Since cities have existed, animals, whether welcome or not, have inhabited them. The research project and exhibition Cohabitation at Kunstraum Innsbruck considers the specific context of the alpine city as a conflict-ridden home of different species and as a starting point for a futuristic vision of a realm not exclusively dominated by humans: the multispecies city.

Mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, plants, fungi and microbes inhabiting urban space should all
benefit from a balance they co-create through maintaining the circle of life and death. They grow
and die through presence, cooperation, solidarity and symbiotic relationships.

Artists and architectural researchers, in exchange with local and international researchers,
challenge ongoing developments of human-centered environments, critically questioning
reckless urban designs, human exceptionalism, exclusionary “security” measures, and the
commodification of the natural world. They reflect, propose, and create models of a number of
alternatives whereas animals and non-human organisms are acknowledged as architects and
autonomous urban actors themselves. Join in the exploration.

The exhibition is part of the international project Cohabitation, under the artistic direction of Marion von Osten*, Christian Hiller, Alexandra Nehmer, Anh-Linh Ngo and Peter Spillmann. Cohabitation is initiated by ARCH+ and funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation. International partners worldwide, among them Kunstraum Innsbruck, realize local research projects, case studies and design experiments. Further formats in Innsbruck, Berlin and other locations will take place from May 2021 to March 2022. An ARCH+ publication will be released in 2022. More information: https://archplus.net/de/cohabitation/

Exhibition visit in compliance with current Covid-19 measures. NOTE: On April 23, Kunstraum Innsbruck will be open from 3 to 7 pm.

*Marion von Osten initiated the project. She passed away in November 2020 and the project is dedicated to her.

RESEARCH SPACE

The exhibition presents projects by local artists and young architectural explorers. It is also a space for further research and exchange. The project space at Kunstraum Innsbruck operates as a studio conceptualized and designed as a work in progress installation. It will be open for new architectural, philosophical or activist inputs every second Friday 3 – 6 pm.
Parallel to the preparation and during the exhibition, research and design seminars will be held at the Institute of Philosophy and the Institute of Design.studio2 (University of Innsbruck) in 2020 and 2021.