Marina Abramović

For the winter semester 2022/23, the Folkwang University of the Arts has established the new Pina Bausch Professorship with funding from the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia - named after the world-famous Folkwang alumna Pina Bausch and in collaboration with the Pina Bausch Foundation. The Pina Bausch Professorship creates the opportunity to appoint internationally outstanding artists from all disciplines as guest professors at the Folkwang University of the Arts for one year at a time. Here they can develop new ways of working together with the students and implement thinking and research that transcends all boundaries. The work of the first professorship will be further supported by financial sponsorship from the Kunststiftung NRW. At the start of the new professorship, the internationally renowned performance artist Marina Abramović (*1946) has been invited as the first guest professor.

In four workshop phases of the Free Interdisciplinary Performance Lab, Marina Abramović has been working on a live exhibition with international students from all Folkwang disciplines since winter semester 22/23. At the end of the second phase of work, the artist decided that the presentation will be shown in the Museum Folkwang as part of a “Long Durational Performance” scheduled for nine days. The focus will be on focus, perseverance and concentration of the 26 young artists involved – including singers, dancers, photographers, actors, directors and composers aged between 17 and 39.