grace is a matter of currents
Festival
The exhibition grace is a matter of currents brings together washed-up objects: an artistic exploration of items found on the shore, on rocks, fished from the waves, or collected along the tideline. A panorama of wonder across different artistic disciplines, set within the broader societal discourse on climate change.
Inka Dewitz (GER)
Andrea Guterres (GER)
Esther Kinsky (GER)
Annegret Mayer-Lindenberg (GER)
Ines Meier (GER)
Miek Zwamborn (UK)
Curated by Martin Bruch and Dr. Katharina Knüppel, with special thanks to Olivia Franke
Structured like a narrative, the exhibition unfolds in three chapters based on natural materials: algae, driftwood, and slate. It takes visitors on a journey across three Nordic islands and through different layers of time. Older than humanity itself, these elements carry ancient knowledge, telling stories of fluctuating ocean oxygen levels, shifting currents, and sediment composition.
A graceful library bridging the boundaries between nature and culture, knowledge and imagination, awaits visitors in the entrance area of the Neues Kunsthaus. The festival also features readings, discussions, workshops, dance performances, and a film matinée, offering inspiring encounters with art and literature.
Art and Literature Festival – Opening Weekend
9–11 September 2022
9 September
5 PM Festival
grace is a matter of currents – with music, film, poetry, and conversation
6:30 PM Seabirds Calling – Dance performance
with Anne Retzlaff, Eve Missio, Yujin Jeong
Three dancers emerge in the landscape. Entwined in colorful structures, they explore, as a 30-minute moving sculpture, the impact of plastic pollution on marine life. This site-specific trio originated from choreographer Anne Retzlaff’s in-depth research on the threat posed to seabirds by macroplastics. After premiering on Helgoland in August 2022, the Berlin-based production travels to Ahrenshoop for two days in September.
Artistic direction: Anne Retzlaff
Production & dramaturgy: Hannes Raphael
Dance: Eve Missio, Yujin Jeong, Anne Retzlaff
Costume: Belinda Isabel Masur
Assistant: Karolina Linge
Scientific consultation: Dr. Kai Borkenhagen
7 PM 2022 Art Prize Award Ceremony
Presented by NEUE KUNST HAT FREUNDE
10 September
10 AM Algae Hour – Short reading and drawing workshop on the beach
with Miek Zwamborn
The Dutch author and visual artist invites participants to explore the local algae flora. Following a short reading from her book Algae, part of the Naturkunden series (Matthes & Seitz, 2019), she will lead drawing experiments using Scottish seaweed and sea kale.
Location: Beach access 12 (Tourist Office)
11:30 AM Seabirds Calling – Dance performance
with Anne Retzlaff, Eve Missio, Yujin Jeong
Three dancers emerge in the landscape. Entwined in colorful structures, they explore, as a 30-minute moving sculpture, the impact of plastic pollution on marine life. This site-specific trio originated from choreographer Anne Retzlaff’s in-depth research on the threat posed to seabirds by macroplastics. After premiering on Helgoland in August 2022, the Berlin-based production travels to Ahrenshoop for two days in September.
Artistic direction: Anne Retzlaff
Production & dramaturgy: Hannes Raphael
Dance: Eve Missio, Yujin Jeong, Anne Retzlaff
Costume: Belinda Isabel Masur
Assistant: Karolina Linge
Scientific consultation: Dr. Kai Borkenhagen
Meeting point: Neues Kunsthaus Ahrenshoop
Admission: Free
2 PM Unruly Reeds and Regulated Dunes – Literary walking tour
with Tobias Reußwig, Berit Glanz, Slata Roschal, Dirk Uwe Hansen, Christoph Georg Rohrbach
Curated and moderated by Tobias Reußwig, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Literature Prize winner (2020), this literary walk leads along Ahrenshoop’s coastal paths and extends poetically along the entire Baltic coastline—a journey where places and times, languages and verses merge.
Start and end: Neues Kunsthaus Ahrenshoop
6 PM Jan Wagner – Grace is a Matter of Currents – Reading and conversation
with Martin Bruch and Dr. Katharina Knüppel
The title of the exhibition comes from Jan Wagner’s poem tang, featured in his collection Die Live Butterfly Show (Hanser Berlin, 2018). In conversation with the curators, the poet will discuss inspiring finds from nature and literature and read from his extensive body of work. For his poetic artistry, which sharpens our perception of nature and history, he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 2017.
11 September
11 AM Iceland’s Stranded Forests – Film matinée and discussion
with Inka Dewitz, Ines Meier, Annett Storm (Chair of the National Park Boddenlandschaft Association), and Wolf Wichmann (Geologist, Environmental Activist, Photographer)
Moderated by Olivia Franke
This documentary explores Iceland’s driftwood, its significance in Nordic creation myths, and its role as a vital resource for the island. Carried across the Arctic Ocean from Eurasia and North America, it traces the impact of climate change on its journey. Olivia Franke moderates a discussion between the filmmakers and environmental experts about this living archive and its connections to the local peninsula.
12:30 PM Festival Driftwood – A closing reflection
by Dr. Asmus Trautsch (Philosopher and Author)
Over the course of the opening weekend, Dr. Asmus Trautsch will observe and reflect on the festival. To conclude, he will gather found objects—both literal and metaphorical—from the exhibition and event program, drawing an essayistic arc from seabirds to driftwood with a broad outlook.
Additional Guided Tours and Events
17 September, 11 AM Curators’ tour through the exhibition
with Martin Bruch and Dr. Katharina Knüppel
24 September, 7 PM Marion Poschmann – Orders of Wilderness
Reading and Conversation with Dr. Simone Schröder
Following her bestselling novel The Pine Islands, Marion Poschmann's fifth poetry collection, Nimbus (Suhrkamp, 2020), explores the dark cloud—a phenomenon of grandeur, vastness, and momentum, yet belonging to the formless and intangible. In this conversation, the winner of the first German Prize for Nature Writing (2017) discusses her texts, which present the world to us as if we were seeing it for the first time, with Dr. Simone Schröder, an expert in nature writing and literary essays.
16 October, 4 PM Exhibition tour
with Olivia Franke
23 October, 1 PM Sea Monsters – Children's art workshop
with Nana Vossen (for families and children aged 6+)
Alle Informationen zum Besuch finden Sie hier.