ARTotale Re:New - Street Art Accompanies Orientation Week on Campus
2026-10-01 Lüneburg. From October 5 through 9, the campus of Leuphana University Lüneburg will be transformed into a space for artistic encounters, participation, and unexpected perspectives. As part of this year’s orientation week for first-semester students, the “ARTotale Re:New” project brings together artists, students, and the public through performances, participatory installations, and interventions on campus and throughout the city. Building on the 2009 ARTotale, ARTotale Re:New explores the university campus as a public space where learning, exchange, and collective experiences extend beyond the boundaries of seminar rooms and lecture halls.
The works by artists Suyoung Kim, Wouter Osterholt, Bettina Mileta, Jakob-Margit Wirth, and Swoon engage with, among other things, the materiality of the campus as well as institutional history and everyday life. On display are, for example, a large, quilted textile installation by Bettina Mileta on the facade of the main building; a video installation and performance by Jakob-Margit Wirth; a participatory installation by Wouter Osterholt that evolves over the course of the week; and a chalk installation by Suyoung Kim.
An accompanying outdoor exhibition features photographs of street art in Mexico by Mariana Yampolsky (1925–2002), a prominent Mexican photographer. Presented as part of the university’s everyday environment, Yampolsky’s photographs enter into a dialogue with the new works of ARTotale Re:New.
The project was initiated by Dr. Veronica Bremer, research assistant and lecturer in the Studium Individuale, and Prof. Dr. Jordan Troeller, assistant professor of Contemporary Art History and Aesthetic Practices.
For more information, visit @artotale_renew on Instagram
More details about the artists, their projects, and the exhibition venues:
• Bettina Mileta, “Serpentine,” textile installation on the facade of the main building
Interdisciplinary artist Bettina Mileta brings textiles into the public sphere. Her installation on the exterior facade of the Libeskind Building creates a dialogue between the flowing softness of the fabric and the building’s austere geometric architecture. Through her concept of “public materiality,” Mileta explores how textiles can transcend the private and domestic sphere to become materials for collective encounters.
Website: bettinamileta.com
• Wouter Osterholt, “Exerzierplatz / Assembly Ground,” participatory installation, near Building 8
Wouter Osterholt invites students to reflect on the history of the Leuphana campus and the current militarization in Germany. Together with the students, he will design life-size cardboard figures that will be arranged in a grid-like installation. This collaborative work encourages reflection on how personal experiences intersect with broader historical and political developments.
Website: wouterosterholt.com
• Suyoung Kim, “Reactive Layers”, interactive installation, near the entrance to Building 9
In front of Building C9, Suyoung Kim will transform the square—a symbol of order, structure, and standardized systems—through a daily chalk installation. Applied in layers of shifting colors and reshaped through collective use, the squares will gradually accumulate traces of movement, wear, and restoration. The evolving work transforms campus life into a living archive of time and shared experiences.
Website: suyoung-kim.com
• Jakob-Margrit Wirth
Monday, October 5 – Wednesday, October 7: Film screenings: “Cutout. 1km Patriarchy” (34:04 min., 2024) and “Gender Stretch” (08:36 min., 2024), on an endless loop, in the main building of Leuphana University, in the evening,
Tuesday, October 6, 2026, 7:00 p.m.: Film screening of “Eintrag: Margit” at Lüneburg City Hall, Am Ochsenmarkt 1, 21335 Lüneburg
Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 11:30 a.m. – approx. 1:00 p.m.: “Orbiting Margit,” a performance in public space, approx. 1.5 hours and approx. 3 kilometers, beginning at Lüneburg City Hall and ending at the main building of Leuphana University. Planned route (subject to change): maps.app.goo.gl/7pWMPJ15samAxhW29
Jakob-Margrit Wirth presents a performative intervention that explores how gender, identity, and access are expressed in public space—both physically and symbolically. The project moves between the campus and downtown Lüneburg, connecting performance with the everyday environments in which we move. In addition to projections on campus, a presentation of Margrit’s work is scheduled for October 6 at 7:00 p.m. at Lüneburg City Hall.
Website: jakobwirth.net
• Swoon (Caledonia Curry)
Renowned American street artist Caledonia Curry, known as Swoon, returns to Lüneburg with a paste-up installation in Lecture Hall 5. Swoon previously participated in ARTotale in 2009, at the start of her international career. Her new work offers the opportunity to forge a new connection to the city and its art history, while also inviting students to help install the paper artwork.
Website: swoonstudio.org
• Mariana Yampolsky: Seeing Mexico
In addition to the commissioned works, an accompanying outdoor exhibition presents four photographs by the celebrated Mexican photographer Mariana Yampolsky, curated by Veronica Bremer with permission from the Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City, Secretaría de Cultura. The exhibition features works from Yampolsky’s photo archive, which was added to the “Registro del Programa Memoria del Mundo de México de la UNESCO” in 2021, thereby recognizing the documentary and cultural significance of her work.