In a backyard on Frederiksberg you will find one of the capital's newest, non-traditional exhibition spaces: a bunker that has lain unused since World War II.
Here in the unconventional, underground space, whose dome-shaped architecture adds up to 360 degree total experiences, the two artists Rebekka Sofie Bohse Meyer and Lise Seier Petersen have established the exhibition venue Platform BUNKER, who are among the nominees for BKF prize Artist-run Exhibition Places of the Year 2021.
"The space is ideal for performative cross-aesthetic works that think with the audience from start to finish. And all works in the exhibitions are created site-specifically for the bunker," say the two artists, who both work interdisciplinary and, in addition to their artistic practice, have an academic/research-based background in cultural dissemination, cultural policy and art theory.
Honors female artist pioneer
The bunker, which is now filled with changing exhibitions of contemporary art, is located in the yard belonging to, among others, the property Rolfsvej 10, which is scholarship accommodation for female artists.
The property Rolfsvej 10 was bought in 1948 by the former chairman of Society of Women Artists (KKS), Elisabeth Neckelmann, (1884-1956), for the legacy of her mother. Upon her death, a foundation was set up with ten grant homes, which are still awarded to 'elderly destitute female visual artists and musicians'.
Natalie Mégard: Platform BUNKER 2021.
“We wanted to draw attention to this unique property – and at the same time honor an exceptional woman. That's why Platform BUNKER's first series of exhibitions was a series of short shows by four of the rising artists: Anne Gudrun Sejersen, Tine Meyer, Natalie Megard and Lene Rasmussen," says Lise Seier Pedersen and Rebekka Sofie Bohse Meyer.
And women are also outnumbered in Platform BUNKER's first exhibition programme, both as exhibitors and as an occasion for artistic inspiration:
In June, Oskar Kolianders was shown Margaret's Blanket, which had been named after the American computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, who was responsible for the development of security software for the American Apollo space program.
The artist's combined video and sound installation represented constellations, formed by reflections from thousands of satellites in SpaceX's Starlink network – and gave the audience the opportunity to imagine the stories that can arise with these new formations in the night sky.
Oskar Koliander: Margaret's Blanket. Platform BUNKER 2021.
"Koliander's projection of the universe on the bunker's dome has excited everyone who has seen the installation - and also fascinated many of the farm's children," say Lise Seier Pedersen and Rebekka Sofie Bohse Meyer.
Artistic eye opener
In general, the audience has welcomed Platform BUNKER's unique space, and the very special access conditions, where you are picked up at the gate, followed to the bunker and, after the exhibition, let out of the yard again.
"The residents of the farm's houses think that it is a really good initiative and several have joined a network of voluntary exhibition visitors. For many residents, it was also the first time they got to know what the artists in Rolfsvej 10 are working with," say the exhibition site's founders.
Lene Rasmussen: Platform BUNKER 2021.
Platform BUNKER was established with a grant from the Statens Kunstfonds' two-year start-up pool, support for which the founders of the exhibition venue are happy and grateful.
But like many of the colleagues who have participated in BKF's summer series on artist-run exhibition venues, they point to the fact that there is a need for art politics to also support the artists' project space in a longer perspective:
"The artist-run places are important because they create artistic development in the void between the galleries and the museum. They constitute a free space for the experimental and cross-aesthetic, where artists can unfold, investigate and stage on their own terms. Therefore, it would be good to have the option of support for a longer number of years and easier access to specific operating support," they say.
The next exhibition in Platform BUNKER shows works by Ann Louise Andersen and opens in October.
See the entire exhibition programme, as well as photos and videos on Platform BUNKERs Facebook page…
Top: Platform BUNKER. Photo: Ole Akhøj.