Mario Kramer and Julian Gabriel Richter workshop. Case of the exhibition “William Forsythe: The Fact of Matter” workshop

In 2015, the Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt am Main presented the first exhibition of choreographic objects by choreographer and artist William Forsythe. The exhibition was the homage and gratitude of the townspeople to the artist for 25 years of activity as the artistic director of the Forsythe Company. It was also a milestone in the exploration of the boundaries between visual arts and choreography, which Forsythe carried out with his team and with several of the city’s artistic and scientific organizations.

Since 1973, Forsythe has mainly worked in Germany, where he created a whole dance space: ballet performances that change the idea of ​​ballet, experimental dance performances, digital dance scores (recordings of dances using signs) and site- specific installations and turned viewers into the participants of the dance. From 2010 to 2013, William Forsythe completed the “Motion Bank (Improvisation Technologies)” research project, the first digital platform for dance analysis, recording, and improvisation techniques.

The exhibition was located on three floors of the Museum of Modern Art. It also included some of the works from the museum’s collection and created a dialogue between them and the objects of William Forsythe, based on analogies of content or form.

Mario Kramer Senior Curator of Museum of Modern Art and Julian Gabriel Richter Director of William Forsythe Studio will explain how the exhibition was made in direct contact with William Forsythe, as well as how to organize visitors to create dance installations and performances.

About the program:

This workshop is a part of the section «Theatre and museum. Project work» within the educational program «Theatre and museum. Collaboration experiences».

Collaboration between museums and theaters has become mainstream. This is not only a manifestation of interdisciplinarity, one of the main features of contemporary art, not only an attempt to master unconventional spaces, and not only a way to optimize costs or develop the audience.

Joint project work is also an opportunity to reinterpret traditional, common genres and forms of cultural activity.

Contextual tasks of museum and theater projects cannot be accomplished without the formation and development of organizational, administrative, and production skills and competencies in their creators, that allow them to efficiently implement the projects, respond to requests and suggestions from the art team and establish inter-institutional cooperation and partnership.

The course presents forms and formats of museum and theater collaboration and allows participants to master their skills of implementing and producing the projects created at the intersection of theater and museum practices. The course facilitates development of competencies in the area of project management, logistics, timing, legal and financial issues, marketing in cultural activities, from the idea of museum and theater project to its implementation and promotion.

The course involves studying the experience of the world’s largest institutions as well as work with Russian curators and producers.