The Hamburg
schoolclass is
discussingthe pr-video that they are about to make.
oneof her favorit places in Hamburg.
During the big opening
of Artgenda
the schoolclass donated their
alternativepr-video to the city.
City promotion by citizens - during Artgenda 2002 in Hamburg.
For Artgenda 2002 in Hamburg I invited a Hamburg school class to create their own promotion video about Hamburg. This was meant as an answer to and an alternative to the official pr-video “Hamburg a perfect day” which presents Hamburg at the official Hamburg homepage: www.hamburg.de
Process: During spring 2002 the Hamburg school class made (with my help) an alternative pr-video about Hamburg.
Performance: During the big opening of Artgenda, in june with thousand witnesses, the schoolclass donated their alternative pr-video to the city of Hamburg (represented by Lord Mayor). The school class suggested that also their video should be used to officially promote the city of Hamburg.
Video installation: On two big videoprojections, outdoors, the public could compare the official pr-video (from hamburg.de) and the alternative pr-video, created by the school class. The blue frames around the two videofilms (see the picture below) consisted of constant headlines telling those facts to the viewers.
of the city - official and alternative promotion.
“City promotion by citizens” is made in relation to the big artbiennal Artgenda 2002. I thought it was an interesting turn of situation when I, as an invited Gothenburgh artist, arranged so that a Hamburg school class created their own “alternative city promotion video” and donated it to the city of Hamburg. My project was meant as an answer to the Artgenda situation - an Artbiennal where one of the main purposes is that culture advertises the participating cities. I also chose to do this project because it was a challenge to me, to engage a Hamburg school class and together with them create something which was supposed to challenge the established view of whom should represent and present a city. On the other hand this project is also a comment to the expectation on me as an artist to be critical and alternative. To make “alternative city promotion” is a paradox in itself and I think it problematizes my role as an artist.