Mein Vorschlag: Friesenbad

Graw Böckler

Graw Böckler video, Cologne 1999
Video loop screened in the pavilion of the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz

Mein Vorschlag: Friesenbad is a 1999 film in the series Campaigning for Ideas by the artists’ duo Graw Böckler. In the film, a young woman proposes replacing the construction of new office buildings with an open-air public swimming pool in the heart of Cologne.

“…imagine a magical blue stretch of water reflecting light and clouds. In the centre of Cologne, life-giving, refreshing water is a source of delight. Next to the city's narrow lanes and streets, the eye is met with the magnificent openness of open-air pool architecture…”

Twenty-seven years later and 600 kilometres from Cologne, office complexes are still being built and high-rise towers are planned for parks, while sports and leisure centres are facing demolition and housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable. But one thing’s still there: the dream of enjoying a carefree summer time in a vast open-air swimming pool in the heart of the city, as championed by Mein Vorschlag: Friesenbad. “Just imagine”, as the promotional film puts it, “the atmosphere in our city during the summer months” if the lido were to become a reality…

During our VOLKSBAD season, the video loop is screened in the pavilion of the Volksbühne, our pop-up fries shop.

Ursula Böckler (*1965) and Georg Graw (*1966) have been working as artists’ duo Graw Böckler in the fields of video and photography. The shots are mostly documentary in nature and then dramatised in post-production. Painting, installation and sculpture expand the duo’s artistic practice. They are based in Berlin and also run the project space Graw Böckler Garage.