Larissa Fassler
Emotional Blackmail

Dates

Fri – Mon, 02.–12.11.18

Venue

Moritzplatz, corner of Prinzenstraße, 10969 Berlin-Kreuzberg

A REALTY commission

In 2017, the real estate firm Pandion acquired sizable plots of land near Moritzplatz. The high-end development marks a tipping point that will arguably redefine the neighborhood’s identity. Large-scale displacement, in this case, would be a matter of time. Numerous cultural institutions, including KW, engaged in a temporary cultural usage of Pandion’s new venues. Happily, the collaboration sparked an appetite within the institution to take responsibility for its artistic footprint. Emotional Blackmail (2018), the billboards and street posters by artist Larissa Fassler, are part of a series of research and artist commissions that have since come to bear. The artwork’s finissage on 11 November and a workshop on 12 November are featured as part of the REALTY event SPACECRAFT.

Part of project: REALTY

The project REALTY focused on the role of contemporary art in recent histories of gentrification. These days, it seems one artist, one venue, one model after another is being unmasked as being part of the problem. But we will not be discussing art’s shortcomings yet again. Instead, REALTY asked how art’s international playing field can be put to better use. It insisted on moving beyond critique, and towards an attempt at productive models, however vague or naive. The KW leg of REALTY kicked off in October 2017, with a series of public lectures, workshops, and screenings. The project was conceived by Tirdad Zolghadr, KW’s Associate Curator, and commissioned by KW and Sommerakademie Paul Klee Bern.

Curator: Tirdad Zolghadr
Curatorial Assistance: Sabrina Herrmann

REALTY was funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Europe, Berlin.