Mike Litt in conversation with Alain Bieber

How's it going, Düsseldorf?

Our podcast "All Rhine" for culture in times of Corona. What Mike Litt wants to know: How did the talk guests perceive the surreal times? What has changed for you? What projects are they working on now?
In Episode 28, Mike talks to Alain Bieber, Director and CEO of the NRW Forum and the brains behind the AR Biennale.

Alain Bieber has turned many urban themes into exhibitions in Düsseldorf - from world heritage pizza to allotment gardens (with Martin Parr) to outdoor swimming pools. What he loves most, however, are digital themes. As artistic director of the NRW-Forum, he has been using visionary exhibitions since 2015 to bring the city of Düsseldorf more and more into the focus of an international audience that is as interested as he is in new ways of doing art.

In the Ehrenhof and Hofgarten, for example, new sculptures by 19 international artists can now be seen in the open air, directly docked to the Museumsquartier consisting of the Kunstpalast and NRW-Forum: in a digital way, as part of the new AR Biennale.

Bieber has found the perfect backdrop for the fascinating technology in Düsseldorf. This is how Art Walk works today. It's an exciting exhibition of several with which Alain Bieber and his team are setting the tone for AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality).

In this episode of "Alle Rhein!", Alain Bieber also already gives an exciting preview of one of the biggest exhibitions on electronic music: "Electro. From Kraftwerk to Techno." The music exhibition starts from December 9, 2021 at the Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf. Kraftwerk founding member Ralf Hütter is collaborating on this show, which will have an impact far beyond the city and state borders.

In this episode, he tells Mike Litt why Alain Bieber by no means sees his special projects as competing with classical and modern art, and what goals he still has.

Our host

Mike Litt was born in the US state of Virginia and lived in Bochum for many years. The globetrotter usually works in Cologne but lives with his family in the beautiful Düsseltal district of Düsseldorf. He is a radio presenter (1Live, WDR 2, DLF Nova), a DJ with Mayday festival experience and an author (‘The loneliest DJ in the world’). For our podcast, he holds fascinating conversations with other people from Düsseldorf’s cultural scene.

Photos
Cover: © Photo: Katja Illner
Mike Litt: © [email protected]
Music / Sound: Christian Moster / Mike Litt