A base camp for new alliances between art and science in the 21st century - this is how the exhibition 'Renaissance 3.0' describes its claim and its position in the field of tension between the two disciplines. Originally developed by the Zentrum für Kunst und Medien (ZKM), it is now being brought to other locations through cooperation with the Media Solution Center (MSC) and the EIT CC Flagship Initiative 'The Next Renaissance'.
Beginning with the mathematical innovations of the so-called Arab Renaissance - the forerunner of the Italian Renaissance and thus the basis for the name 'Renaissance 3.0' - the exhibition traces a common thread right up to the present day. The focus is on tools and technologies: from the first robots and musical instruments in the Arab world to the invention of central perspective in Florence and the current developments of the digital age. These epochs are linked by the symbiosis of technology and art. A common 'pool of thoughts' promotes innovative developments, and as Leonardo da Vinci recognized: 'Painting is a science'.
The exhibition will be traveling through various European cities under the supervision of the MSC and will continue to develop. Already in Paris, it will present positions of the new director of the ZKM, Alistair Hudson, and thus also incorporate the new orientation of the ZKM under his direction. The exhibition opening at the Goethe-Institut in Paris is planned for 13 May 2024.
Matthias Hauser, Director of the MSC, sees the exhibition as a significant opportunity: "It is the first collaboration between the three partners MSC - ZKM - EIT CC and the first public launch of the EIT flagship initiative 'The Next Renaissance'. We are therefore very much looking forward to the exhibition and, above all, to the further development of a Renaissance 3.0" Because as Peter Weibel (former director of the ZKM and co-founder of the MSC) said: "Artists and scientists see a door in a wall that nobody else sees." Teaser in Deutsch: "In Zusammenarbeit mit MSC, ZKM und EIT wandert die Ausstellung 'Renaissance 3.0' im Rahmen der Initiative 'The Next Renaissance' an neue Orte. Es ist die erste Zusammenarbeit zwischen allen drei Partnern und der öffentliche Startschuss für das Vorzeigeprojekt des EIT. Erleben Sie mit uns den nächsten Schritt auf der Reise von 'Renaissance 3.0', die am 13. Mai im Goethe-Institut in Paris eröffnet wird."