Oslo 10
OSLO10, a project of the Christoph Merian Foundation, is a new space for contemporary art. It is located in Kunstfreilager/Dreispitz, an industrial and warehouse district located approximately 10 minutes by streetcar from the Basel SBB railway station.
Kunstfreilager
In Dreispitz, an areal characterized by warehouses, freight containers and cargo trucks, a new complex will be completed by 2014: the Kunstfreilager. The complex will provide spaces for living, working, learning as well as for art and culture.The driving force and main attraction of the new Kunstfreilager complex is its mixed use: in addition to art, culture and the already existing shops, the arrival of the Academy of Art and Design Basel (HGK) and the Transitlager will also bring living and learning to the Kunstfreilager. The primary location of the HGK will be in a new high-rise building designed by Morger + Dettli architects as well as in the converted Zollfreilager warehouse by Müller Sigrist architects. Westpol landscape architects will design the complex exterior. Some 1000 students and teachers will further invigorate the area when the HGK takes up its new residence in 2014. Living will also be possible at the Kunstfreilager: the conversion of the Transitlager warehouse into combined residential and commercial spaces should be complete by the end of September 2014.
Art, Studio and Commercial Building Oslo
OSLO10 is located in a converted warehouse called Kunst-, Atelier- und Gewerbehaus Oslo (Art, Studio and Commercial Building Oslo). Its neighbors include Radio X; the House for Electronic Arts; Basement, the new project space of the International Exchange and Studio Program Basel (iaab); as well as 16 studio spaces for artists.OSLO10
OSLO10 is an art space with core institutional funding. It offers curators or curatorial teams a “carte blanche” to manage the space, including programming, administration and maintenance. Annual core funding is provided by the owner of the building as well as initiator of the project, the Christoph Merian Foundation.Selection Process
The first call for applications for the curatorship of OSLO10 took place in December 2010. Eligible applicants included curators and artists or curatorial teams of the visual arts (fine art, photography, video, film, performance), independent of age or nationality. In February 2011, the following jury members selected the curators for the upcoming period:• Daniel Baumann, independent curator, Basel (president)
• Nikola Dietrich, curator, Museum für Gegenwartskunst Basel
• Kaspar Müller, artist, Basel/Zürich
• Edit Oderbolz, artist, Basel
• Nadia Schneider Willen, independent curator, Zürich
• Anna Bonacci, Project Director for Culture, Christoph Merian Foundation Basel (serving in an advisory capacity)
The first curators named for the period from April 1, 2011 to March 30, 2013 are Simone Neuenschwander and Christiane Rekade. Every two years, a new curatorial team will direct OSLO10. The next call for applications will be announced in Fall 2012.