dortmunder u CENTRE FOR ART AND CREATIVITY

20
Hartware
MedienKunstVerein
HARTWARE MEDIA ART
ASSOCIATION
The Hartware MedienKunstVerein (HMKV) is a platform
for the production, presentation and communication
of contemporary and experimental (media) art.
‘Media art’ is not meant as a technically determined
genre “with a high fun factor”, but rather as contemporary
art that concerns itself both in content and
concept with the present-day world, which is strongly
characterized and radically altered by new media and
technology. The HMKV therefore occupies a unique
position in North Rhine-Westphalia – and in Germany.
From HMKV’s many international collaborative
pro jects a broadly diverse, international and open
network has emerged: a network that this institution,
the only one of its kind in Germany, has distilled into
a multi-faceted programme of exhibitions and events.
HMKV’s exhibitions are highly regarded within the
region, nationally and internationally. They are characterized
by a broad understanding of the concept
of media art, placing media art quite consciously in
the context of contemporary art. In 2007 and 2008
HMKV was nominated for the ADKV – ART COLOGNE
Award for Art Associations. In 2011, HMKV receives
the prestigious JUMP Annual Sponsorship Award for
art organizations by Kunststiftung NRW. Since 2000
HMKV has managed North Rhine-Westphalia’s Grant
for female Media Artists; since 2006 the office of
the North Rhine-Westphalian medienwerk.nrw has
been housed with HMKV.
Since its inception in 1996, the HMKV has staged
numerous exhibitions, programmes of film, video,
music and performance, workshops, lectures and
conferences in various cities in Germany and abroad,
including Dortmund. Since 2003 the venue in Dortmund
has mostly been the 2200m 2 PHOENIX Halle.
Among the 40 exhibitions of the last fourteen years
have been important projects such as Zones of Desire
(Dortmunder U, 1998); games – Computer Games by
Artists (2003); History Will Repeat Itself (2007);
Anna Kournikova … Art in the Age of Intellectual
Property (2008); “Awake Are Only the Spirits”–
On Ghosts and their Media (2009); Building Memory
and Arctic Perspective (2010).
In the U, the 3rd and 6th floors are available for
HMKV’s exhibitions, putting HMKV in the position of
being able to realize individual exhibitions as well as
large thematic group exhibitions. Up to now HMKV
has organized two large international media art
exhibitions each year in the PHOENIX Halle; from
2011 the frequency of exhibitions will increase, as
the Dortmunder U is available all year round. Up to
four exhibitions are planned to take place each year
on the 3rd floor of the Dortmunder U from 2011;
up to two of these exhibitions will extend to the 6th
floor. HMKV expects exciting synergies from the
neighbourly proximity with its other partners in the
Dortmunder U. In particular, the nearby presence
of the Museum Ostwall (MO) is of great importance
to HMKV. On the one hand the MO’s collection will
create an (art-) historical context in the U for HMKV’s
contemporary media art exhibitions; on the other
hand the MO’s collection will be able to access
current artistic, historical and political discourses
around media art. HMKV’s proximity to the TU
Dortmund University and the Dortmund University of
Applied Sciences and Arts as well as to the Centre
for Cultural Education creates an expectation of very
promising cooperative work and an expansion of
HMKV’s current activities in this area. It will be very
positive for HMKV to be able to use the professionally
equipped cinema (RWE Forum) on the ground floor
for film programmes and conferences.
Top: Arctic Perspective Exhibition,
HMKV in the PHOENIX Halle Dortmund 2010,
Photo: © Matthew Biederman
Left: Agents & Provocateurs Exhibition, HMKV in
the Dortmunder U, 2010, Photo: © Andrea Eichardt
Centre right: Building Memory Exhibition,
HMKV in the Dortmunder U, 2010, Photo: © labor b
Bottom right: E-Culture Fair 2010 – An initiative of Virtueel
Platform / The Netherlands, BAM / Flanders (Belgium)
and medienwerk.nrw / North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany)
in cooperation with ecce – european centre for creative
economy, organized by HMKV (Dortmund) as part of
ISEA2010 RUHR, Photo: © Hans Jürgen Landes