In December, the exhibition programme will be supplemented by six events that take up and deepen central aspects of the show: from collecting and crafting together to consciously doing nothing and discussions with renowned artists.

The events at a glance:

Talk with Luca Viglialoro "The Art of Drafting: A Conversation on Lack in Art and Design"
Thursday, 4 December, 6 p.m.
No registration required, free admission

Art and design do not appear here as finished products, but as open processes in which the unfinished makes new meanings possible. Based on Giorgio Agamben's idea of "de-creating", the aim is to discuss how the overriding of purposes can become a creative resource.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Running around, collecting, combining, exhibiting
Saturday, 6 December, 2 to 6 p.m.
No registration required, admission free

The afternoon offers open workshops and short guided tours of the exhibition. Visitors are invited to get creative themselves and explore the artistic processes thematised in "EX NIHILO" in a practical way.

"Doing nothing" workshop with Menarbi Danelia
Sunday, 7 December, 2 to 4 p.m.
Register by 5 December at kontakt[at]kunsthallebarmen.de

This workshop centres on the question of how productive consciously doing nothing can be. Together we will discuss why it sometimes makes more sense not to do something - be it for creative, ecological or social reasons. Whether hanging out together, reading texts or simply observing the passing of time: the workshop opens up a space for reflection on design, responsibility and creative breaks.

From demolition to new beginnings - a conversation about destruction in art and economy
Tuesday, 9 December, 6 p.m.
No registration required, admission free

Kunsthalle Barmen invites you to a dialogue about destruction in art and economy. The artist Bastian Hoffmann and the economist Prof. Bredemeier (BUW) will discuss how destruction both produces new artistic forms and - in the sense of Schumpeter's "creative destruction" - enables economic change. The exchange between studio practice and economic theory will create a space for thinking about risk, transformation and the forces that make innovation possible. Moderation: Katja Pfeiffer

Panel discussion "And you like this?"
Thursday, 11 December, 6 to 8 p.m.
No registration required, admission free

The artists Evamaria Schaller, Samuel Treindl and Aylin Forneberg talk about different forms of contemporary artistic practice. The panel discussion will focus on the productivity of strolling, the beauty of failure and the joy of trying things out - topics that the exhibition "EX NIHILO" addresses from an artistic and theoretical perspective.

Finissage of the current exhibition "EX NIHILO"
Sunday, 14 December, 2 to 6 p.m.
No registration required, admission free

The closing of the exhibition will be celebrated - and at the same time the farewell to the large shelf of Friedrich von Borries' seminar, a collection of colour-sorted found objects. From 2 pm, visitors will have the opportunity to attach their name to individual objects. Between 5 and 6 pm, the selected pieces will be ceremoniously handed over: Wearing white gloves, they will be removed from the shelves and handed over to their new owners. A small workshop programme will accompany the afternoon.