Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
| Established | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Location | Karlsruhe, Germany |
| Director | Peter Weibel |
| Website | www.zkm.de |
Founded in 1989, the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe is a cultural institution which, since 1997, has been located in a historical industrial building in Karlsruhe, Germany that formerly housed a munitions factory. The ZKM organizes special exhibitions and thematic events, carries out research projects, produces works in the field of new media and offers public as well as individualized communications and educational programs.
The ZKM houses under one roof two museums, three research institutes as well as a media center; in this way it groups research and production, exhibitions and events, archives and collections. It works on the interface of art and science, and takes up cutting-edge insights in media technologies with the objective of developing them further. Since the death of founding director Heinrich Klotz (1935-1999), the ZKM has been directed by Prof. Peter Weibel. In addition to the ZKM, the associated Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, as well as the Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe [Municipal Gallery Karlsruhe] are likewise housed in the former munitions factory.
The founding of the Center for Art and Media goes back to the early 1980s. In the context of an ever expanding media landscape, and in conjunction with a transformation of the art world, representatives from local government, the University of Karlsruhe, the University of Music Karlsruhe, the Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe [Center for Nuclear Research Karlsruhe] and other institutes, as well as organizations and representatives of the Karlsruhe art scene formed the “Projektgruppe ZKM” [ZKM Project Group] in 1986. In February 1988 the Projektgruppe ZKM presented the content of their work as “Konzept 88” [Concept ‘88], in which the initiative for the fusion of the arts and the new media was outlined in both theory and practice.
With the founding of a board of trustees in 1989, and the appointment of Heinrich Klotz as founding director, the realization of the ZKM became concrete. Three dates mark the ZKM’s foundation: the resolution by the local council dated May 9, 1989, the decision by the Council of Ministers of the State of Baden-Württemberg dated June 3, 1989, and the constitution of the board of trustees with effect from August 12, 1989. When initially founded, the ZKM was located in various buildings around the city. Prior to the move to its present location, the media art festival MultiMediale (MultiMediale 1-5, 1989-1997) took place at various sites.
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