Art Basel Plans Rirkrit Tiravanija Art Installation

Rirkrit Tiravanija, Nikolaus Hirsch, Michel Müller, and Antto Melasniemi, Do We Dream Under the Same Sky (rendering). Photo: courtesy the artists.

In addition to the 283 galleries exhibiting in the upcoming Art Basel in Basel (see Here Is the 2015 Exhibitor List for Art Basel in Basel), Rirkrit Tiravanija is bringing a large-scale conceptual and architectural installation to the Basel Messeplatz. Titled Do We Dream Under the Same Sky, the piece, commissioned by Art Basel, is a collaboration with German architects Nikolaus Hirsch and Michel Müller, and Finnish chef Antto Melasniemi.

The piece builds off of “The Land,” the self-sustaining artistic community in Thailand that Tiravanija runs with Thai artist Kamin Lertchaiprasert. Both projects are inspired by the notion of an artistic utopia, and look to demonstrate how artists can ensure that their practice is sustainable and ecologically minded.

Do We Dream is a communal space built on the idea of hospitality, offering fair visitors the chance to relax with a cup of tea brewed from herbs plucked from an on-site garden, or to enjoy Thai-inspired meals from Melasniemi in the community dining/meeting room, located in a modular bamboo and steel structure designed by Hirsch and Müller.

Tiravanija will aim for self-sufficiency, employing solar energy and other alternative energy models in the space. Guests will play a hands-on role, and will be able to serve themselves—or others—and even help with the cooking in cleaning in lieu of paying for their meals, as there is no set menu or prices. Donations, of course, are welcome.

No word on whether naked visitors will be welcome in the community-oriented space (see Art Basel Turns Away Nude Performance Artist).

Rirkrit Tiravanija’s Do We Dream Under the Same Sky will be on view at Art Basel in Basel, June 18–21, 2015.


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