KIT - Kunst im Tunnel

Description

Overlooking Düsseldorf’s Rhine riverbank, KIT - Kunst im Tunnel presents itself as an underground venue for contemporary art. The exhibition space is located in a remnant section of the tunnel created during the construction of the Rheinufertunnel, approximately two metres below the riverside promenade, in immediate proximity to the Landtag and the Rheinkniebrücke. It was opened on 10 February 2007.

A newly constructed entrance pavilion on the riverside promenade links the surface with the basement; the glass structure on the Rhine side measures around 130 m² and houses a small bistro. From there a staircase and an accessible lift lead down to the underground exhibition area. The exhibition space extends over 888 m² between the two tunnel tubes, is gently curved, is about 140 metres long and narrows from eight to one metre. For daylighting, two light shafts fitted with armoured glass lead up to the surface.

The operation and organisation of the exhibitions are the responsibility of the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; the artistic direction is responsible for the programming. KIT - Kunst im Tunnel complements the city’s exhibition offerings and is primarily devoted to contemporary art. It mainly shows works by young artists, graduates of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and recipients of the Düsseldorfer Kunstpreis; four exhibitions per year are planned. As early as 1994 the artists Jost Wischnewski and Jan Verbeek presented elaborate installations in this remnant tunnel space under the title LOS 2. In 2005 the Akademie-Galerie was established in the rooms of the former Kunstgewerbeschule at Burgplatz as exhibition spaces for professors of the Kunstakademie.