Pandemic meets climate change: hybrid exhibition "Critical Zones" at the ZKM
Cover picture: Frédérique Aït-Touati, Alexandra Arènes, Axelle Grégoire I ZKM
Just how fragile the interplay between society and the environment is was demonstrated to people in two ways at the ZKM I Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe in spring 2020. The exhibition “Critical Zones – Horizons of a New Earth Policy” on the effects of climate change on the Earth had been planned there for a long time. Due to the corona pandemic, the exhibition then had to be completely redesigned within a few days.
On On May 23, the livestream of the opening festival marked the launch of the digital version with a wealth of information on the background to the exhibition. Since July 24, the installations in the Media Museum can also be viewed in person in compliance with the hygiene regulations to contain the pandemic.
30,000 spectators at the virtual opening
Daria Mille from the curation team was more than satisfied with the positive response to the exhibition opening with around 30,000 visitors from all over the world. “With the best will in the world, we didn’t expect so many people,” says Mille. What’s more, people asked a lot of questions about the exhibition content online and got involved in virtual discussions. “We received feedback that, despite the screens, there was a sense of connection,” says Mille. “That was also something completely new for us.”
The opening date of the digital show was on the back burner for a long time. When the coronavirus pandemic broke out in March, the construction of the first installations had just begun. “It was immediately clear to us that we had to make quick decisions and reorganize ourselves,” reports Mille. Although the concept for the digital exhibition was quickly put into practice, the “Critical Zones” were constantly developed further. “We are in an experiment that transforms a local exhibition into a non-local event field in real and virtual space,” says Mille.
Hybrid formats have become an integral part of the art world
Mille already sees the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity for the art world.
“Hybrid formats have become an integral part of our program and are already our new normal today,” says the curator.
The audience figures for the streaming festival at the opening could never have been achieved with a purely physical opening. “Thanks to the digital formats, we are now also reaching people who, for various reasons, will never visit the ZKM physically,” emphasizes Mille. With its extensive experience in the multimedia presentation of art forms, the ZKM must set new standards in this direction in the coming years. According to Mille, the fact that the “Critical Zones” exhibition has not been postponed to an uncertain future or quietly redesigned has to do with the high social relevance of the topic. “The coronavirus pandemic coincides with the global ecological crisis,” says Mille. “This shows us the multi-layered dependencies of the current situation.”
Critical zone between groundwater and treetops
The “Critical Zones” exhibition focuses on the current state of the 30-kilometre-thin layer between the earth’s surface and outer space, which is fundamental to life. Around 40 large installations and almost 300 exhibits from the worlds of art and science are on display. The close link between art and science is one of the special features of the exhibition. The aim is to make visitors aware of the direct impact of human activity on their environment. How people can become observers of their own actions becomes clear as soon as they enter the atrium. A model of the Strengbach open-air observatory is set up there. Since the 1980s, data on the state of the “critical zone” between the treetops and groundwater has been collected in the Vosges and the effects of modern society on the climate have been investigated.