Europe: Ancient Future
Soft Opening

Everyone talks about (and far too often against) Europe, and even a common Europe is only slowly getting off the ground. The particular interests of the nation states, bureaucracy and the economy are too deeply entrenched, reflecting the attachment of many to what is immediately familiar. The future, however, can only lie in an open, cosmopolitan approach, with a good relationship between each individual and the local as well as the international community. This critical balance of the individual to the group was already outlined by ancient Greece in order to strengthen democracy on the basis of individual and general freedoms and responsibilities.

From a history conceived into the future, the extensive project Europe: Ancient Future formulates current contributions to an urgently needed discussion on egality in difference, in order to advance a culturally and therein politically conceived Europe.

The exhibition Europe: Ancient Future works with stories and ideas from the perspectives of the invited artists, whose images and works refer to a past but shine on our present and its possible future.

Artists: Jimmie Durham, Haris Epaminonda, Ira Goryainova, Renée Green, Franz Kapfer, Barbara Kapusta, Jutta Koether, Oliver Laric, Shahryar Nashat, Steven Parrino, Franco Vaccari, James Welling, Franz West

Curator: Sandro Droschl