Kinship in Solitude

Against the backdrop of changing conditions for artistic production and gainful employment, for processes of individualization and collectivization, for immaterial and cognitive labor, and for other network (infra)structures, the Artists Unlimited Artists and Residency Initiative is publishing a two-volume work.
One volume explores the concept of solidarity in art (and its intersections with economics, science, and politics) as a central focus of inquiry. The changing nature of a specific (urban) reality and a general social context—within which the association and its members also operate—serve as points of reference for a fresh approach to the seemingly outdated concept of solidarity. The focus is on various interactions between social shifts on the one hand, and the self-perception of collective work and life practices, the creation of something new, or challenging ways of thinking about (as yet unknown) solidarity on the other.

With contributions by Jochen Becker, Paul Buckermann, Nanna Heidenreich, Peter Hermans, Rahel Jaeggi, Anna Jehle, Alexander Koch, Ana Teixeira Pinto, Arkadiusz Półtorak, and Marcus Steinweg.

The book is accompanied by an artists’ publication. Seven current members of Artists Unlimited are working with an unprocessed, eclectic archive of everyday life spanning over thirty years (1985–2017) and containing more than 25,000 photographs. The images, which give rise to countless narratives about the Artists Unlimited universe, were taken by artist and founding member Klaus-Dieter Braun, who remains active in the association to this day.

With contributions by Rebecca Butzlaff, Christine Gensheimer, Angelika Höger, Timo Katz, Lotte Reimann, Lars Rosenbohm, and Tim Sürken.

This publication is made possible with the kind support of the Kunststiftung NRW.