Kathrin Böhm (born 1969) is an
artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
who is operating in and outside of the art world.
Her work is defined by collaborations and the co-production of culture and change within everyday situations, such as businesses, villages or urban neighbourhoods.
Böhm's understanding of culture is rooted within the concept of 'Cultural Democracy', and she practices art as a particular form of cultural production, which is important but not special.
Since the mid-nineties, Böhm has expanded the terms of socially engaged practice, in which she co-produces complex organisational, spatial, visual and economic forms. Böhm works internationally, including teaching and publishing, and contributes as a researcher to the wider topics of 'New Economy', 'Usership of Art' and the 'Production of Public Space'.
Her exhibition 'Compost' at
The Showroom in London in 2021 marked a significant shift. Böhm stopped starting new projects and instead composted her work to date, to make fertiliser for evolving long term infrastructures such as
Company Drinks, The Centre for Plausible Economies, and
Myvillages’ Rural School of Economics.
Böhm holds a professorship for Art within Corporate Context at
Alanus University in Alfter since 2022. She is a member of the Community Economies Institute and the Community Economies Research Network.
Training
Böhm first studied Painting and Art Pedagogy at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg
The Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg () was founded in 1662 by Jacob von Sandrart and is the oldest art academy in German-speaking Central Europe.
The art academy is situated in Nuremberg.
Classes include studies in fine arts, sculpture, visual ...
from 1990 to 1995, and later did a part-time MA in Fine Art at
Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...
in London between 1996 and 1997.
Co-Founder Collectives and Organisations
Kathrin is the founder and co-founder of numerous collectives and organisations:
* international and trans-local artist collective
Myvillages (2002, ongoing)
* women-led UNO INO business consultancy co-operative (2021, ongoing)
* London based arts enterpris
Company Drinks(2014, ongoing)
* Artist initiativ
Keep it Complex - Make it Clear(2016–21)
* Centre for Plausible Economies together with Kuba Szreder (2018, ongoing)
* art and architecture collective Public Works (2003 – 2012).
Early collaborations
Collaborative projects within the university environment include 'Galeria Quattro Stazione', and 'One Night Pub' with Lisa Cheung. Co-curated exhibitions include 'The longer the better' (Jelängerjelieber) (1995) at Kunstbunker Nürnberg and 'Nice to meet you' (1998) together with Gavin Wade. Collaborative on-site work within an exhibition context was explored during 'Happy Hobby' at Tabot Gallery (1998) and 'Pic Nics' at
Camden Arts Centre
Camden Art Centre (known as Hampstead Arts Centre until 1967 and Camden Arts Centre until 2020) is a contemporary art gallery in the London Borough of Camden, England. It hosts temporary exhibitions and educational outreach projects, with a prog ...
(1999), both with Stefan Saffer.
Public Works and Myvillages
Böhm's long term involvement with the art and architecture collective Public Works started in 1999 through a collaborative public art commission together with Stefan Saffer and
Andreas Lang. She is a founding member of the group.
Public Works is a shared space and practice for researching, discussing and implementing art in relation to everyday
public space
A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, su ...
. Public Works was set up as a truly inter-disciplinary practice, in which both professional fields, art and architecture, are allowed to explore the autonomous and the applied through collaboration. The focus of Public Works is the urban public realm and its participatory development in the context of self-initiatives and formal regeneration programs. Important projects developed during Böhm's thirteen years of practice include Mobile Porch, a roaming mini-architecture for urban neighbourhoods, Park Products for the
Serpentine Gallery
The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Westminster, Greater London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Galler ...
and
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde Pa ...
and most recently Colchester Inn, a multi-authored new public space for firstside's adjacent city square.
Böhm is also a founding member of the artist group Myvillages, together with
Wapke Feenstra (NL) and
Antje Schiffers (Ger). Myvillages.org started in 2003 after extensive conversation between the three artists on the predominance of the urban in
contemporary art
Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
and the role of the rural as a space for and of cultural production.
Myvillages’ activities encompass a broad range of projects, amongst them the ongoing 'our villages' series, the 'Eco Nomadic School', the 'Vorratskammer (Pantry)' project and the 'International Village Shop'.
Key projects
andmillionsandmillions
(2001-2021)
An expanding collection of posters and prints used for public large-scale cut-and-paste installations.
Park Products
(public works, 2003-2004)
Commissioned by Sally Tallant for
The Serpentine Galleries in
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde Pa ...
, London.
Folk Float
(public works, 2007)
A Creative Egremont initiative curated by
Grizedale Arts and
Karen Guthrie.
Folkestonomy
(public works, 2008)
Commissioned by Andrea Schlieker for the
Folkestone Triennial.
International Village Shop
(Myvillages, 2006 - ongoing)
The shop is now run by Myvillages, and was initially set up with public funding for
Grizedale Arts’ 'Agrifashionsita TV' at the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
in London.
Trade Show
(2012)
Co-curated with Gavin Wade for Eastside Projects Birmingham and R-urban, Paris.
Eco Nomadic School
(2012–18)
A self-organised school for trans-local mutual learning.
Haystacks Series
(2014, ongoing)
City based events to address local rural practices.
Company Drinks
(2014 – ongoing)
A space for making community by making drinks together, based in the Greater London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
Culture is a Verb
(2017-2020)
The design of the public areas of Mansion of the Futures, Lincoln, UK.
Re-drawing the Economy
(2018)
A hands-on research project to visualise diverse economies and their transformative potential.
The Interdependence
(2019, ongoing)
A multi-local economic identifier, within the context of the Communities Economies Network.
Rural School of Economics
(Myvillages, 2020, ongoing)
A trans-local space for learning from and about women-led economies and the non-human.
Publications
* Böhm, K., Szreder, K. (2020) Icebergian Economies of Contemporary Art. Pyrammmida: London
* Böhm, K. , Feenstra, W. (editors) (2019) The Rural. Documents of Contemporary Art. Whitechapel Gallery and MIT Press: London und Cambridge (US)
* Böhm, K., James, T., Petresu, D. (2017). Learn To Act. Introducing the Eco Nomadic School. Peprav: Paris.
* Böhm, K., Feenstra, W., Schiffers, A. (2016). International Village Show. Alle Dörfer an einem Ort. Zusammen mit der
Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig. Jovis: Berlin
* Böhm, K. (2016) Trade as Public Real, Economy as Public Space. Trade Test Site: Copenhagen
* Böhm, K., Pope, M. (2015). Company: Movements, Deals and Drinks. Jap Sam Books: Prinsenbeek
* Böhm, K. (2009) Who is Building What? CADRE Research Centre, University of Wolverhampton: Wolverhampton
* Wilson, M., ONeill, P. (2022) Art on the scale of life. Coproduced with The Showroom London.Sternberg Press: Berlin/London
External links
Official website
www.andmillionsandmillions.net
Project Websites
www.compost.kathrinboehm.infowww.myvillages.orgwww.ruralschoolofeconomics.info
www.companydrinks.info
www.keepitcomplex.euwww.internationalvillageshow.myvillages.org
www.trade-show.infowww.h-a-y-s-t-a-c-k-s.net
www.internationalvillageshop.net
www.vorratskammer.myvillages.org
www.folkestonomy.net
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohm, Kathrin
People from Bamberg
German contemporary artists
1969 births
Living people