Grazer Kunstverein moves to an in-between space
Edward Clydesdale Thomson
20.3.2020, 3pm
Meeting at tram stop: Brauhaus Puntigam
(Puntigam)

This event is postponed due to the unfolding COIVD-19 situation, related health risks and travel complications. A new date will be announced.



Edward Clydesdale Thomson works together with students in this workshop in Puntigam to test concepts for the term “shelter”. From a wind barrier to a safe space of asylum each shelter is different and each shelter is conditional. In a workshop lasting several days, the group will construct their new shelters.

“The shack is always conditional…….The disposition of things is an economy in time…….Like any etymological construction, each shack is a 3D modification of belief” – Lisa Robertson – The office for soft architecture.

The Grazer Kunstverein transforms itself into a research experiment that connects art, architecture, climate change and conflict with the construction of site-specific temporary urban structures. The experiment takes the form of a workshop, situated in a speculative near-future in Graz, where extreme rainfall, soaring summer temperatures and more frequent storm winds define the climatic conditions. A vacant lot in Puntigam is our test site. There we construct a series of experimental structures and shelters which aim to adapt to this new climate in a way that could mitigate potential conflict. The shelters are temporary, improvised, resourcefully fabricated and functional. Inspired by off-grid and survivalist architecture, they embody a conglomeration of positions, desires and beliefs, giving form to a new vernacular language. With these structures we intend to further develop: an awareness of the potential practical impact of future climate conditions, an understanding of recycling within artistic practice, a notion of what shelter means to us and a questioning of the place of art in the future of the built environment.

Edward Clydesdale Thomson runs this project as a 3-day workshop in which participants are invited to partake. The workshop is predominantly practical; working with materials onsite. It will begin at the Grazer Kunstverein’s Depot location with an evening session introducing the context and theoretical concerns of the project. During the following three days of the workshop (18, 19, 20 March) participants will work in small groups together with Edward on-site in Puntigam, making and discussing ideas of shelter. It is possible for up to 20 people to participate in the project. Participants will need to dress warmly but all further materials will be provided.

Edward Clydesdale Thomson (b. 1982) is a Scottish/Danish artist based in Rotterdam. He has exhibited at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, the Malmo Konstmuseum, Malmo. He is a graduate of the MFA program at the Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam and the BArch program at the Glasgow school of Art. He was resident at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam (2011–12). In 2011 he was awarded the Lecturis Award and nominated for the Prix de Rome. Notable solo shows include “causa finalis” (2012), Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, “wild care, tame neglect” Frankendael Foundation, Amsterdam and “Nothin Shakin but the Leaves on the Trees” Marabouparken konsthall, Stockholm.