The German artist Christian Jankowski aims to pair artists with local tradespeople and working professionals, such as police officers and dentists, as part of his curatorial plan for Manifesta 11 next year in Zurich (11 June-18 September). The roving European biennial, founded in 1993, will include 35 commissioned works under the title What People Do For Money: Some Joint Ventures.
Jankowski will link local workers with the participating artists who will “‘help themselves’ to various aspects of diverse trades, their processes and protagonists as artistic material,” the organisers say. “Jankowski’s curatorial concept is based on three principles which are central to his artistic investigations: collaborations, the inclusion of audience groups from outside the usual circles of art-loving public and the reflection of mass-media formats.”
The only artist confirmed is the US designer John Arnold who will collaborate with the Michelin-starred chef Fabian Spiquel on producing special dishes based on traditional Swiss recipes that will be available at snack bars. The new culinary creations will be called Imbissies.
One of the most striking venues will be the Pavilion of Reflections based on Lake Zurich near Bellevue. The floating platform, which will be constructed by students from the ETH Zurich university, incorporates a swimming pool and a screening area where visitors can view films documenting the production process behind certain works.
Other exhibition venues include the Löwenbräukunst-Areal culture complex—which incorporates the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, the LUMA Westbau/Pool institution and Kunsthalle Zürich—along with the Cabaret Voltaire, the historic home of the Dada movement.
“As with each edition of Manifesta, the respective host, in this case the city of Zurich, is responsible for the basic funding and drumming up support from public and private sponsors,” the organisers say.
