Moving exhibition opened
"Worth fighting for" shows Ukrainian art at the Campus M project in Cologne
On 14 November, the doors of the former car dealership on Oskar-Jäger-Straße in Cologne-Ehrenfeld opened for a special premiere: Instead of vehicles, there is art on display for the first time. Curated by Björn Geldhof, the artistic director of the Pinchuk Art Center – the leading Ukrainian museum for contemporary art –, the exhibition “Worth fighting for” shows diverse works that deal with the war of aggression in Ukraine. The joint venture between bema Group and ABG Real Estate Group makes the space available for interim use before a new quarter will be built here within the scope of the Campus M project. The exhibition is open daily from 10.00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m. until 14 December.
bema and the “new culture of conversion”
Ideas of the Report on Building Culture in Germany 2022/23 internalised
On 8 November, the “Day of Conversion Culture” took place in Berlin, during which the Report on Building Culture in Germany 2022/23 was published. The pressing issue: How do we rebuild our cities and what is the best way to deal with the existing buildings? As a committed member of the “Förderverein der Bundesstiftung Baukultur” (a sponsoring association of the German foundation for building culture), the bema Group is also concerned with questions of existing buildings. In the project “Yorck Offices Düsseldorf”, bema was leadingly in charge of the concept for the revitalisation of a central office location from the 1990s and, in a joint venture, worked out the potential of a careful sanitation of the building fabric and its aesthetic enhancement. The most recent example: As part of the Campus M project, we are implementing exciting art projects as interim uses to provide for the social and cultural return in the urban environment of Cologne-Ehrenfeld.
Space for relevant art
Creative interim use started
at Campus M
Where once vehicles were sold, there is now space for culture: The vacant premises of a car dealership still exist on Oskar-Jäger-Straße in Cologne-Ehrenfeld. This is where the bema Group’s project “Campus M” is to be built in a joint venture with the ABG Real Estate Group – a green, attractive campus with modern office space. But until that happens, the existing buildings can still be put to good use.
On the initiative of the bema Group, around 2,500 m2 are made available here for cultural events. Thus, a three-day concert cycle by the Cologne-based group of artists 3:6 has already taken place from 4 to 6 November. From 14 November, a politically highly relevant art exhibition will then move into the rooms: Under the name “Worth fighting for”, it shows a dialogue between international and Ukrainian artists who deal with the Russian war of aggression in many forms. It was curated by Björn Geldhof, the artistic director of the leading Ukrainian museum for contemporary art.
