Elke aus dem Moore appointed Director

Akademie Schloss Solitude, the renowned artist-in-residency program in Stuttgart, has officially appointed Elke aus dem Moore as its new director. She will succeed Jean-Baptiste Joly, the long-term founding director of the institution, who retired in late March 2018 and led the program for 29 years.

Since opening its doors in 1990, the Akademie has supported more than 1,400 fellows from over 120 countries and has thus become an important global network for the international art scene. By offering fellowships in the disciplines of architecture, visual arts, performing arts, design, literature, music/sound, time-based media, web-based media, humanities, social sciences and economy/economics, the program is highly transdisciplinary. Fellows and guests use the Akademie as an artistic incubator; a place to make lasting connections, and to realize projects that go beyond the realms of their own disciplines’ conventions.

By initiating cooperations with numerous art institutions, universities, and economic partners from all over the world, Solitude has also become an important beacon for the national and international cultural policy of the State of Baden-Württemberg. With the introduction of the Digital Solitude program and the launch of the online platform Schlosspost, www.schloss-post.com in January 2016, the Akademie offers web residencies to young talents from the digital scene and guarantees the international visibility of fellows and their projects.

Elke aus dem Moore was the head of the visual arts department at ifa – Institute for international relations until end of April 2018. During her tenure there, she designed the program for international art exchange through exhibitions, conferences, funding programs, and workshops. One of her latest projects was the gathering Under the Mango Tree – Sites of Learning in cooperation with aneducation, documenta 14.

Elke aus dem Moore studied literature and science of art in Osnabrück, Zurich and Bochum and was curator for contemporary art at Shedhalle in Zurich from 1999 to 2002. From 2003 to 2006 she was responsible for the international exhibition program of Künstlerhaus Stuttgart as artistic director. She has published numerous catalogs and articles and is the initiator and co-founder of the online magazine Contemporary and (C&) and of the International Biennial Association – IBA.

Elke aus dem Moore’s curatorial and programmatic approach is based on the principles of encounter, exchange, and dialogue. The interconnection of global social questions with local experiences and a contemporary art practice are characteristic for her curatorial work.  

For the Akademie Schloss Solitude, she plans on opening the international residency program to include a transdisciplinary learning site: an academy outside the formal educational system, open to a broader and more diverse public. By experimenting with artistic research practices and new formats, she aims to change societal processes and to stimulate intergenerational discourse.

“In Elke aus dem Moore, we’ve found an ideal person to lead one of the most outstanding cultural institutions in Baden-Württemberg. She has broad-ranging expertise in international cultural production and spent many years as a top-level curator. Through her previous activities, she is exceedingly well connected both nationally and globally […]. I am certain that Elke aus dem Moore will bring her very own, fresh approach to Akademie Schloss Solitude as an institution,” says Petra Olschowski, state secretary and chair of the board of trustees at the Akademie Schloss Solitude.