Kenschtler Kollektiv

The Mir wëlle bleiwen, wat mir ginn exhibition ran from January 15 to 28, 2022 at the Luxembourg Pavilion at EXPO 2020 DUBAI (October 1, 2021 - March 31, 2022).

In keeping with the Expo theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future", the artistic project for the Luxembourg pavilion followed the idea of connecting minds - in this case, artistic minds - to produce collective, transdisciplinary works.

Following this original context in the United Arab Emirates, the exhibition has moved to the CNA/Pomhouse in Dudelange for a second presentation.

This allows us not only to reactivate the works, but also to take a fresh look at these artistic productions, which have sought to question the original contexts for which they were created and their representative vocation at the World's Fair.

Almost two years after their first presentation, how will the works produced fit into this new context?

A series of monthly "cartes blanches" given to Kenschtler Kollektiv artists will also enable them to parallel their individual practice with their work within the collective.

Eight artists from seven artistic fields were selected in 2017 by a committee₁ in charge of implementing the cultural and artistic component. The selection was based on the artists' excellence in their specific field, but also on their experience in creating transdisciplinary projects and their openness to participating in a collaborative project in the specific context of EXPO 2020 DUBAI.

The Kënschtlerkollektiv, or artists’ collective, consists of:

Julie Conrad (design),
Adolf El Assal (film),
Guy Helminger (literature),
Karolina Markiewicz and Pascal Piron (visual arts),
Simone Mousset (dance),
Patrick Muller (music),
Renelde Pierlot (theatre).

1 → In 2017 the committee consisted of:

- Bernard Baumgarten, Artistic Director of TROIS C-L - Centre de Création Chorégraphique Luxembourgeois
- Claude D. Conter, Director of the Centre national de littérature
- Patrice Hourbette, Director of Music : LX
- Mathis Junet, Diffusion Officer of the TROIS C-L
- Jo Kox, President of the Fonds culturel national
- Paul Lesch, Director of the Centre national de l'audiovisuel
- Kevin Muhlen, Director of the Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain
- Laurence Rollier, Public Relations Officer of the Theater Federatioun
- Pascal Seil, Curator at the Centre national de littérature
- Paul Thiltges, Advisor of the Filmfund
- Giovanni Trono, Project Manager of Music: LX
- Barbara Zeches, Advisor, European and International Affairs, Ministry of Culture (observer)

Expo 2020 Dubai
Luxembourg Pavilion

The official website of the Pavillon Luxembourgeois.

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Mir wëlle bleiwen, wat mir ginn.

From its first meetings in 2017, the artistic committee decided to take an innovative approach to the participation of creators and artists in EXPO 2020 DUBAI. The aim was to leave the well-trodden path of linear cultural and artistic representation in favour of an original and innovative concept devised in collaboration with the selected artists that would result in works reflecting the wealth and diversity of contemporary artistic creation in Luxembourg.

To achieve this goal, we focused on artists who were open to experimentation and risk-taking. The aim of this novel concept was to create a fertile ground for collaboration and interaction between artists from different cultural and artistic backgrounds.

The mission of this innovative concept was to create a breeding ground for collaboration and interaction between artists and art forms. As curators of the project in question, we wanted the artists to mutually inspire, question and criticize each other, and perpetually question their concepts and works, to arrive at proposals that would not only respond to a given theme and context, but also reflect a certain Zeitgeist of contemporary creation. The other challenge is to create personal works with universal themes, and to build on a lasting collaboration between the artists after EXPO 2020 DUBAI.

Their varied proposals reflect the specificities of Luxembourgian society in particular, and the contemporary world in general. Drawing on the past to look into the future, they chart its potentials while exploring the contrasts and contradictions of today’s world.

Bernard Baumgarten and Kevin Muhlen, curators