5 Questions – Kunststiftung NRW

CH Michael Beutler is known for large-scale installations that turn exhibition spaces into production environments, while Lisa Klosterkötter works as an artist and curator, developing collaborative and projects in the public space. How does the Kunststiftung NRW frame these two distinct positions within its 2026 award?

KS Our 2026 Art Award highlights the diversity of contemporary artistic practice. In recognising Michael Beutler and Lisa Klosterkötter, we are honouring two artists who, in different ways, create spaces for encounters, participation and shared experiences.

CH In Tapetenwechsel (Change of Scenery), Michael Beutler transforms the museum into a workshop-like setting where paper is processed and reconfigured, including the participatory format Hand an die Mühle! (Get your hands on the mill!). What role do process, material transformation and visitor participation play in this presentation?

KS In Tapetenwechsel, as with most of Michael Beutler’s installations, the production process itself becomes a central component of the exhibition. Old books, catalogues and materials from the region are processed on site into paper pulp and moulded into new elements that shape the space. Machinery, tools and work processes remain visible, allowing visitors to experience the transformation of the material first-hand. Formats such as the workshop Hand an die Mühle! directly involve visitors in this process whilst also drawing on the industrial and artisanal history of Gelsenkirchen.

CH Lisa Klosterkötter’s Ein Dorf (A Village), unfolds through readings, walks, interventions and public gatherings such as It takes a village to raise a child, Über den Dächern (Over the Rooftops) and Unter der Markise (Under the Awning). What informed the decision to support this expanded program of artistic and curatorial practice through the Förderpreis?

KS With Ein Dorf, Lisa Klosterkötter has developed a process-oriented format that combines exhibition, encounters and a public programme. Readings, interventions, collaborative formats and a textile library engage with various locations around the museum and invite visitors to move about freely, listen and engage in conversation with one another. The sponsorship award thus recognises a practice that views the museum as an open social space and deliberately incorporates the city of Gelsenkirchen as a concrete starting point for such a practice.

CH What does the 2026 edition of the Nam June Paik Award reveal about the foundation’s current understanding of site-specific production and public engagement in contemporary art?

KS The 2026 edition views site-specific art not merely as a response to architecture, but as an in-depth engagement with the history and self-image of the location, as well as with the public sphere and social space. Both Michael Beutler and Lisa Klosterkötter are developing works that actively engage with Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen and its surroundings, and enable the museum to be experienced of an open space that welcomes encounters and participation. At the same time, the art award recognises the outstanding work of the Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen.