On Friday and Saturday, 2 and 3 June, the suppliers of arts and crafts as well as fine frames will open their doors in the heart of Bad Godesberg from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. each day. This will be the ninth event of its kind. There had been a pause during the pandemic. "Visitors are invited to get an overview of the diversity of art on offer in Godesberg," said Jürgen Laue, chairman of the local art association. All seven locations would then be within walking distance, he added.

Already in 2022, when the group organised the "Night of the Galleries" again after a two-year break from Corona, around 400 people had made the journey, recalled Franz Schön, owner of the gallery of the same name. "We want to reach them again." The others nodded.

Inhibition threshold for visiting the gallery is lower

Irmgard Hofmann from Galerie 62 said that they like to address their regular audience in the neighbourhood, but also people interested in art who come to Godesberg especially. "This leads to nice conversations and contacts." On the other hand, Hofmann's partner Harald Gesterkamp added, guests who otherwise felt inhibited also dared to come to the galleries on the evenings.

"Yes, I can welcome visitors at the events who I otherwise don't see all year round," confirmed Stefan Moll from the Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst (Cabinet for Contemporary Art) of the same name, where otherwise mostly younger interested people drop in. And the other galleries also have more younger art lovers than usual in their houses on the evenings, said Portsteffen.

She is particularly looking forward to the group of UN staff who come to Godesberg especially for the gallery nights. Doris Scheuermann from the studio of the same name emphasised that the project creates an interesting dialogue between the artists present, the guests and the galleries working together in the group.

As district mayor, but also as representative of the participating municipal building at the Redoute, he was pleased that the galleries were again opening their doors together, said Christoph Jansen. "This is and remains a star in the sky of Godesberg's cultural formats. It's good that we have you on site.“

Praise from the district mayor

Jansen said that it was particularly commendable that the organisers organised the evenings independently, that the independent arts scene was thus providing a voluntary service for the location. You can see that: Bonn is by no means only a Beethoven city. "Yes, we don't get any money for our commitment, and we provide the district with its artistic zingers," Portsteffen put it succinctly.

After the pandemic, her gallery was in a better economic position because people were buying art and handicrafts again, said the "Craftkontor" director. Since the beginning of the year, however, she has felt that people are saving more as a result of the energy crisis.

However, this does not affect those gallery owners who are not dependent on commercial success, Scheuermann added. "Our exhibitions continue to be well attended." Now they hope that the now ninth "Night of the Galleries" will once again generate a new boost of attention in the district, they all summed up. "The two evenings will certainly be exhausting again, but wonderful."

Exhibitions

Here's what's on show in the galleries on Friday and Saturday, 2 and 3 June, from 6pm to 11pm:

Atelier Scheuermann, Schwertberger Straße 13: As part of "zeichnung_04", works by Ludger Brauckhoff, Anne Cichos, Darja Eßer, Frieder Falk, Melanie Grocki, Harald Kröner, Annie Krüger, Harald Priem, Ulrike von Quast, Doris Scheuermann, Marina Skepner and Cesa Wendt are on display.

Craftkontor, Koblenzerstraße 35, exhibits Raku ceramics fired according to a special Japanese technique by Martin Mindermann, abstract head sculptures forged in steel by Norbert Paß and artistic mobiles by Annette Rawe.

Galerie Schön, Löbestraße 1, shows "Art without Borders" from the 19th to the 21st century, works by international and local artists, drawings, prints, multiples, unique works on paper and on canvas.

Gallery 62, Germanenstraße 62, sets a "sign against discrimination", against racism and homophobia with "Try to be Mensch". The large-format paintings by Bonn artist Cheryl McIntosh and Cologne artist Georg Schnitzler focus on people.

Haus an der Redoute, Kurfürstenallee 1a, shows surreal paintings and sculptures by the Godesberg-born artist Hans Driever, who had to go into hiding from the Nazis, under the title "Fled, Hidden and Survived".

Kunstkabinett Stefan Moll, Friesdorfer Straße. 100, presents "Silly Fast Food Symphonies", works by the Bonn street artist Dropix, who deals with the promises and adversities of fast food in a humorous, critical but also touching way.

Kunstverein Bad Godesberg, Glaskarree, Burgstraße. 85, shows "Traumorte - Sehnsuchtsorte" (Dream Places - Places of Longing) by several artists, i.e. paintings, photographs, objects and ceramics created during the Corona period with its seemingly endless lockdowns and restrictions.

Contact via the homepage: www.nacht-der-galerien.de

(Original text: Ebba Hagenberg-Miliu; Translation: Mareike Graepel)