has to offer. As a result, STAGE Bregenz is an inspiring platform and gathering place for lovers of contemporary art, design and architecture. By principally focussing on the region around Lake Constance, STAGE Bregenz is seizing the opportunity to develop sustainably, independent of the global market. The Founder and Managing Director is Renger van den Heuvel.
Fact box:
STAGE Bregenz 2024
22–25 February 2024, Festspielhaus Bregenz
Opening / 22 February 2024
Preview / from 13:00 (invitation only)
Vernissage / 17:00–20:00 (single tickets available)
Fair days / 23–25 February 2024
23 February: 12:00–19:00
24 February: 10:00–19:00
25 February: 10:00–18:00 (11:00 and 14:00 family tours)
Day tickets € 12 (including local public transport)
Tickets via https://tickets.visitbregenz.com or Stadtmarketing Bregenz, Rathausstraße 35a, 6900 Bregenz, Opening hours: Monday through Friday 9:00–18:00, Saturday 9:00–12:00.
Supporters
Provincial Capital of Bregenz
Province of Vorarlberg
Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport
Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs
Sponsors
GrECo
Zumtobel
Partners
Kongresskultur Bregenz
Culture Service of the Provincial Capital of Bregenz
Stadtmarketing Bregenz
Convention Partner Vorarlberg
Green Energy Partner
illwerke vkw
Photography Partner I Special exhibition SEE
Bildrecht
Programme Partners
Bregenzer Frühling
Bregenz Festival
Museum of Fine Arts Chur
Creative Institute Vorarlberg
Dock20
Filmforum Bregenz
Forum Würth Rorschach
FMH Women's Museum Hittisau
Kunst Giesserei St. Gallen
Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB)
Kunst Halle St. Gallen
Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein
Kunstmuseum Ravensburg
Kunstmuseum St. Gallen
Kunstraum Dornbirn
Kunstverein Friedrichshafen
Luxembourg Art Week
Magazin4
Plattform für digitale Initiativen
sixpackfilm
Tisch Zwölf
vai Vorarlberger Architektur Institut
vorarlberg museum
Werkraum Bregenzerwald
Green Partner
MuseumsQuartier Wien
Tischler Rohstoff
Museum Partner
Albertina
VIP Partners
ATP architects engineers
Die Hinterwies
Alpin Resort Sacher
Raiffeisenbank
Manincor
Kattus
room service
With the friendly support of
Casino Bregenz
Media Partners
Arts of the Working Class
EIKON
IT’S A PASSION THING
Parnass
PW-Magazine
Springerin
Bregenz Partners
Buchhandlung Brunner
Café-Brasserie Petrus
Pfänderbahn
Salonhosting
Editorial questions:
STAGE Bregenz, Renger van den Heuvel, +43/660/5961401, renger@stage-bregenz.art
Pzwei. Pressearbeit, Joshua Köb, +43/664/9682626, joshua.koeb@pzwei.at