PARTICIPATE IN THE NATIONWIDE ACTION: "INSIDE OUT - PUBLISH THE ERA" !
APRIL, 5TH 2024
Kiosk Day in Düsseldorf
Group Leader Sebastian Jung shares his reflections and process of creating an Action at "Büdchentag" (Kiosk-Day), by creating a unique photobooth backpack during a multicultural festival that honored the kiosk owners in Düsseldorf. He highlights the special impact it had on the community.
At the time when JR started his black-and-white photographs/paste-ups, I was maybe 15-16 years old and was trying to be a graffiti sprayer myself. Later I switched to stencils and I always had an eye on the field of street art. At that time the whole movement was still very young, and it offered a lot of exciting new things for me. I absorbed everything like a sponge. I have followed JR's work ever since and admire the great impact his projects have had on people all over the world. Twenty years later, I wrote to the Inside Out team to lead my own Action, inspired by their mobile Photobooth.
In December 2020, galleries and museums had to close in Germany because of the pandemic, which worried me a lot. Art is a basic need for me. So, I wanted to support artists and institutions by founding the first art delivery service: the MUSEUM EXPRESS. For this, I converted a classic delivery backpack, with a display area and a LED light. With this backpack, I was able to exhibit single works of art and deliver them to people's living rooms. Since then, I have made over 400 home visits and curated and delivered 23 different mini-exhibitions in cities such as Düsseldorf or Copenhagen.
In September 2022, due to an exhibition at the NRW Forum, the Inside Out Project Photobooth truck came to my hometown Düsseldorf. This is how I had the idea to incorporate the Inside Out Project into MUSEUM EXPRESS. My backpack itself becomes a photo booth, just everything one size smaller than the original concept. The participants put their heads into the backpack, which stands on a tripod, and then get their portrait taken in front of the original dotted background. A hidden printer, also located in the backpack, prints out small stickers with the portraits that were just taken.
A kiosk owner photographed with the Photobooth backpack.
After a conversation with the Inside Out Project team, it was clear to us that we wanted to work on the project together. In the summer of 2023, a prototype photo booth backpack was created, which can take portraits at any time, anywhere. Wherever my feet can carry me with the backpack, the Inside Out Project can take place. Once the prototype was completed, I was ready for my first Action.
Since 2016, the so-called "Büdchentag" (Kiosk-Day) has been held once a year in Düsseldorf. Freelance artists and the operators of around 40 kiosks participate in this decentralized and low-threshold city festival. Everyone is invited to participate and get involved. A kiosk serves as a social contact point in every neighborhood, a meeting place for neighbors of all ages, genders, origins and religions. Kiosk-Day provides a unique opportunity to celebrate the city, as well as the diversity of cultures and communities that make Düsseldorf so special. It is an open community festival with art performances, live music, food, drinks and gatherings.
My goal was to take portraits of all kiosk owners, who participated in the project on this day. This action was intended to address the question of who the people behind the sales counters are, and at the same time create space for discussion and exchange. The kiosk owners also had the opportunity to present themselves to their neighborhood in a new, more personal way.
Projection of the final portraits on Königsallee, Düsseldorf. (Photo by © F. Kiefer)
On August 12, 2023, I visited 19 kiosks during the "Büdchentag" (Kiosk-Day) and took a total of 34 portraits with the photo booth backpack. I was on my bike for almost 14 hours. At the end of the day, I projected the resulting portraits onto a house wall on the famous Königsallee in Düsseldorf.
The Action with the photo booth backpack was an incredibly emotional experience. It's great to see that this Action has inspired so many people and brought the community closer together. The Inside Out Project enabled us to present the kiosk owners in a new light in an impressive artistic way. When they saw themselves projected on the building facade in the end, there were many emotional reactions and hugs. For a day, kiosk owners were heroes, visible by everyone!
The photo booth backpack is now accessible to everyone who’s interested in this new concept. Feel free to contact the Inside Out Team for more information. Hopefully, I can repeat this experience with a different Action soon.