Home is Where the heART is
Home is Where the heART is –was the first exhibition by the members of the Trailing Spouses Art Collective. It took place 29 -30 October 2012 at UniQ, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
In the exhibition, Home is where the heART is, artworks explored the positive and negative aspects of constantly moving to a new place or new country using mediums ranging from photography, sculpture, installation and the written word. The exhibition space itself was transformed into a domestic living space, suitcases rather than plinths displayed the work, for example. We wanted the visitor to feel at home, but also question the nature of home. How can one feel “at home”, when they know that it is (again) only temporary? How does one engage in and find a place in their new temporary community? What is it like to move to a land where you do not speak the language? These are just examples of the myriad of problems we all must confront.
The Trailing Spouses Art Collective provides support and resources for people from abroad who have followed their partners to Bielefeld. We are a multicultural group with members from Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Russia, Great Britain, and North and South America. Within the context of our shared experience as foreigners, we make art together, exploring issues such as identity, belonging, marginality, and empowerment.
Responsibility for leadership of the group is collaborative. Members offer their knowledge and skills, leading theme-based workshops ranging from portrait photography to drama. In this way members teach and learn from each other. Through the exchange of art and skills, we can master these issues and find ways to integrate more readily into our communities.
For further information please see our blog.
Photographs by Reimar Ott
In the exhibition, Home is where the heART is, artworks explored the positive and negative aspects of constantly moving to a new place or new country using mediums ranging from photography, sculpture, installation and the written word. The exhibition space itself was transformed into a domestic living space, suitcases rather than plinths displayed the work, for example. We wanted the visitor to feel at home, but also question the nature of home. How can one feel “at home”, when they know that it is (again) only temporary? How does one engage in and find a place in their new temporary community? What is it like to move to a land where you do not speak the language? These are just examples of the myriad of problems we all must confront.
The Trailing Spouses Art Collective provides support and resources for people from abroad who have followed their partners to Bielefeld. We are a multicultural group with members from Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Russia, Great Britain, and North and South America. Within the context of our shared experience as foreigners, we make art together, exploring issues such as identity, belonging, marginality, and empowerment.
Responsibility for leadership of the group is collaborative. Members offer their knowledge and skills, leading theme-based workshops ranging from portrait photography to drama. In this way members teach and learn from each other. Through the exchange of art and skills, we can master these issues and find ways to integrate more readily into our communities.
For further information please see our blog.
Photographs by Reimar Ott
