Ariane Müller & Martin Ebner: The Near Future, 2012
Re-imagining Utopia
[The Auroville Project]
Carolina Andreasson, Jessica Bjöhrn, Andrew Burton, August Bällgren, Christoph Draeger, Martin Ebner & Ariane Müller, Charlotte Hedberg, Swetlana Heger, Heidrun Holzfeind, Elka Krajewska & Gregor Neuerer, Tryggve Lundberg, Gazi Mrah, Klaus Weber und Olav Westphalen
&
From Without and From Within
[The Auroville Project]
Christoph Draeger and Heidrun Holzfeind
Kunstpavillon Innsbruck, Austria
September 7 – November 11
opening September 7, 7 pm
At last a place where one will be able to think of the future only.
(The Mother)
The alternative community Auroville was founded 1968 in Southeast India by French philosopher Mira Alfassa (The Mother).
[The Auroville Project] looks at how the utopian ideals of the community – no private property, no money, no rules, no religion – in short: divine anarchy, are lived today, almost 50 years later. It investigates how relationships between humans and nature, an ecological and sustainable lifestyle, spirituality and political ideals of self-development and collectivism can be re-imagined today.
Auroville is a social experiment dedicated to continuous education and research on human nature (the search of the inner being) that thrives for human unity through a state of higher consciousness. As one of the few alternative communes born in the 1960’s it does not only still exist, but is actually growing and thriving. Nevertheless the goal of building a city of 50,000 inhabitants in the form of a galactic spiral is far from being achieved after 50 years.
In 2018, Auroville will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. Although Auroville has a rich tradition of experimental architecture, and although Aurovilians keep emphasizing the importance of creative expression, it is still almost devoid of public or contemporary art. This spring Draeger and Holzfeind organized a workshop titled Re-imagining Utopia with students at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts to dream up possible interventions and proposals for public artworks in Auroville. For the [The Auroville Project] exhibition they furthermore asked artist friends and colleagues to contribute works to the Re-imagining Utopia show, that reflect on the idea of a utopian community in the 21st century.