In 2015 Sans façon with Katja Aßmann curated the edition of Urban Lights Ruhr in Hagen. Seven artists were invited to explore the context of a post-industrial city in the Ruhr Region through new works which consider light.
The artists’ projects for Urban Lights Ruhr presented complementary approaches looking at the urban and social conditions of Hagen (Anna Rispoli, Shiny Toys), the typical urban spaces created by 1950’s and 1960’s functionalist planning (A Kassen, Simon Faithfull), playing with our perceptions and relation to everyday light infrastructure (Janice Kerbel, Tatzu Nishi / Taturo Atzu). All the projects responded to issues of public space and city planning by bringing a poetic sensitivity to these places, creating moments of unexpected spectacle in the everyday. The works varied between discreet interventions that needed to be experienced on a number of nights, some visually striking and others playful.
To coincide with UNESCO International Year of Light, a series of artists work from the media festival Connecting Cities was brought to Hagen for Urban Light Ruhr. In discussion with curator Susa Pop, Hagen hosted, alongside Berlin, Helsinki, Liverpool, Madrid, works based around media facades, urban screens and projection sites. The Connecting Cities artists invited to Hagen were Andrea Polli, Blake Shaw, Ghana Think Tank, Mark Shepard, Ricardo O’nascimento.
A further collaboration with the University of Dortmund MA in Scenographie and Communication rounded out the full Urban Lights Ruhr 2015 program with excess of 15 art works realized.
In addition to co-curating Urban Lights Ruhr 2015, Sans façon were asked to create works for this edition (Silent Fairground, Sunset Sunrise, Pantone Perfect)
