01.06.2021 — 05.09.2021

Soft Opening: Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Speeches at 6:00 pm in the outdoor area “Hinter dem Lämmchen”

Participating artists: Max Brück, Agnese Galiotto, Michelle Harder, Valentina Knežević, Isabell Ratzinger, Saya Schulzen, Gintare Sokelyte, Matt Welch, Faina Yunusova

Enabled by Dr. Marschner Stiftung
Kindly supported by Stiftung Kunstfonds and NEUSTART KULTUR

Curated by Franziska Nori

This is the third edition of the biennial exhibition format that Frankfurter Kunstverein dedicates to emerging artists from the Rhine-Main region. And This is Us 2021 – Young Art from Frankfurt is deliberately not a thematic exhibition, so that the participating artists are given the opportunity to showcase their specific approach and practice. The exhibition occupies the entire exhibition space of Frankfurter Kunstverein for which all works have explicitly been created.

The concept of the exhibition is to accompany the participants in the development of large-scale presentations on an institutional scale and to offer them a nationally visible stage for their works. This year, nine participants were invited.

In the past 18 months, artists in particular have been forced into an existentially threatening standstill. Artists need to encounter an audience as only this way art can unfold its meaning and social relevance. That is why it is essential for young artists to gain public visibility through institutional presentation.

Our thanks go to the Dr. Marschner Foundation, which grew out of the commitment of a Frankfurt citizen to help keep cultural life durably thriving for the people of our city.

In Frankfurt, international young artists study and start their careers from art schools such as Hochschule für Bildende Künste – Städelschule, Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach and numerous other universities and academies. Ninety portfolios were submitted and reviewed for this exhibition. All artistic genres and media expressions were considered in order to show the diversity of today’s artistic practices and to draw a multifaceted picture of current art production.

In addition to the curated main exhibition, Frankfurter Kunstverein has expanded the format this year in order to offer an even larger number of young artists the chance of public visibility.

The collective Magma Maria was invited to organise the sales exhibition Frankfurter Kunst Vertrieb. Along the window facade on the ground floor, artworks in two-dimensional format are being presented. They were submitted by 160 artists under the age of thirty. Throughout the summer, their works are exhibited in alternating cycles and offered for sale. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the artworks will go to the artists. The non-profit action is based on a solidarity effort as a response to the pandemic times and the resulting reduced opportunities for young artists to present themselves.

In addition, the young designer duo Bea&Pierre have made new wearables and unique upcycled bags for an FKV collection.

Over the duration of the exhibition, young electronic musicians will present their live sets to the public in a series of listening sessions.

Frankfurter Kunstverein is convinced that despite, or perhaps especially in, times of ordinances and restricted public life, a strong signal must go out from museums and cultural institutions that culture means a place and a spiritual home for people fostering social identity.

FRANKFURTER KUNSTVEREIN
Steinernes Haus am Römerberg
Markt 44
60311 Frankfurt am Main