Melanchotopia

Witte de With’s Melanchotopia is an exhibition that invites more than forty international artists to work with different venues in the city-center of Rotterdam – places where people live and work – and to activate their potential as spaces for ideas, discourse and invention.

From large-scale interventions to very simple gestures, Melanchotopia supports a range of artistic practices that go beyond the classical approach to displaying art in public space. Working with the existing dynamics of the city, Witte de With’s intention is to bring forward the diverse layers of daily life in Rotterdam, creating a rich framework for subjective encounters. It is an exhibition about the reality of Rotterdam.

Over the course of the exhibition Witte de With’s galleries will be reconfigured to become the epicenter of Melanchotopia. The projects, which spread throughout Rotterdam’s center, are brought together via a graphic mapping. Besides its new function as an information center, Witte de With will be equipped with a designed bookshop and an auditorium dedicated to a side-program of lectures and artist talks. Here you can buy the exhibition guide with Melanchotopia map. The comprehensive educational program provides guided tours, art encounters and a special audio tour.

Artists: Saâdane Afif, Harold Ancart, Danaï Anesiadou, Sven Augustijnen, Dirk Bell, Michael Beutler, Guillaume Bijl, Pierre Bismuth, Monica Bonvicini, George van Dam, Thea Djordjadze, Olivier Foulon, Murray Gaylard, Filip Gilissen, Adam Gillam, Arnoud Holleman, International Festival, Leon Kahane, Erik van Lieshout, Minouk Lim, Sarah Morris, Alex Morrison, Kate Newby, Ricardo Okaranza, Henrik Plenge Jakobsen, Martha Rosler, Tomo Savic-Gecan, Markus Schinwald, Slavs and Tatars, Tobias Spichtig, Nasrin Tabatabai & Babak Afrassiabi, Zin Taylor, Harald Thys & Jos De Gruyter, Octavian Trauttmansdorff, Kostis Velonis, Lidwien van de Ven, Peter Wächtler, Lawrence Weiner.

Locations / among others: Beurs WTC, Bilderberg Parkhotel, Delftse Poort, Hartman Binnenhuisadviseurs, Holland Casino, KBS Willibrord school, Manhattan Hotel, Museum Rotterdam, Pathé Schouwburgplein, Pauluskerk, Robeco, Rotterdam Centraal Station, R.S.V. Sanctus Laurentius, SPAR Supermarket, Stadswinkel, VVV Info Rotterdam, Weenink Bedrijfskleding, Wereldmuseum.

Curators: Nicolaus Schafhausen and Anne-Claire Schmitz Curatorial assistant: Fabian Schoeneich Project assistance: Thomas Cuckle, Amira Gad and Sam Sterckx

Melanchotopia
Kuratoren: Nicolaus Schafhausen, Anne-Claire Schmitz

Künstler: Saadane Afif, Harold Ancart, Danai Anesiadou, Sven Augustijnen, Dirk Bell, Michael Beutler, Guillaume Bijl, Pierre Bismuth, Monica Bonvicini, George van Dam, Thea Djordjadze, Olivier Foulon, Murray Gaylard, Filip Gilissen, Adam Gillam, Arnoud Holleman, International Festival , Leon Kahane, Erik van Lieshout, Minouk Lim, Sarah Morris, Alex Morrison, Kate Newby, Ricardo Okaranza, Henrik Plenge Jakobsen, Martha Rosler, Tomo Savic-Gecan, Markus Schinwald, Slavs and Tatars , Tobias Spichtig, Nasrin Tabatabai & Babak Afrassiabi, Zin Taylor, Harald Thys / Jos de Gruyter, Octavian Trauttmansdorff, Kostis Velonis, Lidwien van de Ven, Peter Wächtler, Lawrence Weiner.