Robert Köpke, graduate from HFBK Hamburg and HGB Leipzig with a Master's degree in Curatorial Practice, currently works at the intersection of curation, design, and art. As a Research Associate at Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, he specializes in visualizing biodiversity data through mapping.
His work integrates art, design, and social engagement, emphasizing the significance of public spaces. Actively engaged in community-driven initiatives, he focuses on sustainability and collaborative design approaches. His contributions to projects such as the Floating University in Berlin and R-Urban in Paris highlight his talent for intertwining urban and ecological elements in his curatorial practice. Dedicated to reimagining social frameworks, Robert crafts participatory experiences that resonate with a broad and diverse audience.
- For the first festival weekend of OSTEN festival, participants of the “Cultures of the Curatorial” master's program from the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig developed a diverse program within a bar architecture, serving as an open and flexible meeting space.
- The projects, created by three working groups, engage with the Kulturpalast and Bitterfeld. The title “ERFRISCHUNGSRAUM 2” recalls the former “Erfrischungsraum” bar in the building's basement, soon to be filled with concrete. As part of the festival, this soon-to-be-lost space is temporarily revived: elements of the original bar's inventory are incorporated into the furnishings of “ERFRISCHUNGSRAUM 2”, located outside the Kulturpalast. Prior to the festival, the organizers invited interested individuals and Bitterfeld residents to gather and create new stories, aiming to make “ERFRISCHUNGSRAUM 2” a place for lingering and engaging in conversation during the festival.
Venue: Kulturpalast Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Parsevalstraße 2a, 06749 Bitterfeld-Wolfen
Partner: Supported by tax funds based on the Saxon State Parliament budget and funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), per German Bundestag resolution
Collaboration: Lisa Dreykluft, Robert Köpke, Insa Langhorst, Martin Naundorf, Iana Pitenko, Martha Schwindling
Photography: Friederike Butter
Date: July 2022
Links: OSTEN Festival