Democracy in Motion – The OMNIBUS for Direct Democracy - in Istanbul

There were only few, in the latter part of the twentieth century, who transformed and placed their stamp upon the world of art as strongly as did Joseph Beuys, an artist who saw humankind as the measure of all things. His point of departure was that creativity is an essential human characteristic; hence, he practiced an expanded concept of art, which addressed questions of culture, nature and social structures, reaching far beyond the aesthetic dimension. With the foundation of the Organization for Direct Democracy by Referendum, Beuys found an equivalent for his utopian draft of a society as a “social sculpture”.

In 1987, shortly after Beuys’ death, a number of people came together to carry on his mission under the name “BUS for Direct Democracy”. From documenta 8, the bus drove primarily through Germany and the organizers, in the tradition of Beuys, sought to engage in discussions with people everywhere.

Democracy in Motion is the leitmotif for an unconventional two-month art project launched at the initiative of the Goethe Institute in Athens, and involving twelve Goethe Institutes from south-eastern Europe, which are now participating in various ways. This fall, the OMNIBUS will embark on a ten-week journey spanning twelve countries in south-eastern Europe (Zagreb, Sarajevo, Skopje, Sofia, Thessalonica, Athens, Istanbul, Bucharest, Belgrade...) In accordance with its concept, the OMNIBUS will provide a venue and a platform for conversations, discussions and various cultural activities. With the support of the European Union, the entire tour is to be recorded by a film team; the journey can be followed virtually on the Internet.

The OMNİBUS will be in Istanbul from 21to 25  October 2009. On  24 October it will stop off at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum and participate at the exhibition “Joseph Beuys and His Students – Works from the Deutsche Bank Collection”. The organizers, amongst them Johannes Stüttgens, the master student of Joseph Beuys, will be at the exhibition to discuss with the visitors and answer their questions. 

P.S: There will be shuttles from Campus to SSM upon high levels of participation. Please contact to FASS Dean's Office until October 24, if you are planning to participate.

For further information: www.democracy-in-motion.eu

Germany: Brigitte Krenkers, Michael von der Lohe

               Tel: 00 49 2324 3911396 and 00 49 1520 1814169

              info@omnibus.org

OMNİBUS: Maxie Zurmühlen, Werner Küppers

                   00 49 157 74201729

        Maxie.zurmuehlen@omnibus.org

Istanbul: Goethe-Institut Istanbul

              Fügen Uğur

              0212 249 20 09 – 38

              fugen.ugur@istanbul.goethe.org