The Creative Capital’s Streets: Showcasing German Artists’ Masterpieces

In December 2024, the streets of Hanoi played host to a unique exhibition as part of the Month of Arts Practice (MAP) 2024. Motorcycles rode through the city, adorned with posters created by artists from Bremen, Germany, showcasing their interpretations of the theme “movement.”

MAP 2024, led by Heritage Art Space in collaboration with the University of the Arts Bremen, is an initiative funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. This three-year project, titled “Pathways to Transformative Sustainability at Universities,” explores artistic perspectives on movement and mobility.

The posters, designed in Germany and then sent to Vietnam, were printed and mounted on motorcycles from December 14-20. The artists, including Felix Dreesen, Florian Witt, Jeroen Jacobs, Kayle Brandon, Siegfried Bank, Soobeen Woo, and Alexander Noah, presented their unique interpretations of movement through their work.

The exhibition aimed to document the movement of the posters through Hanoi’s public spaces, alleyways, and city corners. This journey will be captured in video and photography, becoming a part of the final exhibition of the MAP project, titled “Movement,” to be showcased in Berlin and Hanoi in 2025.

Heritage Space expands on the concept of mobility, going beyond physical movement to include the mobility of languages and thought formations. The Bremen artists, through their work, offer diverse interpretations of movement across different art forms and media.

A key question that the artists explore is, “What really moves?” While people in factories produce stationary goods, these goods are distributed globally. The collaboration with a delivery company adds an intriguing layer to the exhibition, highlighting the distributive nature of modern society and the impact of global commerce on human behavior.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, Artistic Director of Heritage Art Space and curator of MAP 2024, expresses his excitement about bringing artists’ ideas into the field of movement. The project raises thought-provoking questions about the mobility of not just people, vehicles, and goods, but also ideas and art exhibitions themselves, along with their presentation and public reception.

The posters, created by Bremen-based artists, build upon the experiments of 2023 while also introducing new reflections and ideas. Felix Dreesen’s photographic works capture movement in landscapes – underwater, on land, and in the air. Jeroen Jacobs uses old envelopes to symbolize communication and thought processes, while Florian Witt presents a conceptual game interweaving text, drawings, and maps.

MAP’s first year, themed “Alternative Mobility,” explored artists’ contemporary understanding of mobility. The second year, “Going Places, Moving Things,” focused specifically on movement, with the mobile posters on delivery motorcycles being a unique part of this year’s exhibition, along with the Artist Open Studio at Long Bien Art Space.

The motorcycles, with their artistic cargo, became a moving exhibition, engaging with the city of Hanoi and its residents. Photos: Hoang Nguyen/The Hanoi Times

The interplay between the posters, the moving vehicles, the urban landscapes, and the public’s reactions created a multi-layered narrative, a unique artistic vision that is MAP 2024.

The artists from Bremen brought their unique perspectives to the theme of movement, creating a diverse and captivating exhibition.

The posters, a result of German-Vietnamese artistic collaboration, added a vibrant touch to the streets of Hanoi.

MAP 2024, a celebration of art and movement, brought together artists from different cultures to create a unique dialogue through their work.

The connection between Hanoi and Bremen, cities 10,000 km apart, was beautifully captured in these images, a result of a one-day walking performance in Bremen.

Movement, portrayed through natural forces, tools, and muscular effort, became a powerful theme that united the artists’ diverse interpretations.

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