Wir schließen

Warehouses and chain stores that sell bedding in an urban environment have always undercut each other with the announcement ‘We are closing’, only to compensate for the threat in the same breath by promising ‘50% off everything’. The Museum für Fotokopie M.F.F. adopts the advertising principle of artificial scarcity, using that very title, Wir schließen (We Are Closing), to celebrate its reopening after a lengthy period of renovation, and to do so in the context of Ruhr Ding: Schlaf. The museum was founded in 1985 by the artist Klaus Urbons, who has since amassed an internationally renowned collection covering the history of photocopying, along with works of copy art and numerous photocopying machines.

Wir schließen exhibits a selection of copier-printed outfits for the night and also invites visitors to discover the impressive museum. The collection and archive have for many years been housed on the first floor of the Makroscope sociocultural centre in the heart of downtown Mülheim. During Ruhr Ding: Schlaf, a thematically tailored programme of events is also taking place here: the bar area of the house invites visitors to linger over coffee, cake, or drinks, and the artists’ collective The Wig shows a context-specific work that partly refers to the archive of the Museum für Fotokopie.

The Wir schließen exhibition is curated by Therese Schuleit and Klaus Urbons and is supported with funds from the LVR Regionale Kulturförderung.