Fluxus 2025 – “Ja, dann ist das so!” (“Yes, then that’s how it is!”)

[Lars Schumacher]

Fluxus 2025 – “Ja, dann ist das so!”: A Living Archive of Artistic Resistance and Renewal

 

On September 6–7, 2025, the Kunst & Musik Etage Hannover will host Fluxus 2025 – “Ja, dann ist das so!”, a two-day event that defies the conventions of traditional exhibition-making. Conceived by interdisciplinary artist and curator Lars Schumacher, the project reimagines the exhibition as a participatory happening—an ephemeral constellation of voices, gestures, and provocations. Drawing conceptual energy from the radical spirit of the 1960s Fluxus movement, the event embraces interdisciplinarity, humor, spontaneity, and the dissolution of boundaries between artist and audience.

 

Rather than presenting finished works in static display, Fluxus 2025 invites disruption, dialogue, and co-creation. Visitors are not passive spectators but active participants—provoked to respond, intervene, and shape the unfolding experience. Over 180 artists from across the globe contribute works that span collage, text, and hybrid forms, transforming the exhibition into a living archive of artistic resistance and possibility.

 

The artist roster reads like a cross-section of avant-garde history and contemporary rebellion. Fluxus veterans such as John M. Bennett and David Zack bring decades of mail art and experimental poetry into the fold, while global icons like Ai Weiwei inject political urgency through installation and activism. Figures like Ruud Janssen, Ryosuke Cohen, and Luc Fierens continue to expand the mail art network, infusing it with visual poetry and sociopolitical critique.

 

Performance and sound artists—including Dadanautik, Dame Mailarta, UBU, and DS Dadastation21—channel the absurdist legacy of Dada and Fluxus through participatory works. Their works are not merely performed but lived, often blurring the line between art and life. Meanwhile, artists such as Devin Cohen and David Greenberger merge spoken word, music, and storytelling into intimate, resonant encounters.

 

Collage and mixed media emerge as central modes of expression, particularly among artists like Angela Caporaso, Christiane Carrè, Cinzia Farina, and Sabine Remy, who push the medium toward poetic and political ends. A number of German artists stand out for their distinctive approaches to painting and mixed media. Joachim Buchholz blends painterly gestures with layered textures that evoke both materiality and metaphor. Stefan Brandstifter merges visual art with poetic fragments and performative elements, challenging conventional boundaries. Rainer Wieczorek contributes a lyrical yet grounded painterly language, drawing on literary influences and formal rigor. Beate Axmann’s bold, socially engaged paintings pulse with urgency and emotion, while Beate Senf-Hentsch explores autobiographical narratives through richly textured collage. Annette Behlau creates poetic dialogues between text and image, evoking introspection and lyrical tension. Maks Dannecker’s geometric abstraction offers meditative clarity, and Lutz Anders operates at the intersection of collage, visual poetry, and experimental graphics. Susanne Schumacher combines photography with digital painting to reflect on urban environments and social dynamics, capturing fleeting moments with analytical precision.

 

Together, these artists form a vibrant constellation within the exhibition—each contributing a unique voice to the evolving dialogue of contemporary visual art. Their works speak to the enduring power of painting and mixed media as tools for reflection, resistance, and poetic expression.

 

Adding a layer of public engagement, visitors to the Hannover exhibition are invited to curate their own selection of works—an interactive gesture that will shape a future presentation in Berlin, where the chosen pieces will be publicly exhibited. On Sunday at 3:00 PM, participating artist Susanne Schumacher will offer an introduction to the Fluxus concept and present the exhibition, providing insight into the artistic processes behind the works and the spirit of Fluxus as a living, evolving practice.

 

At the heart of this initiative is Lars Schumacher, whose interdisciplinary practice spans sound art, visual poetry, and installation. His curatorial approach is deeply informed by Fluxus pioneers such as Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, and Joseph Beuys. With Fluxus 2025, Schumacher orchestrates not a retrospective, but a reinvention—an open-ended platform for exchange across disciplines, cultures, and generations. The title of the exhibition, “Ja, dann ist das so!” (“Yes, then that’s how it is!”), encapsulates his philosophical embrace of ambiguity, acceptance, and the ephemeral.

 

In the entrance of the Kunst & Musik Etage Hannover, located Vahrenwalder Straße 213, provides the ideal setting for this ambitious undertaking. More than just an exhibition space, the Etage is a vibrant creative hotspot—a platform for contemporary art and musical experimentation. Its interdisciplinary approach fosters dynamic dialogue between painting, photography, installation, and sound. Artists such as Ulrich Rainald Hoffmann, Lars Schumacher, and the late Ute Rönnpag-Lohmeyer have explored themes of acceptance and social reality through their work here.

 

As a regular participant in Hannover’s renowned ZINNOBER art festival, the Etage contributes to the city’s pulsating artistic energy, presenting works that oscillate between abstraction and figuration—colorful, playful, and deeply reflective. In addition to visual art, the space hosts live music performances ranging from experimental jazz to soul-pop, including appearances by the band TIEFBLAU. Conveniently located along tram line 1 (Windausstraße stop), the venue is easily accessible by bike or car, though free parking is limited.

 

Ultimately, Fluxus 2025 – “Ja, dann ist das so!” is not merely an exhibition—it is a mirror of our time. Fragmented, participatory, and defiantly open-ended, it honors the legacy of Fluxus while refusing nostalgia. It invites us to dwell in the flux.

The Artist of Fluxus 2025 - “Ja, dann ist das so!” and the Mail Art Call "Collage":
Aaron Becker,  Ai Weiwei,  Alberto Lamas,  Alexander Limarev,  Alfonso Aguado Ortuño,  Alfonso Caccavale,   Alp Aria,  Andre Pace,  Andre Radke,  Andrew Maximilian Niss,  Anna Flávia Schmitt Wyse Baranski,  Annette Behlau,  Antonio Amato,  Antonia Mayol Castello,  Biro Ildiko,  Beata Axmann,  Beata Joanna Przedpełska,  Binod Dawadi,  Bishal Manandhar,  Bonnie Katz,  Carmen Heemels, Carl Baker, Catherine Mehrl Bennett, Celeste Illazki, Christa Niestrath,  Christiane Carrè,  Christophe Massé,  Cinzia Farina,  Claudia Catanzaro,  Cris Piloto,  Cristiano Pallara,  DadaArtCarts,  Dale Pesmen,  Daniel de Culla,  Daniela Castro,  Daniele Virgilio,  Darja Mrdjen,  David Dellafiora,  David Greenberger,  David Stanley Aponte,  David Zack,  Derya Avcı,  Diego Racconi,  DS Dadastation21,  Eduard Jakabhazi,  Ed Hanssen,  Edyta Dzierż,  El Taller de Zenon,  Enzo Correnti,  Eren Görgülü,  Fabio di Ojuara,  Fabrizio Bandini,  Fabrizio Pavolucci,  Fidels Daughter,  Franz Betz,  Friedrich Schumacher,  Gabriele Klimek,  Gianleonardo Latini,  Gianluigi Balsebre,  Gloria Keh,  Guido Capuano,  _guroga,  Hanna Bayer,  Harro Schmidt,  Heike Sackmann,  Heiner Schlote,  Henry Grahn Hermunen,  Honoria Starbuck,  Hugo Pontes,  Hwan Heo,  Ilia Tufano,  Ina Bremer,  Ina Ripari,  Irina Novikova,  Iván Vivanco,  Jakabhazi Alexandru,  Jan Theuninck,  Jennifer Weigel,  Jim Heyes,  Joachim Buchholz,  Joey Patrickt,  Johannes Klauke,  John Held Jr.,  John M. Bennett,  Jon Foster,  José Nogueira,  Julian Foster,  Julie Matevish,  Juraj Jonke,  Jürgen Griessbach,  Katerina Mandarik,  Katharina McKee,  Kathryn E. Hempel,  Karola Berg,  Keiichi Nakamura,  Kevin Gillen,  Kimberly Oliva,  Klaus Pinter,  La Toàn Vinh,  Lara Favaro,  Lars Schumacher,  Lau Wilmet,  Leona K.,  Lorenzo "Lome" Menguzzato,  Lori Kaplan,  Luc Fierens,  Luis María Labrador,  Luisela Pelizza,  Lux of the Agony,  Lutz Anders,  Lutz Beeke,  Maks Dannecker,  Manuel Ruiz,  Sainz Serrano,  Manuel Xio Blanco,  Marcelo Eduardo,  Merino Falcón,  Marcia Rosenberger,  Marco Furia,  Maria Do Carmo Both,  Maria E. Quiroga,  Maria Teresa Cazzaro,  Mariana Buchwald,  Mariano Lo Gerfo, María Castillo,  María Victoria,  Boné Ramírez,  Marilena Marson,  Marina Salmaso,  Maritza Braglia,  Massimo Conti,  Mattia Montemezzani & Verdiana Calia,  Maya Lopez Muro,  Mehrangiz Talaiezadeh,  Mehrangiz Yasemi,  Melanie Baereis, Michael Georg Bregel, Michelangelo Mayo, Miguel Jimenez,  Mikel Untzilla,  Mirta Caccaro,  Movie Aria,  Mustafa Cevat Atalay,  Nani Corina,  Natacha Guiller,  Nieves Salvador Bayarri,  Nil Perez Peirano, Nonlocal Variable, Nula Horo, Ondřej Vavrečka, Oronzo Liuzzi, Ovidiu Petca, Paul Lorenz,  Paul Poclage,  Pedro Bericat,  Pedro González García,  Peer Smits,  Peter Abaijkovics,  Peter Schubert,  Philipp John,  Piroska Horváth,  Priscilla Ramos,  R.F. Côté,  Rafael González,  Rainer Wieczorek,  Rebeca Martell,  Reina Huges,  Renata Danicek,  Rikard Larsson-Eng,  Rita Rozynek,  Roberto Keppler,  Rosalle Gancie,  Rosana Schmitt,  Ruggero Maggi,  Ruud Janssen,  Sabine Remy,  Sabela Baña,  Sibylle Möndel,  Serdar Dartar,  Serge Luigetti,  Sergiu Mihai Zegrean,  Silvano Pertone,  Silvia Dubois,  Simon Warren,  Sinem Ünal  Gerdan,  Snappy,  Spunk Seipel,  Stefan Brandstifter,  Stella Maris Velasco,  Stephan J. Mitterwieser,  Stéphanie Q.  Suely Castro Mello,  Susan Ferris Rights,  Susan Gold,  Susanne Mitterwieser, Susanne Schumacher, Teresa Lucia Forstreuter,  The Wasted Angel, Tohei Mano, UBU,  Ümran Özbalcı Aria,  Ute Rönnpag-Lohmeyer,  Ulrich Rainald Hoffmann,  Uwe Höfig,  Valentina Ștefănescu,  Verdiana Calia,  Veronique Pozzi,  Paine Virginia Milici,  Virginie Loreau,  Virgy Milici,  Vizma Bruns,  Vladimir Ambrus,  Vlado Goreski,  Walter Bachmann,  William Lee,  Wim Scheere,  Wolfgang Faller,  Wolfgang Günther,  Wolfgang Rostek,  Zlatko Krstevski