The group exhibition Granite and Gravity (18 September – 31 October 2027) explores connections between the deep bedrock beneath the Germany-Czech Republic-Poland border triangle and the universe.
In the future, gravitational waves – tiny distortions of spacetime that can be detected using highly sensitive detectors and provide insights into the most distant events in the cosmos – are to be measured within the region’s massive granite massif.
As part of the structural change following the phase-out of lignite mining, the German Center for Astrophysics (Deutsches Zentrum für Asrtophysic – DZA) is being established in Lusatia. New research infrastructures for astrophysics are being developed, including the Low Seismic Lab, which is to be built approximately 200 meters deep within the Lusatian granite massif.
The open call is open to professional artists working in all disciplines of contemporary art who live or work primarily in Germany, Poland, or the Czech Republic. Individual artists and collectives are welcome.
The project is seeking artistic projects in all media – including drawing, photography, sculpture, installation, video, sound, performance, painting, cross-media, and experimental formats. The exhibition welcomes existing works, concepts for new works to be created in time for the exhibition, as well as site-specific projects developed in Görlitz and/or in collaboration with the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA). The organisers can assist artists who wish to incorporate the DZA’s scientific context more deeply into their work by connecting them with researchers.
Pending grant approval, each selected artistic contribution will receive:
- 800 EUR artist’s fee
- A travel allowance of up to 80 EUR
- A flat-rate accommodation allowance of up to 200 EUR
- Transportation costs for artworks, subject to prior agreement
