The project „Ecosystem Künstlerdorf – Learning from Nature“ could be best described as a snapshot that provides insights into individual measures of the current transformation process taking place at Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen. It also allows for an outlook on the place, in its self-image as a learning and agile institution.
As a „collective actor of a socio-ecological transformation in the cultural sector“ (1) the Künstlerdorf does not see itself as a solitaire, but as part of an „ecosystem“, (…) „i.e. a system of natural forces, which, when in equilibrium, regenerate sustainably and independently“ (2) and which is thus constantly in a state of change. The question of which natural forces, stakeholders or cooperating partners are defined as part of this system, and thus exert influence, has an essential significance for all aspects of the Künstlerdorf, its profile, its administration, its programming, its resilience and ultimately its relevance.
Since January 2021, the Künstlerdorf has been undergoing an extensive process of realignment. The goal is to redefine the profile and modes of operation of the Künstlerdorf, to make optimal use of potentials, and to find structures and ways to fulfill the associated tasks in a contemporary and future-oriented manner. In doing so, interior and exterior spaces are thought together and aspects of more sustainable and equitable cycles are included. During this year’s project, a community kitchen garden was created, a connection to the programming was established, and a guideline was developed that regulates questions of mobility, the handling of resources, and the temporary communities located in the Künstlerdorf.
The project took place in cooperation with the secondary school Horstmar Schöppingen and the Center for Interdisciplinary Sustainability Research (ZIN) at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster. It was supported by the Regional Culture Program of the Ministry of Culture and Science NRW, the Kultursekretariat Gütersloh and the Förderverein der Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen.
(1) Kreß, Jakob (2022), in: Das ‚Künstlerdorf Schöppingen‘ als Reallabor: Erkundung einer sozial-ökologischen Transformation im Kulturbetrieb, BA-Arbeit, WWU Münster, vorgelegt am 31.8.2022, S. 40.
(2) Burckhardt, Lucius (2021), in: Warum ist Landschaft schön? Die Spaziergangswissenschaft. 5. Auflage. Hg. v. Markus Ritter und Martin Schmitz. Berlin: Martin Schmitz Verlag. S. 31.
The garden
Visual artist Yoeri Guépin, who has been working with gardens as artistic and social medium, was invited to intervene in the ecosystem of the Künstlerdorf.
“Drawing connections between current and past functions of the Künstlerdorf, I aim to initiate novel ecosystems that shape and operate both inside and outside the infrastructure for art. Gardens are able to form communities around plant species, facilitating long lasting structures for care, (un)learning and reveal our co-dependencies with other organisms.”
From January to June 2021, Guépin made observations about the site, structure, and environment of the Künstlerdorf and worked with the team, fellows, and other stakeholders to develop a kitchen garden. In doing so, he followed the idea of a vernacular garden that reflects relationships between plants and people within a larger ecosystemic framework.
Yoeri Guépin is a visual artist, researcher and gardener working with communities, ecosystems and film. His experience of being brought up at a biodynamic farm, helping his parents in the fields since a young age, together with his interest in cultural histories and ecosystems, have resulted in an array of ecological projects. These projects often find their form in gardens that act as vessel and entrance to marginal (hi)stories and nonwestern epistemologies. Guépin holds a BA from Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht and an MA from the Dutch Art Institute in Arnhem. Current running (gardening) projects at Piet Zwart Institute Rotterdam and iii Workspace Den Haag. His films have been exhibited at Tent Rotterdam (2019), Guangdong Times Museum in Guangzhou (2021) and Kadist San Francisco (2022).
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„Soften the borders“
The 20-minute film „Soften the borders“ was conceptualized and realized together, with the students taking on tasks such as camera, sound, interviews or translation.
As part of their science and art courses, 25 seventh-grade students from Hörstmar Schöppingen secondary school also took part in the project. In the three groups garden, social media and film, they were actively involved in the processes and documented them. The groups were accompanied by their teacher Christian Nückel and additionally supported by Martin Domagala.
As a conclusion of the project, the students designed a cultural picnic together with the team and fellows of the Künstlerdorf. The visitors put together their own picnic in small baskets; they could take home what they had picked themselves from the new kitchen garden in bags designed by the students. The event was complemented by artistic contributions from Gina Dargan, who offered a workshop for weaving with natural materials, and Neïtah Janzing, who invited visitors to send postcards from Münsterland to strangers.
Groups as Gardens (1)
In cooperation with the Center for Interdisciplinary Sustainability Research (ZIN) at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Dr. Cornelia Steinhäuser observed the transformation process in the Künstlerdorf in the period from March to August 2022. She prepared a report that includes an analysis of the status quo as well as a presentation of potentials, challenges and risks from an ecological and social science perspective, which can be read below in an abridged version.
As part of the seminar „Agroecology – Permaculture – Deep Ecology“ and accompanied by Prof. Dr. Tillmann Buttschardt and Dr. Cornelia Steinhäuser as well as the artist Yoeri Guépin and the author Vera Vorneweg, a meeting of students and fellows took place in the Künstlerdorf. The focus of the event was an exchange on human-nature relations. In addition, the garden of the Künstlerdorf will continue to accompany the seminar as a symbol and motif. To this end, the text „Groups as Gardens“ was first read and discussed. A raised bed was then created and planted in the greenhouse of the Künstlerdorf.
The cooperation with the WWU Münster is to be continued in the context of an integrative thinking of science and art.
(1) Macnamara, Looby (2012): People & permaculture. Caring and designing for ourselves, each other and the planet. Unter Mitarbeit von Rebecca Storch. East Meon, Hampshire: Permanent Publ.
