Bristol Hannover Council
PENvolution in Hannover
From Frank Titmarsh, Bristol-Hannover Council Committee
Following its 6 week stay at The Central Library in Bristol, the Pencil Mobile Room was opened to the public on Thursday 22nd January in the Städtische Galerie Kubus in Hannover, along with other ‘Analogue to Digital’ installations, from Hannover’s twin cities around the world. Lynne Evans and I went to Hannover to represent the committee at this unique event.
The first event of the week was the press conference at Galerie Kubus where local press, magazines and local radio were invited to see the exhibition and introduced to the artists from Hannover, Poznan, Blantyre, Rouen, Hiroshima and Bristol, as seen below.
For the evening we were invited with the artists to the home of Elsa Möller, the International Manager of atelier-dreieck, for a welcome party. Fabulous food and great company. We were asked to join in a practice for a flashmob dance which was to take place at the opening event. That evening gave us an opportunity to meet people from the Hannover’s other twin cities.
Wednesday morning we travelled with the group to Hannover’s Technical University, where we were given a tour round the Design and Media Faculty by the Dean, Professor Kopke. This department is based in one of the buildings used for the Expo in 2000. We were given information about each department, including media studios, fashion, bronze formations, wood machine workshops and a talk by a student about his final exam presentation. We were then given a well-received lunch at the end of the tour, before moving on to visit the editorial office of CT Digital Photography. Our host Dr Jürgen Rink gave us a tour of their studios, where they test various new lenses and cameras. We were then shown workshops, where they carry out projects and testing for their Make magazine. Both were very worthwhile and interesting visits.
After our adventurous day we enjoyed a wonderful supper with Helga Wawra and Wilhelm Knicker. It was wonderful to meet up with these stalwarts of the Hannover-Bristol Committee.
Thursday afternoon we joined the group for a guided tour of The Rathaus.
This was followed by the opening of the PENvolution exhibition, at the Galerie Kubus, where the artists from Hannover’s twin cities showcased their wonderful art. The theme of the exhibition is ‘Analogue to Digital’.
We had an amazing week with atelier-dreieck and thank them and our host Peter Johanssen for their hospitality.
Mayor Regine Kramarek speaking at the Opening Ceremony
Gabriele Ciecior, Head of Hannover City Council’s Cultural Office; Kerstin Schulz, PENvolution artist and creator; Janika Millan, responsible for twinnings at the Cultural Office
