Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB) continues its engagement for the VRHAM! Festival as a partner this year. A conversation with Christine Faßnacht, Head of Content Maketing, about art promotion, digitalization and virtual reality as an artistic medium:
VRHAM!: Why is DKB involved in VR art, what potential do you see in this still young art form?
CHRISTINE FASSNACHT: As a digital bank, we naturally feel particularly connected to digital art. And Corona has given digitalization another enormous boost. When we were thinking about organizing the VR ART PRIZE of DKB in cooperation with CAA Berlin, we couldn’t have known that yet. But we knew that digitalization would permeate all areas of life. The banking world as well as the art world. And: it is important that we deal with the new possibilities and opportunities. Our self-image as a sustainably operating, digital bank goes hand in hand with the fact that we take up socially relevant topics and promote promising developments on the cutting edge. We also want to reflect on the impact of digitalisation on individuals and society. And our scholarship holders have reflected this in wonderful works. Patricia Detmering and Lauren Moffatt – two of the award winners – will also be on show at VRHAM!.
VR: DKB has announced the VR ART PRIZE for the first time in 2020 in cooperation with the Contemporary Arts Alliance (CAA). The winners have been chosen and there is currently an exhibition in Berlin. How did the idea and the cooperation with the CAA come about?
CF: Yes, the exhibition “Resonance of Realities” can be seen until 4 July in the Haus am Lützowplatz. It shows the 5 artistic positions nominated for the VR ART PRIZE by Banz & Bowinkel, Evelyn Bencicova, Patricia Detmering, Armin Keplinger and Lauren Moffatt. Lauren Moffatt, by the way, won 1st place in the VR ART PRIZE. We are very happy to be able to make these exciting works – which all deal with the medium of VR in art in very different ways – accessible to a larger audience. By the way, we had 104 submissions, all of very high quality, and that shows that VR is being used more and more as a medium in art. Now, how the idea came about: We had been thinking about reorienting our art engagement with a social added value for a while – and especially with a digital focus. We have been working with CAA Berlin for several years. The beauty is that we complement each other perfectly: CAA, as a partner, brings its network and art business know-how, and we, as a bank, have the passion to create something new and to think and promote outside the mainstream. In the course of our deliberations, we came into contact with Tina Sauerländer, our artistic director, curator and proven VR art expert. Tina also played a major role in the conception of the VR ART PRIZE. So it’s real teamwork!
VR: VR Art and DKB are now also closely linked thanks to the commitment to VRHAM! and part of the worldwide community. Are there any concepts for the future?
CF: No concrete concepts yet, but of course a lot of ideas! In the summer, we plan to take a step back and reflect on how we would like to continue our commitment. What makes sense? How can we link things intelligently? What does the post-Corona world look like? The art and culture sector in particular has suffered a lot, and I think we are all asking ourselves: What’s next?
