The video collection of the Kunstmuseum is reckoned as being among the most important of its kind in Germany. This applies in particular to the film and video art of the 1960s and 70s, which is represented in Bonn in superb quality and quantity. This is not lastly due to the Cologne gallery owner and patron of the arts Ingrid Oppenheim, who willed to the Kunstmuseum nearly 400 works by pioneers of video art, tapes by Joan Jonas, Alan Kaprow, Dennis Oppenheim, Peter Campus, Les Levine, Klaus vom Bruch, Marcel Odenbach, and Ulrike Rosenbach.
These and further works of video art have been presented in the Odeon Installation since 2006, an architectonic sculpture that takes hold of space, and yet may be entered at the same time, by the Munich artist Stefan Eberstadt. The visitor has two service terminals at his disposal, where he can call up DVDs and watch them on a screen.
The Videonale is one of Germany’s, and indeed Europe’s, oldest and most famous festivals for video art. Since 2004, the Videonale e.V. has maintained its permanent location at the Kunstmuseum Bonn. Here is also where the Videonale Festivals and the exhibitions of the Videonale take place.
As an established event in the area of contemporary video art Germany-wide, the Videonale enjoys great popularity with a regional and supra-regional public as well as students, artists, and specialists worldwide in the fields of video, film and media.
Once a month the Videonale e.V. organizes a lecture evening called Elektronenströme (electron currents), where art historians and representatives of video art institutions discuss current themes of video art, focus on developments in particular countries, and where video artists introduce their standpoints. In this way, the Elektronenströme keep the discussions going during the time between the Videonales.
More information at: www.videonale.org
