The open museum “kunstwegen” started in the summer of 2000 in the
German-Dutch Vechte Valley between Nordhorn (D) and Zwolle (NL).
The result was a cross-border art route. A total of 68 works by
international artists reflecting multifaceted dealings with the public
space over the past thirty years can now be found along a 140 kilometer
path.
A second step will follow: The goal of the upcoming innovative project is
the development of a new way dealing with the landscape and the
cultural region by joining the perspectives of art as well as town and
country planning. In a probably unique opening of administrative
planning processes for artistic points of view, ecological, sociological,
economic and aesthetic aspects are combined with participatory
working methods. International artists thus work directly in a sociopolitical space and link ways previously regarded as incompatible of dealing with mutual life spaces together with experts from administration and practice.
The art project “raumsichten” will extend by “kunstwegen”, the largest European “museum without walls”, in a southerly direction towards the border of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the upper county of Bad Bentheim, thus substantially increasing its significance as regards cultural tourism. At the same time, this extension marks a lively enhancement of the sculpture route that combines leisure activities and international artistic developments in a unique fashion.