Idea, concept, artistic direction and management: Prof. Dr. Birgit Richard

Realization: In cooperation with the Department 4 of the city of Dortmund, including city council and city councilor J. Stüdemann and Office of Culture of the City of Dortmund (Mr Rinsche and TWINS) and HARTWARE Medienkunstverein Dortmund (manager: Susanne Ackers, artistic director Dr. Inke Arns)
Curators: Prof. Dr. Birgit Richard; Dr. Inke Arns, NN.

Frame:
This project is based on the thematic guidelines of “Ruhr 2010”: The exhibition will have its initial point in the region, and will explore the European dimensions of youthful life. Adequate to the agenda “Change Through Culture - Culture Through Change”, the exhibition will deal with current artistic movements and will show new forms of cultural dialogue and action appropriate to the orientation of the target group of young visitors. Arts and culture should provide possibilities for children and young people to deal with issues of their own behalf. They should provide the scope for their own cultural expressions within the framework of intercultural projects and competitions that are communicated multilingual and through various media such as websites, DVDs and catalogs throughout other European countries.

Abstract:
The exhibition shows sectors from global and local environments of young people. The focus is based on communication of media and its content: i.e. common media, such as mobile phones, Internet or fashion, which are aimed across culture and religion towards an international audience. Specific key issues are engrossed by kids and teenagers: To begin with, the focal points will be the need for real- and media communication, the exchange in relationships with peers, media-buddies and communities transgressing the borders of their own lives across the world (interculturality) and secondary the strong desire for participation. An important role is established by similarities and discrepancies between real physical worlds of playground or school and the virtual worlds of the Internet (communities). Under consideration are also symbolic transformations of marginalized youth cultural elements and symbols (like the omnipresent skull) which are negotiated between the fields of acquisition (culture industry) and resistance (juvenile self-will). In addition to basic themes of young people, the creative minds of the younger generation should be focused on: the ones who create and develop styles, whether on basis of their clothes, their music or on behalf of their own videos e.g. on YouTube, where they create new forms of art. For this purpose a special architecture is developed, which hooks up with typical spaces of young people.

Thematic Epicenters:
Spaces of meaning will emerge in thematic epicenters of the exhibition which dynamically present the key issues of youth: the uncertainty in dealing with their own bodies and the risk of exposure in self-portrayal, the simultaneity of proximity and distance in the curiosity about the cultural Other, the fascination of mobility (generation long-range travel), while having a permanent connection to the familiar, the limitless life in Web 2.0 as an extension of one's own (Chat: e.g. ICQ) and emigration into the virtual space (Second Life).

- I / me = medial self-portrayal (casting, youtube, flickr, party portals, private / public)
- Are U Hot? Body Karoake = material of self-manifestation (e.g. beauty surgery)
- Love, friends and communities
- Home - exile: Mix: intercultural (TV series and soap operas such as “Meine verrückte türkische Hochzeit”)
- Styles: New subcultures and “Fight the Power” (subversion and resistance, reclaim

the streets by aesthetic means, such as peaceful protests against the G8 summit)
- Contest: Response and battle („Battle of the Year“)
- Mobile: Travel and autonomous movement in public space
- Moves: Dance and sport + (X-treme: bike trial, Parkour. Normal: Cheerleading ...)
- Playing: e.g. Games
- Brands and Bling Bling vs. No Logo and precariate (poverty but also new stylish

sustainability. Eco-labels such as American Apparel)

The three topics of the exhibition:

Inter_Cool will not be a classical art exhibition – not only for adults about young people, but for young people with them. The categories of exhibits are:

- Visual arts: photography, video, webclips, interactive installations, street art

Here the focus is on young international artists (the list of artists should be further developed with young people)

- Common items and objects (eg “Archive of Youth Culture – Frankfurt”), designer toys

- U-Gallery: objects and creative products for kids / teenagers / young adults: competitions (photos, mobile videos, mobile movies, webcam_performances, dance etc.) in collaboration with local schools.

SUSTAINABILITY (stylish ecolabels like American Apparel)

Background: This type of conception was already very successful within the framework of the international exhibition "Coolhunters" 2005 and 2006. (Karlsruhe, Vienna, Budapest) (www.coolhunters.net).

Evaluating the “coolhunters:style” study (370 questionnaires): 95% of the 370 evaluated adolescents described the exhibition as a good and interesting

Basic information:

When: 17 September-28th November 2010 (starting in Dortmund)

Locations: - The U (former Union Brewery) in Dortmund after reconstruction as well as at TWINS 2010 Network and further locations (Twin Cities):

Phase I

- Leeds (twin city of Dortmund)

- Vienna (Schwechat) planned in cooperation with the Künstlerhaus Wien, contact Peter Bogner Leiter)

- Tampere Finland Museum of Labour (Finnish Labour Museum; Contact Harald Groos and Virve Manninen) (twin city of Essen)

Perfect Showcase: There are almost no exhibitions that combine art, design and everyday life (with the exception of the exhibitions”Coolhunters” {which Prof. Richard curated}, „Sonne, Mond und Sterne“ at Zeche Zollverein as well as "Der Ball ist rund" {Gasometer Oberhausen}). High- and low-culture are always strictly separated in the exhibition industry. Visual arts and popular culture are – with a few exceptions – never exhibited together. Inter_cool naturally mixes the thematic fields – the so-called epicenters. Classical concepts of exhibition usually do not focus on an adolescent audience (except the ZKM), not to mention the direct participation of young people from different cultures, in collaboration with artists.

The results of such collaborations have never had a direct space in the exhibition itself. Through media typically used by adolescents (like online videos or photo sharing) this is not only possible, but also highly appreciated and is not to be seen only as a by-product of museum pedagogy. It provides young people the opportunity to work together creatively across geographical and cultural boundaries.

Inter_cool combines urbanity and creativity. Youth cultures emerge in urban melting-pots, e.g. on the streets of the Ruhr area and their partners or of youth facilities. Especially adolescent search for identity clearly shows social contradictions, with which the exhibition gently deals. There is a unique opportunity for global cooperation over the Internet (and around the exhibition), cultural and religious differences are no obstacle in the Internet. The offered intercultural communication platform on Inter_cool leaves space for imagination and visualizations of wishes and dreams – but no space for prejudice.

Sustainability at two levels:

A sustainable network of cooperation partners of the network TWINS primarily works through the sharing of the bilingual (English-German) Internet Platform, which is established as a project and workspace used (internal and external workspaces are established, the goal is to project forums on issues that interest and move European adolescents) in the context of Ruhr 2010. Furthermore, all preparations and introductions to the exhibition are taking place in a virtual collaboration with project partners through the website. During the exhibition discussions and chats with young people from the European partner towns are happening parallel, so that their comments and creative works (as photos and videos) are directly contributed to the exhibition. After the exhibitions, which are seen only as a kick off for the collective creative work, young people can upload their own work and can actively contribute to a Weblog through which an international community can develop, that entirely focuses on the participation of young people. Simultaneously, a Website/Weblog is launched aprox. a year before the exhibition, as a platform of information as well as to submit the own works. The goal is then to develop further cooperation projects, that can be developed on the platform Inter_cool as a workspace; art projects in the Internet with young people in cooperation with the TWINS partners.

Inter_cool 3.0 is not a traditional touring exhibition, but only its material core, to which parts of the exhibition are developed locally in the twin cities with young people.

Documentation:

DVD for young people and interested adults, schools and youth facilities

Catalog / publication for adult audiences, scholars, people with interest in art

Key Details:

Duration: 3 months per location; estimated 17th September-28th November 2010

Size: variable from 1000 m² (one floor of the U)

Media: catalog, website with blog, DVD

Events: In cooperation with the responsible body of youth work in the region, contests with the departments of visual education in the museum