An Exhibition in the Cities of the Ruhr by Jochen Gerz

Artist Jochen Gerz
Photo: 2-3 Straßen

The art project "2-3 Streets" by Jochen Gerz highlights streets in the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 that are neither beautiful nor out of the ordinary - anonymous side roads such as can be found in any city or town and typical of post-war German cities with their blocks of apartments, shops and garages that get no mention in the town guide. The participating municipalities of Duisburg, Dortmund and Mülheim an der Ruhr have selected just such a number of nondescript streets.

In each street, some of the apartments will be made available to new tenants rent-free for a year. The majority of the flats will, however, continue to house those tenants who were living there before the exhibition. In this changed social situation, the cultural and creative presence of the newcomers will impact the habits and lifestyles of the established residents. Visitors to the exhibition will experience the changing atmosphere of the street, to which they themselves will inevitably be contributing.

Apartments on the Borsigplatz in Dortmund are part of the exhibition “2-3 streets”.
Photo: 2-3 Straßen

A book, written by the new and old tenants

The end result of the exhibition will therefore be a change in the streets concerned. A further outcome will be a book written jointly by the new and old tenants in the three streets, and also those visiting the "2-3 Streets" exhibition, and this will be published by a literary publishing house after 2010.

It’s all part of the exhibition

In addition to the apartments, there will also be internet cafés in the area in which those visiting the exhibition will be able to take direct part in the "2-3 Streets" project by contributing to the book’s text. The streets, the activities within them, and the comings and goings at the internet terminals and in the apartments of the "authors" will all be constituent parts of the exhibition. While the subject will remain life on a "normal" street, visitors to the exhibition will experience a changing reality both for themselves and for those more intimately involved with those streets.

New public awareness

Jochen Gerz counts among the internationally best known German artists of the present day. With his works in the public arena particularly, he has radically changed the relationship between art and observer. Crossing social boundaries, the processes he puts in train create a new public awareness – not least because members of the public are themselves required to fill the role of author. The individual thus ceases to be a member of the audience and instead becomes part of the artistic work as it evolves.

Streets in Dortmund: Dürener Straße, Oesterholzstraße, Schlosserstraße und Dreherstraße (near Borsigplatz, Nordstadt).

Visits to meet authors in their apartments can be arranged, streets freely accessible.

Admission free