In this video, Daniel Baumann and Hans Ulrich Obrist discuss how they live up to isolation during the Corona pandemic and if they had any previous similar experiences. They remember that social outsiders, such as the painter Swiss Adolf Wölfli or the Swiss author Robert Walser, also needed to cope with psychological and practical implication of imposed isolation. Obrist recounts how his now longstanding practice of artist conversations came to life while being bored during an unwanted stay in the snowed-in valley in the Swiss mountains.
The colleagues challenge the purpose of their professional activities beyond short-term exhibitions. Long-term projects such as “DO IT” and their commitment to their respective institutions, they argue, are living proof that community-building responsibilities must lie beyond the limits of the museum.
“We need to celebrate roots that expand elsewhere. Roots that touch each other. They are not singular roots. They are roots that cover and protect each other.”
– Hans Ulrich Obrist
