Art Space Vision – 3 Days of Inspiration in Upper Franconia The Friedrich Baur Foundation presents a festival of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. The Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, with support from the Friedrich Baur Foundation, is curating a festival weekend in Upper Franconia from September 26-28, 2025. Under the title "Art Space Vision – 3 Days of Inspiration in Upper Franconia," special locations in the region in Lichtenfels, Bamberg, and Lichtenberg will be presented and performed.
The event series opens on Friday, September 26, at the Archive of the Future in Lichtenfels. The building, which impresses with its unusual architecture, combines contemporary architecture with Lichtenfels's tradition of basket weaving. Architect Peter Haimerl, one of the festival's initiators along with Salome Kammer and Axel Tangerding, conceived the idea for the delicate glass pavilion, which is vaulted by two steel willow trees. In addition to a network of cheerful house stories and songs developed specifically for the Archive of the Future by Rolf-Bernhard Essig and Franz Tröger, the artist Susi Gelb, among others, will present a multimedia installation in the interior and the exterior space of the modern cultural center, which opens onto the market square. The installation will be activated by a performance with dancer and choreographer Edith Buttingsrud-Pedersen and will conclude with a live act by Gudrun Gut.
Program
2:00 p.m.: Welcome by Mayor Andreas Hügerich and Managing Director Stefan Mehl
2:30 p.m.: Guided tour by architect Peter Haimerl
3:00 p.m.: Urban planning visions by architect Paul Eis
4:00 p.m.: Living archaeology by Rolf-Bernhard Essig
5:00 p.m.: Artist talk with Susi Gelb and Nir Altman
8:00 p.m.: Future archaeology through a video and light installation by Susi Gelb
8:30 p.m.: Dance performance by Edith Buttingsrud Pedersen, Berlin
until 11:00 p.m. Gudrun Gut, LIVE
On Saturday, September 27, 2025, the festival will take place at three locations in Bamberg that are undergoing transformation and are now open to the public – largely thanks to civic engagement. The event will begin on the former Lagarde barracks site, which is currently being developed into a mixed-use urban district and will also be used for cultural purposes. Actress and musician Jelena Kuljic and drummer Oliver Steidle will perform their concert "Wallungen," a fascinating blend of text, electronic music, and improvisation. The event will then continue in the Kesselhaus, a former industrial building that, after decades of vacancy, has been revitalized by dedicated cultural professionals. In addition to a guided tour, visitors can expect a dance performance by the ensemble Circle Humana. In the evening, the St. Johannis Chapel, which has been renovated for use as a cultural space, will host a performance of Rilke's Duino Elegies with Franziska Walser and Edgar Selge.
The third and final day of the festival, Sunday, September 28, 2025, will take place at Haus Marteau in Lichtenberg. Since 1982, the former villa of violinist Henri Marteau has been an international music meeting place. Its spectacular underground concert hall, opening in 2021, offers excellent acoustics and the ideal atmosphere for a concert with the vocal ensemble THE PRESENT. Beforehand, however, poet Nora Gomringer and percussionist Günter Baby Sommer will be performing in a dialogue. Detailed information on the festival program can be found at www.badsk.de and at the respective venues. The printed program can be requested from the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts by calling +49 89 2900770 or emailing info@badsk.de.