Rethinking post-industrial cities – Halle (Germany) and Zaporizhia (Ukraine) – through new media in public space. Russia's war against Ukraine not only destroyed human lives but also significantly affected artistic activity. The initial theme has acquired new meanings, which requires its organizers and participants to work extremely hard on rethinking the topic, in terms of how public art can now speak of the transformation of cities for a secure future. This is an interdisciplinary project, and accordingly, it examines the topic through various lenses. The political context is the most acute trigger for reinventing the messages embedded in the original idea. We dreamed of new cities with security as an intrinsic property. Currently, reality refutes that sort of "intrinsicness", shifting visionary reflections towards constructing a concept of proactive defense for the future city, which has experienced military conflict, aggression, and destruction. These are challenges that are being transformed into new forms in this city. Do they provoke an escalation of isolation for security, where forced "encapsulation" is the only guarantee of protection against biological and chemical attacks? Or, on the contrary, do they provide a completely innovative approach to protecting homes and spaces from external aggression? To what extent can aesthetics be "militarized"? These are open questions, and the objectives of the residency are to consider possible answers to them, together with local artists and experts, exploring the existing public spaces in Halle, and rethinking the very issue of security. And with it, actually, the very concept of freedom, which can acquire a purely internal dimension, as traditional methods of protection through monolithic buildings such as "fortress" imply certain restrictions. Mankind has been actively working on open spaces, where everyone chooses to be part of the community or use them individually. Now these dreams are threatened by a rollback to the pattern of the medieval city, quite effective in terms of exhausting sieges. But is that the only path to security? Thus, architectural and urban lenses allow us to conceptualize pragmatic things for a breakthrough vision of future cities. Artists add special value to these visions through their artistic interaction with the layered urban fabric of Halle, opening up potential opportunities to become part of the city's cultural environment.

Cultprojector
Dekabristen e.V. supported by House of Europe
Out of the Box

Sarah Carrington (The Line)

Maik Ronz (Südpark project)

Marianne Wagner (Münster Sculpture Project)

Tinatin Gurgenidze (Tbilisi Architecture Biennale)

Art, Nature, and Well-being on The Line in London

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Mock-ups and interventions Building Together

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The experience of curating Tbilisi Architecture Biennale

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Public art as a city representative

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Public art as a transformation tool in the city