GoetheonMain

1. Lien, can you please describe the idea of GoetheonMain in one or two sentences?
GoetheonMain is the Goethe-Institut South Africa’s experimental project space in downtown Johannesburg. Its aim is to provide established as well as young and upcoming artists with a space and the possibility to independently develop experimental art projects.

2. Why is GoetheonMain important for Johannesburg and its culture and arts scene?
In Johannesburg, there are not many spaces that are freely accessible to artists, where especially younger ones with less experience can find a room and opportunities for experimenting. With GoetheonMain, we wanted to fill this gap and it works very well. Since its opening in May 2009, GoetheonMain established itself as a project room in all artistic branches. Other protagonists in Johannesburg’s art scene even advise young artists to propose projects for GoetheonMain in order to profit from this opportunity. In addition to that, by being present downtown the Goethe-Institut South Africa tries to reach new audiences and wants to maintain an art space in an area where it would not be possible for us to reach a public otherwise.

3. Who plans and organizes the yearly programme?
Either once or twice a year, we start a call for proposals. Everybody can submit project ideas. An independent jury then choses the best projects of all the proposals submitted. The jury consists of four well-known and established African artists who have a thorough overview of the African art scene. We would like the projects to connect with the urban surroundings of GoetheonMain, but this is not an eliminating condition. The jury’s first and most important criterion is artistic quality.

4. GoetheonMain opened about two and half years ago, in Mai 2009. What do you remember most vividly of this time period?
All projects were completely different and quite diverse. It fascinates me how each artist used the space in a different way. GoetheonMain is a shell with which one can experiment. We have seen so many great and different ways of using the room, ranging from classic stage setups to dance performances which moved through the entire room taking the spectators with them. It is probably Sello Pesa’s perfomance Inhabitants which I remember most vividly. The performance was set on Main Street outside of GoetheonMain and the spectators took seats on the opposite side of the street. All the pedestrians passing by were confused of what was going on. On the other hand, the spectators couldn’t tell if the pedestrians were part of the performance or not. The perfomance was a great example of how to engage with GoetheonMain’s urban environment and with the people who live there.

5. GoetheonMain wants to keep offering a space for art and culture in the future. Will there be any changes?
We constantly try to develop the concept of GoetheonMain. Markus Bader of the art collective Raumlabor in Berlin evaluated GoetheonMain during a residency in Johannesburg. His results will help us to develop new ideas. But first of all, we are looking forward to a diverse programme in 2012. The projects for 2012 were chosen out of more than 60 proposals by the GoetheonMain jury in late September 2011.