KEX at the PARALLEL VIENNA 2020

With contributions by Mu Bo and Nicolò Degiorgis

With the presentation at PARALLEL VIENNA 2020, Kunsthalle Exnergasse (KEX) kicks off its autumn programme KEX I RAND, which deals with Vienna’s urban periphery, district development, and urban agriculture. There will also be an introduction to the same-named KEX outpost located at Zukunftshof / Haschahof in Vienna’s 10^th district Favoriten.

Since March 2020 KEX artist-in-residence Nicolò Degiorgis has been drafting an imaginary genealogical tree of the Zukunftshof (Future Farm), a project that is currently being implemented in the Rothneusiedl area of Favoriten on the premises of the former agricultural estate Haschahof. The Zukunftshof is to become a lively, identity-building neighbourhood centre and serve as a departure point for future city planning projects. Education, energy and nutrient cycles, art, culture, and social sustainability, and networking are the guiding themes.

As a reflection of Degiorgis’ project, KEX will present a photographic work by Chinese artist Mu Bo at PARALLEL VIENNA. Mu Bo was invited by KEX in cooperation with the Social Design Studio of the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Mu Bo A cup of stories in the ruins
Timeframe: February 2020. Location: Zhang Maoyi village, Shandong Province, China
How do farmers adapt to the process of rapid urbanisation with the accompanying drastic changes in lifestyle? How is history inherited? How is memory preserved? Drinking tea in the ruins expresses the nostalgia for the homeland, arouses resonance, and triggers reflection.

Nicolò Degiorgis, born 1985 in Bolzano, studied Oriental languages at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and in Beijing. He taught artistic photography at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and in the city’s prison, is the founder of the Rorhof publishing house, and member of the gallery foto-forum artistic board in Bolzano.

Mu Bo lives and works in Wuhan, China. He is a master studies graduate of Social Design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and a lecturer at the Wuhan Institute of Technology. Mu Bo works in the fields of sustainable product design and sustainable interaction of urban and rural culture with a special focus on processes of change in China.

Address:
PARALLEL VIENNA 2020
Rudolf-Sallinger-Platz 1, 1030 Vienna

In the framework of KEX | RAND, --this autumn's programme of Kunsthalle Exnergasse focusing on (Vienna's) urban periphery, urban planning and agriculture.