Art for the Book Fair: Students design a unique metro station!

Art for the Book Fair: Students design a unique metro station!

From March 27th to 30th, 2025, the book fair will show an exciting and creative homage to the artist Martin Kippenberger in Hall 5, Stand B600. An interdisciplinary team of students from the Bauhaus University Weimar came together under the leadership of Florian Hesselbarth to design an artistic trade fair stand. The concept goes back to the idea of ​​the independent art student Hauke ​​Scholz, who designed an imaginary subway station. This station is a direct allusion to Kippenberger's visionary METRO-Net, which emerged in the 1990s and outlined a web of connections in the imagination.

The exhibition stand expands the fictitious metro network with a special direct connection to Weimar and the Bauhaus University. The students would like to use it to invite visitors on mental journeys. The works on display range from books and magazines to postcards, prints and moving image works. Lucia Verlag also presents books from the university environment.

Creative implementation with limited resources

The exhibition stand was created taking into account a limited budget. The students used inexpensive and readily available materials, mostly sourced from the university and often recycling leftover materials from other projects. They received support from the newly established “material distributor” at the university, which provides reusable materials.

The Leipzig Book Fair is not only a platform for books and literature, but also a place for innovative art projects. The trade fair stand is in the context of Kippenberger's METRO-Net, which impresses with its conceptual depth and abstractness. Martin Kippenberger, who lived from 1953 to 1997, conceived the idea of ​​a global subway network in the 1990s. However, the project could only be partially realized because Kippenberger died in 1997. The stations, such as the one in Hrousa on the Greek island of Syros or the one in Dawson City, Canada, have been testament to his artistic vision ever since.

A look at Kippenberger's legacy

Kippenberger's METRO-Net includes over 100 exhibits, including models and drawings. The conservation status of the existing stations remains uncertain; The station in Dawson City was dismantled in 2009, while rainwater was stored in Leipzig until the beginning of 2021. Kippenberger's concept was intended to act as a means of transport for imaginative journeys and depends on the imagination of the viewer. His works, which are documented in the raisonnés catalog, invite you to engage intensively with his art. The current catalog includes over 300 works and offers a comprehensive insight into Kippenberger's work from 1983 to 1986. It is available from Walther and Franz König for €280.

For further information and questions about the stand at the book fair, Romy Weinhold from the Faculty of Art and Design is available on +49 / 36 43 / 58 11 86 or by email at romy.weinhold[at]uni-weimar.de. This event is an excellent opportunity to engage with the art of Martin Kippenberger and the creative engagement of his successors.

The Leipzig Book Fair is supported by various local institutions that promote commitment to art and literature. More information about the exhibition, the members and contextualizations are below mdbk.de and copyrightbookshop.be available.

We can't wait to see how these artistic challenges and the successes of the exhibition stand will inspire visitors!