The New Us – Togetherness

“The new us” is a utopia. We could definitely use it, this “us,” given the many crises we face today. Whether it’s the impact of climate change or the new world order of societies that believe in freedom and those that do not – we can overcome these hurdles only if we tackle them together. The “new” in this “new us” is the challenge.

It demands that we no longer see the new only as an extension of the past, but also search the future for answers to our present. The 13 exhibiting artists provide inspiration to help us imagine how a “new us” could look.

The notion of “us” implies relationships. And the relationship we most need to tend to now is the one with our planet. Konstantin Voit shows in his work with album covers just how long musicians have been exploring this theme. German-Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar takes a different angle, focusing on how women are seen in this “us” – a question that also serves as an indicator, because the treatment of women reveals a great deal about a society. Groups and societies are always in motion, as strikingly captured in videos by Jonathan Huxley and Tine Reingaard.

What all the exhibiting artists have in common is the quest for images, because, according to Mwangi Hutter (“Just a Concept”), the pictures we create in our minds ultimately drive our actions. In his digital and analog images for the exhibition, Sascha Boldt questions the interpersonal components of togetherness in our current, hybrid world, which is clearly characterized by the use of smartphones, the possibilities of permanent, interactive networking and the excessive consumption of social media, games and dating apps.

That’s why, if the “new us” is a utopia, we need to explore what it could look like. This exhibition provides some pointers, in the “What if…” list of theses that Jörg Kraus presents for the audience to add to and in his prototype certificate for a “shareholding” in the Palatinate region. What if all the people actively involved in their communities could become “owners and guardians” of their region in a visible way? Can a symbolic stock corporation like this become a gauge of how active and engaged a civil society is and thus how future-oriented that region is?

This exhibition is also about testing ideas, like we would in a laboratory. What could these prototypes become? Citizens are already exploring new forms of civic engagement, as shown in the exhibit by the City of Mannheim’s “Demokratie und Strategie” (“Democracy and Strategy”) team. “The New Us – Togetherness” provides a point of access to a subject that demands our attention today on many levels. By taking us from art to the laboratory and then to a real-life environment, it is also a prototype of a “living lab” for art.

Exhibiting artists:
Manfred Binzer, Sascha Boldt, Nikolai Bolik, Stuart Cupit, Parastou Forouhar, Paul Hirsch, Mwangi Hutter, Jonathan Huxley, Jörg Kraus, Jovita Majewski, Eyal Pinkas, Tine Reingaard, Katrin Trost, Konstantin Voit, Stadt Mannheim/ Demokratie und Strategie