The Alt-Right Complex

The international group exhibition deals with forms of right-wing populism, which, especially today, use the Internet and “social media” to disseminate ideas. The Alt-Right Complex traces the development from a (sub)culture of transgression in online forums such as 4chan to platforms such as Breitbart News. The artists deal with memes (e.g. Pepe the Frog, probably the most famous symbol of the Trump followers), with figures such as Steve Bannon, flag worship, the prepper scene, White Supremacists and Dark Enlightenment. The exhibition is accompanied by a critical glossary that briefly explains the most important terms.

The Alt-Right Complex presents 12 projects by 16 artists from 12 countries: Germany, France, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Serbia and Slovakia. The exhibition is curated by Inke Arns (HMKV).

Participating Artists: Paula Bulling / Anne König (DE), Simon Denny (NZ), DISNOVATION.ORG (FR/PL), Vera Drebusch & Florian Egermann (DE), Dominic Gagnon (CA), Szabolcs KissPál (HU), Boris Ondreička (SK), Milo Rau, IIPM – International Institute of Political Murder (CH/DE), Vanja Smiljanić (SR), Jonas Staal (NL), Nick Thurston (GB), UBERMORGEN (CH/AT)

The exhibition The Alt-Right Complex will include performances, discussions with artists and a series of lectures (“The Kids Are Alt-Right”). All dates at www.hmkv.de  

As part of the opening of The Alt-Right Complex, the Justus Bier Award 2018 will also be presented on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 7pm. The Justus Bier Award for Curators, which honors outstanding curatorial achievements in the German-speaking world, will be presented for the first time to a German art association in its tenth edition, for the exhibition and publication The Storming of the Winter Palace. Forensics of an Image. The award winners are Inke Arns, Director of the Hartware MedienKunstVerein (HMKV) in Dortmund (DE), Igor Chubarov, Director of the Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities at the State University of Tyumen (RU) and Sylvia Sasse, Professor of Slavic Literary Studies at the University of Zurich (CH). The exhibition toured internationally: in 2017 it was shown at Gessnerallee Zurich (CH), in 2017-2018 at HMKV at the Dortmunder U in Dortmund (DE) and in 2018 at Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź (PL) (see press release of January 15, 2019 at www.hmkv.de).

The Alt-Right Complex is an exhibition of the HMKV (Hartware MedienKunstVerein), Dortmund

Curated by Inke Arns (HMKV)

Cooperation Partner Urbane Künste Ruhr - Ruhr Ding: Territories

Funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Kunststiftung NRW

Funder HMKV Kulturbetriebe Stadt Dortmund / Dortmunder U - Center for Arts and Creativity

The lecture series “The Kids Are Alt-Right” is supported by the Coordination Office for Diversity, Tolerance and Democracy of the City of Dortmund and the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.