FLUXUS 2025 – Mail Art Call

[Lars Schumacher]

Illuminating Connections: The Ocean Between VIII – Luminosity Sparks Transatlantic Artistic Dialogue in Chicago

 

In an era of global polarization, it is a rare gift when art steps forward as a universal language. The Ocean Between VIII – Luminosity, curated by artists Marianna Buchwald and Tamara Wasserman, boldly does just that—transforming Chicago into a nexus of international artistic discourse. This year’s symposium emerges as a beacon for intercultural connection, a thoughtful response to our times from the transatlantic artist community.

 

A Portal to Artistic Exchange

At its heart, Luminosity explores light—not merely as an aesthetic medium but as metaphor for illumination, transformation, and dialogue. The exhibition is a vibrant platform where artists from across the globe come together in spirited interaction. Among them are Germany's Franz Betz, Harro D.B. Schmidt, Michaela Hanemann, and Lars Schumacher, whose “Fluxus 2025” installation provides a compelling homage to avant-garde traditions reimagined in contemporary context.

 

Rather than merely presenting static artwork, the symposium expands into a rich ecosystem of workshops, discussions, and participatory experiences. It invites the public not just to observe but to converse—to step inside the art and contribute to its resonance.

 

Fluxus 2025: Where Art is a Living Stream

Of particular note is Lars Schumacher’s Fluxus 2025, a Mail Art installation paying tribute to the radical Fluxus movement of the 1960s. With over 180 submitted works from artists around the world—including luminaries like Ai Weiwei, Ryosuke Cohen, and Angela Caporaso—the collection reinvigorates the Fluxus ethos of spontaneity, playfulness, and the blurring of boundaries between art and everyday life.

 

Mail Art—ephemeral, tactile, poetic—remains an ideal medium for transnational exchange. It embodies the essence of Fluxus: art not as object, but as process; not as commodity, but as conversation.

 

Performance as Provocation

The symposium also shines with a dynamic series of performances hosted by the Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble (August 1–2, 2025). Under the artistic direction of Ellyzabeth Adler, the stage transforms into a canvas for global expression: from Mexican and Brazilian contemporary dance to German mask theater. With scheduled appearances by artists like Erik Elizondo, CME Mask Dance, and Hannah Huang, each act deepens the audience’s engagement with the themes of transformation and luminosity.

 

Chicago as Resonant Space

Chicago is no random backdrop—it has a storied connection to Fluxus, dating back to Wolf Vostell’s Concrete Traffic and the experimental festivals of the ’90s. The city becomes not just a host but a participant in this living tradition. The Ocean Between VIII is both a continuation and an evolution—a testament to the city’s ongoing embrace of radical creativity.

 

Art Critics Reflect: Why It Matters

From our vantage point as art critics embedded in this community, Luminosity feels urgent. It reminds us that art does not belong to ivory towers. It flourishes in mailboxes, in dialogue, in shared experience. It is crafted in collectivity and thrives in difference.

 

In turbulent times, art such as Fluxus 2025 gestures toward a world not built on domination or division—but on exchange, experimentation, and empathy. And that, we argue, is the light this symposium seeks to share.

VISUAL ARTIST OF FLUXUS 2025:

Aaron Becker | Ai Weiwei | Alberto Lamas | Alexander Limarev | Alexandru Jakabhazi | Alfonso Aguado Ortuño | Alp Aria | Andre Pace | Andrew Maximilian Niss | Angela Caporaso | Anna Flávia Schmitt Wyse Baranski | Annette Behlau | Antonio Amato | Asma Ounine | Fabrizio Bandini | Beata Joanna Przedpełska | Beate Axmann | Beate Senf-Hentsch | Binod Dawadi | Ildikó Biró | Bishal Manandhar | Bonnie Katz | Bruno Chiarlone | Carl Baker | Carmela Sarcina | Catherine Mehrl Bennett | Celeste Illazki | Christiane Carrè | Christophe Massé | Cinzia Farina | Claudia Catanzaro | Cris Piloto | Dadanautik | Dale Pesmen | Dame Mailarta | Daniel de Culla | Daniela Castro | Daniele Virgilio | David Dellafiora | Derya Avcı | Devin Cohen | Diana Magallón | Domenico Severino | Ed Hanssen | Edyta Dzierż | Enzo Correnti | Eren Görgülü | Fabrizio Pavolucci | Franz Betz | Friedrich Schumacher | Gabriele Klimek | Generoso Vella | Gianluigi Balsebre | Giovanni und Renata Stradada | Gloria Fu Keh | Guido Capuano | _guroga | Harro Schmidt | Heike Sackmann | Heiner Schlote | Henry Grahn Hermunen | Horst Tress | Hugo Pontes | Hwan Heo | Ilia Tufano | Ina Bremer | Ina Ripari | Joey Patrickt | Johann Leschinkohl | Johannes Klauke | John Held Jr. | John M. Bennett | José Nogueira | Julie Matevish | Jürgen Völkert-Marten | Katerina Mandarik | Katharina McKee | Kathryn E. Hempel | Keiichi Nakamura | Kevin Gillen | Kimberly Oliva | Klaus Pinter | La Toàn Vinh | Lara Favaro | Lars Schumacher | Leona K. | Lorenzo "Lome" Menguzzato | Lori Kaplan | Luc Fierens | Luis María Labrador | Luisela Pelizza | Lutz Anders | Maks Dannecker | Manuel Ruiz Ruiz | Manuel Sainz Serrano | Manuel Xio Blanco | Marcelo Eduardo Merino Falcón | Marcia Rosenberger | Marco Furia | María Castillo | Maria Do Carmo Both | Maria E. Quiroga | Maria Teresa Cazzaro | María Victoria Boné Ramírez | Marianna Buchwald | Mariano Lo Gerfo | Marilena Marson | Marina Salmaso | Marzia Braglia | Massimo Conti | Mattia Montemezzani & Verdiana Calia | Mehrangiz Talaiezadeh | Mehrangiz Yasemi | Melanie Bäreis | Meral Agar | Michael Georg Bregel | Michelangelo Mayo | Miguel Jiménez | El Taller de Zenon | Mikel Untzilla | Mirta Caccaro | Movie Aria | Nani Corina | Natacha Guiller | Nieves Salvador Bayarri | Nil Perez Peirano | NonLocal Variable | Nula Horo | Ondřej Vavrečka | Oronzo Liuzzi | Ovidiu Petca | Paul Lorenz | Paul Poclage | Peer Smits | Peter Abaijkovics | Philipp John | Piroska Horváth | Priscilla Ramos | R.F. Côté | Rafael González | Rainer Wieczorek | Renata Danicek | Rikard Larsson-Eng | Rita Rozynek | Rittiner & Gomez | Roberto Scala | Rosalle Gancie | Rosana Schmitt | Rosemarie Drews | Ruggero Maggi | Ruud Janssen | Ryosuke Cohen | Sabela Baña | Sabine Remy | Serdar Dartar | Sergiu Mihai Zegrean | Serse Luigetti | Silvano Pertone | Silvia Dubois | Simon Warren | Sinem Ünal Gerdan | Snappy | Spike Spence | Spunk Seipel | Stefan Brandstifter | Stella Maris Velasco | Stephan J. Mitterwieser | Stephen Tomasko | Suely Castro Mello | Susan Ferris Rights | Susan Gold | Susanne Mitterwieser | Susanne Schumacher | Teresa Lucia Forstreuter | Tohei Mano | Ümran Özbalcı Aria | Uwe Höfig | Valentina Ștefănescu | Verdiana Calia | Veronique Pozzi Paine | Virginie Loreau | Vladimir Ambrus | Vlado Goreski | William Lee | Wim Scheere | Wolfgang Günther | Wolfgang Rostek | Sergiu Zegrean