About
the Frankfurt art experience
Frankfurt am Main offers more diverse and special art experiences than almost any other major German city: From the internationally renowned academies, offspaces and artists' houses to important private collections and one of the most renowned museum landscapes in Europe.
The entire cycle of the art business is evident in Frankfurt - and its nucleus is formed by around 50 galleries and offspaces spread across the entire city. Their personal work with the artists they discover, build up and occasionally pave the way for in the museum is the basis for the attractive cultural interplay in the city. Their importance for culture in the district should not be underestimated.
The Frankfurt Art Experience has been the official platform of Frankfurt's galleries since 2019 and stands for incomparable art experiences in the Main metropolis. We mobilize 20,000 people every year and reach almost one million people through the media. The initiative was the brainchild of the communications agency Urban Media Project and Tyrown Vincent.
2024
30th anniversary of the start of the Frankfurt season
Gold is in high demand right now. The metal is fetching top prices on the stock market, and in Paris it is spurring athletes on to top performances. Now the 30th anniversary of the start of the Frankfurt season also falls in this golden twenties. Because there is reason to celebrate from September 6 to 8, 2024: not only has the gallery weekend seen a steadily growing number of participants, it has also matured into an important event in the city's busy cultural calendar Saisonstart With this in mind, we are delighted that Dr. Ina Hartwig, Head of the Department of Culture, has committed to generously supporting The FrankfurtArt Experience with funds from the tourism levy.
The artistic program ranges from painting, photography and sculpture to video art and performance. The bridging function that galleries have for art in the Rhine-Main region is also clear: A good fifth of the artists represented come from the academies Städelschule, HfG Offenbach or Kunsthochschule Mainz.
But to mark the anniversary, we have come up with more than just gold that glitters and shines. With the House of Galleries discussion format, we have spent the past few weeks talking to Frankfurt museum institutions and Berlin and local galleries about the art market, business and content. In the fall, we will also publish the first representative survey, which will paint a detailed picture of the gallery location.
2023
academies from rhine-main PROMINENT REPRESENTATIVE and international positions
With its 5th edition, The Frankfurt Art Experience 2023 focuses on the one hand on the large number of exhibiting artists who have studied at art academies in the Rhine-Main region - Städelschule, HFG Offenbach, but also the Kunsthochschule Mainz - and on the other hand on the many nationalities that reflect Frankfurt's multiculturalism and openness. The gallery weekend will also focus on works of art made from and on paper, such as drawings and prints, with prices starting in the three-digit range - and which are pleasingly well represented at this year's Saisonstart . At the discovery gallery Rundgænger in the Bahnhofsviertel, for example, we encounter the swimming pool works of Leipzig artist Tiziana Jill Beck, while in Fahrgasse, Galerie Greulich is showing Jan Schmelcher's drawings, which deal with hedonism at the end of the utopian narratives of the 60s and 70s. Several renowned Frankfurt galleries are dedicated to the oldest form of art in human history, painting, as well as the medium of photography, which is strongly anchored in Frankfurt.
With thirty guided tours - eight of which are in English - across the city, the extensive program also offers a wide range of insights into the contemporary art scene and interactive talks and discussions on the various artistic approaches. This year we welcome two newcomers: the renowned "Neue Alte Brücke", which is represented at international art fairs, and Jean-Claude Maier from the Bahnhofsviertel.
2022
Contemporary positions: New discoveries and rediscoveries
As part of the Frankfurt Art Experience 2022, Frankfurt's galleries will be showing art in a wide variety of media and formats. Local and international, with art-historical new discoveries or rediscoveries as well as contemporary positions. Together with the range of various off-spaces and art institutions, there are numerous opportunities for individual discovery tours throughout the city.
Special highlights this year include the exhibition at the Kai Middendorff Gallery, which presents over 20 rare drawings by the Austrian sculptor Bruno Gironcoli, who was honored three years ago with a major show at the Frankfurt Kunsthalle SCHIRN. Equally impressive are the works from Andreas Breunig's new series EXTANT (extended), which will be on show for the first time at Galerie Bärbel Grässlin. The medium of photography is also prominently represented, with the third solo exhibition by Bernhard Prinz at Bernhard Knaus Fine Art, the works of Hiroyuki Masuyama at Galerie Rothamel and the photographic work of Hungarian writer Péter Nádas at Galerie-Peter-Sillem. Further photographic works can be seen in exhibition hall 1A, which presents rare vintage prints of early black and white photographs of Hungarian landscapes, villages, their inhabitants and scenes from everyday life. This year, three newcomers enrich the Saisonstart: E30 gallery in Nordend, Galerie Monica Ruppert and Galerie Siedlarek in the city center.
2021
Diverse worlds of art: A tour through Frankfurt's galleries and their offspaces
The 27th Saisonstart of the Frankfurt Galleries in 2021 promises an impressive program of talks and walks, taking place from 3 to 5 September. The well-attended tours, curated this year by Heike Strelow and Charlotte Lindenberg, will guide visitors through galleries, exhibition spaces, offspaces and collections. A rally through Frankfurt's galleries is also on the program - an idea and initiative of gallery owners Peter Sillem and Kai Middendorff. Activities for children and young people will also be offered as a new initiative as part of the 27th season launch. These include guided tours by children for children and a painting workshop with an exhibition in the festival building (former sports arena at the Hauptwache).
Amidst the diversity of Frankfurt's art worlds, between the city center, Westend, Bockenheim, Ostend, Sachsenhausen and Bahnhofsviertel, we discover some of the highlights of this start to the season. These include the fascinating connection between space and light in Friederike Walter's work at Galerie Maurer and the social debate at Christel Wagner Galerie with Hartmut Kiewert's paintings, which open up new perspectives on the relationship between humans and animals. Another highlight are the sculptures by Claus Tittmann (born 1941) for the anniversary years 2020/21. He has created various heads and torsos in ceramic and bronze for Carl Maria von Weber (premiere of "Freischütz" in 1821) and Friedrich Hölderlin (250th birthday). The exhibition at Kunstraum Bernusstrasse will be complemented by further ceramic heads.
2020
In focus: photography and moving images
After Frankfurt Fashion Week, which will take place for the first time in 2021, the Frankfurt Department of Economics is announcing the 2nd edition of The Frankfurt Art Experience, which celebrated its successful debut last year. The organizers are designing a comprehensive hygiene concept that takes into account the current corona pandemic situation and gives top priority to protecting guests and participants from infection. With numerous venues and indoor events, the art weekend avoids large gatherings of people.
In addition to the famous Walks, which take place in over 30 galleries throughout the city, Grosse Eschenheimer Strasse 18 will be home to the Art Weekend with the Art Experience five Talks. Actors and experts from the art world will reflect on the situation on the national and international art market and discuss the structural changes that are currently emerging. The final talk will be dedicated to the strong presence of the medium of photography in Frankfurt and the unique selling point that the city can claim for itself. Heike Strelow, Jacky Strenz and Anita Beckers, the new spokespersons for IG Galerien Frankfurt, will provide conceptual and organizational support for the project. For the first time, selected Frankfurt galleries will present a special exhibition on photography and the moving image as part of the Art Experience Show Room. This new format uses the unique, shell-like space in the LSTNR Space to provide Frankfurt galleries with an innovative space entitled "Time in Transition". The creators of "The Listener" are also showing a preview of what the world will be able to experience here from 2021: Aesthetics, fashion, digital and retail.
2019
Main metropolis on the art market: The first Frankfurt Art Experience
In 1994, Frankfurt galleries organized a joint event at the Frankfurter Kunstverein for the first time. With over 50 exhibition venues, the 25th Saisonstart is a partner of The Frankfurt Art Experience, the four-day art festival in Frankfurt, which welcomed 15,000 visitors with lectures and discussions as well as guided tours and the Paper Positions art fair, which took place in Frankfurt for the first time. During an entire weekend in September, art lovers can stroll through Frankfurt galleries, get to know artists in person, take part in the rich mediation program - and above all experience high-quality Exhibitions of contemporary art.
The focus of this year's edition is the special exhibition "GEMEINSAM! 25 Years of the Frankfurt Galleries' Saisonstart ", which will provide an entertaining look back at the joint activities of the Interessengemeinschaft Galerien in Frankfurt with documents, posters, photographs and memorabilia in the rooms of Galerie Lachenmann. The documentation compiled by Isa Bickmann sheds light on a dynamic chapter in recent Frankfurt art history. The first edition of the Frankfurt Art Experience offers a diverse program that unfolds in delicate, vibrant, abstract and dynamic facets. The emphasis is on conceptual photography and painting from the genres of Pop Art, Realism, Surrealism and Post-Romanticism, with a particular focus on bodies/figures and their relationship to nature.
