»FOREIGN Research Station«

As part of the participatory exhibition »Art for the People«, the Museum Biberach organized a mobile artist residency from 9 to 18 September 2024. In reference and as a homage to Fridel Dethleffs-Edelmann’s »Wohnauto« (live-in car), the Berlin-based artist Alexandra Nebel drove through the rural region around Biberach in a caravan that doubled as an art studio so that she could reach people who do not usually visit museums.

At various locations around Biberach she set up her »Forschungsstation FREMD« (FOREIGN Research Station) with the intention of playfully changing the perspective between foreign and familiar. Right-wing parties utilize so-called foreignness to fuel fears and to provide simple explanations for complex problems. The debate enters the public discourse, right-wing wording becomes socially acceptable, and thus, part of mainstream society. Alexandra Nebel’s aim is to deprive right-wing ideology of a breeding ground by encouraging openness, identifying prejudices, and taking them seriously enough to defuse them.

Hence, the artist asked questions such as: »What is foreign? Does it trigger fear or curiosity? What does it mean to be foreign? When does something cease to be foreign and what does it become?« Inspired by the successful migration story of the potato, this creative collaboration yielded a graphic image and a stop-motion film, which visualize the complex interrelations of our world with personal stories – art as a motor for democratic processes. 

The collective work will be presented from 25 January 2025 in the exhibition »Art for the People«.

Listening stations »FOREIGN Research Station«

Alexandra Nebel is a freelance artist, filmmaker, writer and photographer. She gives workshops in schools, libraries and other community centres. Until 2016 she worked exclusively in the film industry, directing, writing and producing documentaries, feature films and music videos. The children's short film »Ich sehe was, was du nicht siehst«, which she directed and wrote, was screened at over 50 international festivals and continues to run in the program of the Hamburg Short Film Agency. In September 2016, together with other artists, she founded the association Kollektiv für Freiraum in order to artistically address current socio-cultural topics and social issues. The collective creates experimental spaces where generations can inspire each other.

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