Chocolate in Acrylic? Dealing with Contemporary Art

The aim of the project "Chocolate in Acrylic?" was to sensitise adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years of contemporary art and how to deal with it.

In the course of this project, which had as project sponsors the Society for Preservation and Conservation of World Cultural Heritage (= previous holder of the Hornemann Institute) and the Faculty Preservation of Cultural Heritage of the HAWK, in cooperation with the Hildesheim grammar schools Himmelsthür and Andreanum, the pupils went to artist’s studios and museums in the region and spoke to contemporary artists as well as to conservators of the Faculty of Preservation of Cultural Heritage, which seek the preservation of contemporary art, an art that often works with perishable materials.

In small groups, and closely supervised by teachers, lecturers and tutors of the faculty, the pupils worked on a pictorial documentation of an art work or worked out an interview with an artist.
After introductions to the content at the Faculty Preservation of Cultural Heritage of the HAWK and at the schools the pupils attended artists from the region of Hildesheim in their studios and workshops to see how they live and to experience more about their approach and views about art. "Art is more than painting," explained the girls in the ninth grade of the grammar school Himmelsthür. Under the guidance of their teacher they have been experimenting with photography in the HAWK-photo lab, completed an interview-training, made art works themselves and, of course, also attended artists.

The success of this project became apparent in the final presentation on 21 June 2011 in which the project results were presented.

Around 20 pupils showed what they have learned and achieved. Besides the view of the art works the bright eyes and words of the pupils gave proof  that they have made a very special and unique experience.

One of the artists was the sculptor and metal designer Jan Obornik. He said: "I'm pleasantly surprised. The pupils have visited me in my studio and were perfectly prepared. The interview impressed by perky, well-researched and thoughtful questions. An extensive knowledge of art has formed the foundation for it. The resulting film has turned out great. So I can only stress how glad I am of having been part of this project."

Furthermore the following artists took part in the project:

• Roland Bauer, Hildesheim
• Hans-Werner Kalkmann, Bad Salzdetfurth/Bodenburg
• Hannes Neubauer, Hildesheim
• Gernot Schindowski, Dresden
• Timm Ulrichs, Hannover
• Gerd Winner, Liebenburg

The project was financially sponsored by the Sparkasse Hildesheim.

Programme (in German 850 KB)

Poster ( 240 KB)