EXPANDED FIELD I – migrating the colour fields at Kunstraum MITTE37, Burgdorf - Germany

[Lars Schumacher]

Contemporary Positions from Chicago in Burgdorf: EXPANDED FIELD I – migrating the colour fields at Kunstraum MITTE37

From 6 to 25 June 2026, the newly founded Kunstraum MITTE37 in Burgdorf presents EXPANDED FIELD I – migrating the colour fields, bringing together twelve contemporary artistic positions from Chicago for the first time in Germany. The exhibition opens a transatlantic field of resonance in which artists working across painting, performance, dance, music and film introduce their practices and engage directly with the public. It forms part of the international art symposium THE OCEAN BETWEEN, initiated in 2016 by Chicago- and Hanover-based artist and curator Marianna Buchwald. For Buchwald, the ocean is not a dividing line but a living in‑between space where artistic energies, cultural experiences and aesthetic impulses circulate freely.

Over the past years, this network has fostered numerous collaborations between Chicago and the Hanover region—connections that ultimately led to Burgdorf. Participating artists include Amy Hanks, Daniela Castro, Juan Enrique Roque Irizarry Jr., Judith Meyer, Kao Ra Zen, Kathryn Hempel, Kevin B. Chatham, Lori Kaplan, Marianna Buchwald, Sarah W. Holmes and Takako, all based in Chicago, alongside Beate Axmann from the Black Forest. Their practices are rooted in Chicago’s experimental tradition—a city shaped by jazz, improvisation, Bauhaus legacies, performance art and independent off‑spaces, all of which have cultivated an atmosphere of creative audacity and interdisciplinary openness.

The works span performance, film, installation, painting, poetry and movement-based practices, expanding the field of perception—an expanded field that unfolds anew in Burgdorf. The subtitle migrating the colour fields evokes shifting chromatic terrains, altered perspectives and fluid transitions between body, space and image. Here, colour appears not as surface but as a mobile energy that moves between cultures, media and people.

A particular emphasis lies on exchange and encounter. Due to current travel and customs conditions, a curated selection of works will be shown, while the artists themselves take centre stage. On 6 June, three public conversations will take place at Mittelstraße 37, introducing the symposium and its guiding idea of artistic exchange. The discussions also address the experiences of German artists exhibiting in the United States. Among them is Black Forest–based painter Beate Axmann, who has spent several working periods in Chicago and has been part of the exchange for many years.

Axmann presents works on paper created during her time in Chicago—pieces that reflect urban energy, cultural diversity and personal encounters. They stand as examples of the generative force of being on the move: of finding, losing and rediscovering perspectives that transform us. The exhibition reveals how art builds bridges—between Chicago and Burgdorf, between studio and street, between personal experience and social observation.

At MITTE37, the ocean between two cultural spheres becomes an open field that continually expands. Artist and organiser Lars Schumacher, who has already worked and exhibited in Chicago through this exchange, emphasises the importance of these sustained relationships. Kunstraum initiator and artist Susanne Schumacher—who has exhibited internationally for many years and works as a cultural mediator—looks forward to enriching Burgdorf’s cultural landscape and welcoming international artists from diverse networks to MITTE37 on a regular basis.

The finissage on 25 June 2026 is conceived as a moment of cultural encounter. From 17:30 onwards, visitors will have the opportunity to meet additional artists from Chicago. A film presentation by the Chicago Film Group 312—dislocation by Richard Syska & Kevin B. Chatham—along with two artist talks will shape the evening. Known as “Chicago’s most innovative Video Collective,” Group 312 promises an exciting conclusion. The day will end with a visit to the traditional Zapfenstreich of the Burgdorf Schützenfest—a moment that links contemporary art with local culture in a unique way.

Chicago Artists The Chicago-based artists Amy Hanks, Daniela Castro, Judith Meyer, Lori Kaplan, Sarah W. Holmes and Takako work primarily in painting, collage, mixed media and installation. Their conversations revolve around colour, perception, materiality, body–space relations and poetic image worlds. Kathryn Hempel, Kevin B. Chatham and Juan Enrique Roque Irizarry Jr. work strongly across media, including experimental film, video art, documentary formats and performative approaches. Their discussions address visual language, montage, perception, media critique and Chicago’s film scene. Marianna Buchwald’s practice merges performance, mask work, movement theatre and intercultural mediation, opening conversations on embodiment, ritual, migration, encounter and community. Rapper and spoken‑word artist Kao Ra Zen contributes a musical‑performative perspective, engaging with rhythm, language, identity, urban culture and improvisation. Beate Axmann represents expressive painting with figurative, socially charged motifs, addressing colour, emotion, political and social themes and European artistic traditions.

Kunstraum MITTE37 Kunstraum MITTE37 has quickly developed into a vibrant site for contemporary art in Burgdorf. Located at Mittelstraße 37, it combines the intimacy of a working space with the openness of a public forum. From the outset, MITTE37 was conceived as a place where art is not only shown but collectively thought, discussed and experienced. The building’s history—as a site of work, encounter and experimentation—continues to shape its atmosphere: flexible, curious and accessible. As a new art venue, MITTE37 aims to present positions in painting, collage, mixed media, installation and photography, involving both regional artists and international guests. Future exhibitions will highlight the space as a mutable laboratory: at times an atelier, at times a stage, at times a site for conversations, workshops or spontaneous artistic interventions.

A central goal is to establish MITTE37 as a platform for interdisciplinary exchange. Artists from Burgdorf and beyond are invited to engage in dialogue on perception, materiality, body–space relations, media critique and social issues. Projects such as this exhibition mark an international orientation that will be expanded in the coming years. Future programmes will increasingly address questions of transformation, movement, identity and encounter. MITTE37 seeks to make art a shared experience—open, processual and dialogical. It becomes a place that not only presents art but enables it: a space that reinvents itself with each exhibition while carrying forward its history as a creative centre of the city.

Events in Burgdorf Opening: 6 June 2026, from 17:00 – Opening remarks at 18:00, artist conversations with Marianna Buchwald, Takako and Beate Axmann; opening by Susanne Schumacher, introduction by Lars Schumacher Finissage: Chicago Film Group 312 on 25 June 2026, from 18:00 – DISLOCATION, films from Chicago’s underground by Richard Syska & Kevin B. Chatham

Art Symposium THE OCEAN BETWEEN is an international transatlantic art symposium founded in 2016, connecting artists from Chicago and Germany. Its 9th edition in 2026 is organised by Marianna Buchwald, Kristin Heike and the network The Culture Bridge / Kultur Brücke; for Kunstraum MITTE37, Lars Schumacher coordinates the programme. Events will take place across several venues in Hanover and Burgdorf.


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Kunstraum MITTE37 demonstrated on Saturday evening just how much potential lies within this new space. The opening of the exhibition EXPANDED FIELD I – migrating the colour fields became one of those rare moments when a small town suddenly feels expansive: open, cosmopolitan, and full of life. The room was filled, the atmosphere attentive and curious. Five artists from Chicago and Germany stood together, speaking about their work, their paths, their sources of inspiration, and what it means to exhibit, improvise, and experiment with new forms in a major US metropolis. A conversation unfolded naturally, with the audience joining in with genuine interest. Chicago in Burgdorf – direct, personal, in dialogue. Encounters like these are more than program points; they are moments when networks open and connections become visible.

In her opening remarks, Susanne Schumacher, founder of the Kunstraum, set a clear tone: MITTE37 sees itself as a place of dialogue – especially in the 250th year of the United States. This year, American cities take center stage: Chicago in summer, Boston in winter, parallel to the Football World Cup in the US. Both cities stand for vibrant art scenes, diversity, and a culture that constantly reinvents itself. That their artistic voices now become visible in Burgdorf is a sign of lived connection. The international encounter showed how art brings people together, how friendships grow, and how creative collaboration overcomes even major hurdles – from visa procedures to customs regulations. Art builds bridges where borders appear, and MITTE37 stands for openness, exchange, and the joy of creating together. The conversations were moderated and translated by curators Lars Schumacher and Marianna Buchwald.

Chicago artist Takako presented collages made from hundreds of advertising fragments – images that flood us every day. From up to 400 individual pieces, he creates new visual worlds that invite viewers to smile or marvel. One work is titled Anhedonia, referring to the loss of joy caused by overstimulation. Takako counters this with an artistic gesture: an invitation to rediscover delight.

For Lori Kaplan, art emerges when inner and outer worlds touch; lines, gestures, and words become traces of a process that reveals how something forms and transforms.

Daniela Castro, the first US‑born daughter of a Mexican family, found an open creative community in Chicago. Her textile work – also her bachelor thesis – uses cut and collaged word elements to speak out against all forms of bodily violence. At MITTE37, she explained how language itself becomes material – for protection, resistance, and identity.

Beate Axmann presented two large paintings on silk paper and a canvas work inspired by Chicago landmarks such as Navy Pier, Cloud Gate, and the city’s striking architecture. Particularly captivating were delicate wire meshes – found objects from Chicago – that resembled floating wings, “fallen angels,” as she called them.

Marianna Buchwald introduced her creative processes and the ten‑year‑old network The Ocean Between, together with symposium partner Kristin Heike from Hannover.

Many visitors expressed how surprisingly intense and personal this international exchange felt. The closeness, openness, and vibrancy of the evening made the opening a special moment. The exhibition shows how art builds bridges – between Chicago and Burgdorf, between studio and street, between personal experience and social observation.

The finissage on Thursday evening, 25 June 2026, continues this special atmosphere and once again brings artists from Chicago to Burgdorf. From 5:30 pm, personal encounters take center stage; at 6:30 pm, a film presentation by Group 312 Films follows, then two artist talks with rapper and spoken‑word artist Kao Ra Zen, filmmakers Richard Syska and Kevin B. Chatham, and other participating artists. To close the evening, the traditional Zapfenstreich of the Burgdorf Schützenfest adds a unique cultural contrast – a fitting finale to an international night. A night that will once again show: Burgdorf can be international. And MITTE37 makes it possible.