Regionale 26: Ce qui traverse

They cross borders, leave behind the familiar, and set off for foreign lands that become a new home, temporarily or permanently. Artists tend to leave rigid worldviews and opinions behind in order to set out for the future with flexible, new ideas and thus works, often despite all fears and doubts. After all, a new beginning without secure walls and structures can trigger a sense of uncertainty. This is why artists are especially suited to show us how to gain an understanding of permeability and flexibility. They give us perspectives that can cross boundaries and offer new stimuli—politically, ecologically, architecturally, and socially.

The invited artists live and work in the tri-national region but grew up in France, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as Spain, Italy, South Africa, Peru, Egypt, and South Korea. Here in the border triangle, they experience almost daily how quickly they can cross borders that might seem like dangerous and insurmountable hurdles elsewhere. They let sounds, light, and warmth flow through spaces, turning walls and barriers into membranes that allow a glimpse behind them.

In keeping with the theme of permeability, the current edition of the Regionale is thus being staged on the upper floor of the new Kunsthaus Baselland, in the neighboring TransBona Hall, and in the exhibition space of Atelier Mondial, with which the Regionale was jointly curated and realized. In their works and large-scale installations, the seventeen invited artists tell of political, ecological, and socio-cultural hurdles, but also of the possibilities for working, moving, and thinking beyond them.

When thoughts are unhindered, they can gain momentum, move from one place to the next, and change direction. When art can spread, it can grow—across borders, spaces, ideas—and pass through everything.