Pro qm was founded in 1999 in Berlin as a thematic bookstore that focuses on the concept of “city” and its links to politics, pop, economic critique, architecture, design, art and related theories. The project is interdisciplinary and, alongside the bookstore, consists of regular events in the store and contributions to exhibitions and conferences. Pro qm runs two permanent book displays at Frankfurter Kunstverein as well as Kunsthaus Dresden.
The site Pro qm evolved from a theoretical debate over urban politics and a discussion of alternative spaces for cultural production, as a social space, to facilitate the engagement with such questions. In the store the theoretical interests intersect with a case of practice, of how these theoretical concerns become public. In this sense the project understands itself as institutional and programmatic. Concerned with the documentation and mediation of artistic and urban-political processes, it is also about how these processes are represented and dealt with in media such as books, magazines, records, CDs, videos etc. The functionality of the bookstore is above all as a certain type of negotiation, which at the same time secures the economy of the store. It provides an engagement that links theories with their distribution, including scientific work and artistic projects.
Pro qm Address: Almstadtstrasse 48-50, 10119 Berlin Open: Mon-Fri 12:00-20:00 / Sat 12:00-18:00 (Closed on Sunday) Tel: +49 30 247 28520 info@pro-qm.de
GAGARIN THE ARTISTS IN THEIR OWN WORDS is a recent artist’s magazine (°2000), entirely dedicated to the publication of especially written and unpublished texts by artists who are now working, anywhere in the world. Each issue contains a number of artists’ writings, if possible from an equal number of countries. The texts are published in their original language and alphabetical writing, with unabridged translations in English added. Advertising and visual material are deliberately kept out. In collaboration with the Research Centre for Artists’ Publications / Archive for small Press & Communication (ASPC) at the Neues Museum Weserburg in Bremen (Germany), GAGARIN features a supplementary Index of Artists’ Writings published world wide. GAGARIN is indexed in Art Biography Modern ABM by Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Oxford, UK. GAGARIN is aimed at those who do not tend to wait until everything is accepted and synthesised and those who are prepared to leave the road to search for stimulating art and ideas while they are still fresh. GAGARIN does not restrict itself to a particular period or import and runs trough the codes that are applied in the world of art. Its orientation is artistic, documentary and historical. GAGARIN also aspires to provide an accurate source of information about the collaborating artists, using their own words.
Brand new song "1901" by the French band Phoenix. Their new album "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" releases 25th May. You can download the song for free on www.wearephoenix.com