Exhibitions & concerts

Vilm - an inspiration to artists past and present

Vilm has a special place in the history of landscape painting. The tranquillity of the island and its "primordial forest" of mighty beech and oak trees, which attracted religious hermits in the Middle Ages, has appealed to landscape painters since the rise of the Romantic movement. Over the past two centuries over 300 artists have sought out the island, following the example of Caspar David Friedrich. Among the most important were the Dresden doctor and landscape painter Carl Gustav Carus and the Weimar painter, Friedrich Preller the Elder, who was much admired and supported by Goethe.

When a hotel opened in 1886, growing numbers of artists gravitated to the Isle of Vilm, and its landscape was central to their work. There are pictures of the island representing almost every style of landscape painting since the Romantic movement.

We reconnect with this artistic tradition by holding exhibitions and concerts on the island. Our programme is intended to open up alternative perspectives and new ways of looking at nature and the landscape. This part of the Academy’s work is addressed equally to conference participants, residents and visitors to the island of Rügen.

This is made possible thanks to cooperation between the Vilm-Verein (Verein zur Pflege des Natur- und Kulturerbes der Insel Vilm e.V., association to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the Isle of Vilm) and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.

Exhibitions on the Isle of Vilm

Art with utility value - sculptures by Hans Werner Kratzsch and Bernhard Misgajski

Please do sit on these seats. Placed near the entrance to the conference centre they are a welcome alternative to the indoor conference seating, and well used during breaks when the weather is fine. The benches were hewn from oak by the Rügen wood sculptor, Hans Werner Kratzsch (b. 1946). The slightly less comfortable steel and granite seat was made by Bernhard Misgajski (b. 1950), a steel and stone sculptor who works within sight of the Isle of Vilm.

The watermarks put one in mind of the masts of sailing ships. They act as vertical landmarks in the coastal landscape, inviting the eye to dwell on and relish the beautiful view.

Exhibition in the generator house - photography by Volkmar Herre

The permanent exhibition in the gallery in the former generator house, entitled DER BAUM UND ICH (The tree and I) consists of large format photographs by Volkmar Herre (b. 1943). The artist lives in Stralsund and has devoted himself to tree studies on the Isle of Vilm since 1994. The resulting body of work depicts ambiguous and richly symbolic images of growth and decay. In the language of natural forms, the photographer discovers the beauty of human form.

Some more recent additions are works made with a camera obscura, which explore the mystery of light and time.

Edition herre has published a catalogue, an album of photographs ("Venus") and an illustrated broadsheet on the exhibition, all of which can be obtained from our reception.

Concerts on the Isle of Vilm

Nature was time and again an important source of inspiration for the music and the composers. Vice versa music can raise our attention, our mood for the beauty and sublimity of nature and landscape.

In the new project "Music and Nature" we want to make audible these connecting lines and points of contact. In 2008 four concerts are planned. In addition, there will be a special concert during the "Open Day of Vilm". Besides, the cooperation between Prof. Hartmut Möller from the "College for Music and Theatre" (HMT) in Rostock, the registered society "Vilm e. V" and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation will be continued in a proven way and will be extended.

These are the dates for the concerts:

Spring

16. April 2008

The Trio MARAN composed by Katharina Weyer (Flöte), Anne von Hoff (Geige) und Gregor Siegmund (Gitarre) plays compositions from Bach, Berlioz, Kreutzer and others.

Summer

16. July 2008

Jaqueline Urizar (piano) and Penelope Papathanassiou (flute)play compositions from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sergei Prokofiev, Jacques Ibert and others.

Autumn

8. October 2008

Mechthild Kornow (vocal) and Olga Bille (piano) will perform songs by Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten composedy by Franz Schubert and others.

This musical project will take place on the occasion of the 250th birthday of Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten.

Olga Bille (piano) and Mechthild Kornow (vocal)

Winter

4. November 2008

Andreas Gomoll (guitar) and Raik Flotow (vocals) have developed a very
special way of making music in the course of many years they have been
playing together.
The duo presents new arrangements and interpretations without fix boundaries
of style: A distictive voice, ranging from hard to soft according to rock or
soul parts, combined with funky guitar tones, groovy bass notes and a big
portion of backbeats - all this on a single guitar?
Look and see - or listen!

The crossing by ferry boot to Vilm occurs at 19.00h.
The concert begins in each case at 19.45h.

To book ferry crossings and concert tickets:
telephone +49 (0)38301-86112 or Martina.Finger@bfn-vilm.de.

Special concert with the trio "Smørbröd", the trio "Jazzsaari" and "Quartetto Vocale"
Saturday, 28. June 2008

"Open air" at the "Open Day" of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation Isle of Vilm (during the day for children and adults at several places)