5. UrbanArt! Biennale 2019

Fousion Gallery proudly announces that we present an impressive selection of artworks at the upcoming 5. URBANART! Biennale in Völklinger Hütte, World Heritage Site’s – UrbanArt Biennale^® Germany. Alongside many international artists, Fousion Gallery is happy to show master pieces of three represented artists at this special occasion.

Artists

• Miss Van
• Will Barras
• SheOne

Fifth UrbanArt Biennale^®2019 Unlimited

Urban art is the art of the twenty-first century. Every two years, the Völklinger Hütte World Heritage Site’s UrbanArt Biennale^® showcases the most recent developments and trends in international urban art. It is the largest urban art project in the world. There have been four UrbanArt Biennales since 2011, and together they have presented the world’s two hundred leading urban artists, including Jef Aérosol, Banksy, Blek le Rat, Cope2, Shepard Fairey, Os Gêmeos, Swoon and Vhils. More than 400,000 people have visited the biennales. The large Burden Hall, an ore silo built in the early twentieth century, forms the centre of the Fifth UrbanArt Biennale® 2019 Unlimited. Numerous international urban artists have created site-specific installations that will be displayed across 100,000 square metres of exhibition space.

From Sunday, 14 April 2019, the Fifth UrbanArt Biennale^® 2019 Unlimited will provide an up-to-date overview of the international urban art scene. This year, the Völklinger Hütte World Heritage Site will offer an interdisciplinary programme, with the biennale including dance performances as well as art projects. In addition, the Fifth UrbanArt Biennale^® 2019 Unlimited will see the launch of several new collaborations and projects with partners outside the Völklinger Hütte World Heritage Site. Artists exhibited in the Fifth UrbanArt Biennale^® 2019 Unlimited at the Völklinger Hütte World Heritage Site include Cope2, Dran, Frau Isa, JonOne, Katre, Mambo, Mentalgassi, MonkeyBird, Pøbel, Pejac, Aya Tarek and Tilt as well as Osmosis Cie, a dance company based in Forbach, France, led by the dancer Ali Salmi. Other partners include Paris’s most recent urban art project, Fluctuart, which is located in a floating exhibition hall on the banks of the Seine; the urban art museum Mausa Vauban, which is located in the Fortifications of Vauban, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Neuf-Brisach, Alsace; Le Mur in Paris; and The Haus in Berlin. In addition, partner projects accompanying the Fifth UrbanArt Biennale^® 2019 Unlimited will take place in the town of Völklingen and in the European Archaeological Park of Bliesbruck-Reinheim.

The term “urban art” refers to abstract works of art rooted in graffiti writing and ranging from the “Walls of Freedom” of the Egyptian Revolution to Shepard Fairey’s “Change” campaign for Barack Obama. Urban art also includes works on canvas, wood or paper, pop art in a stencil graffiti style, commercial projects and interventions in urban spaces by artists such as Vermibus. It is difficult to think of a twenty-first-century art movement that is as multifaceted as urban art. The Völklinger Hütte World Heritage Site has been giving this art a forum since 2011, showcasing the many facets of an art form that shifts with ease between underground tunnels, large walls and museums.

In showcasing global urban art from all continents, the UrbanArt Biennale^®at the Völklinger Hütte World Heritage Site makes a conscious effort to go beyond the European-American perspective. After all, urban art is an international phenomenon that can be inspired by comic culture as much as by the Arabic calligraphy tradition. The biennale’s location at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte is a special one. Once a site of work and everyday culture, Völklinger Hütte was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and today hosts major exhibitions. As such, it is as hybrid as urban art itself and therefore offers this art form a congenial home.

Opening Reception

14th of April 2019, 3 pm, Völklinger Hütte – Germany