The cooperation between the Musashino Art University Tokyo (MAU) and the University for Art and Design Karlsruhe (HfG) took place once again for some inspiring action in public space. The MAU students made the great discovery of Ogu Ginza, an old shopping street, which was then used as location for the collaboration. Starting from a little shop, the group of japanese and german students spreaded over the quarter, finding exceptional spaces for video projections, street art and performances. Under an overpowering culture shock effect HfG Students created artworks reacting to what they’ve experienced in the city of Tokyo. The MAU Students showed recent works and a few spontaneous collaborations with HfG students were developed on-site. In a three-day multimedia festival the traditional shopping street had been transformed into a spectacle, surprising the passersby with unexpected actions and adding some cracks in the usual vision of the street. End of October, just a month later, was the time for the MAU students to come to Karlsruhe and continue the collaboration. Karlsruhe´s old slaughterhouse, which has been turned into a creative center, was chosen as location for the new action. With the support of Circus 3000, a collective artist studio, the public space of the old slaughterhouse got squatted by the artists. Meditative video, immersive sound installations, witty performances and in situ artworks introduced an unworldly universe within the cold and harsh lines of the slaughterhouse complex. While MAU Students brought their artistic realm to Karlsruhe, HfG students showed the recent fruits of their Tokyo experience.
