Kunst und Bau: Die Hardau

This publication appeared on the occasion of the completion of the artworks by Sislej Xhafa and Zilla Leutenegger in the Hardau. Both works were realised within the framework of the research project "Kunst Öffentlichkeit Zürich"; a cooperation of the Institute for Contemporary Art Research (IFCAR) of the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK and the City of Zurich, with the support of the Innovation Promotion Agency CTI.

The art projects were preceded by urban planning and art historical, artistic and sociological as well as economic historical research, studies and assessments of the Hard neighbourhood in Zurich's Aussersihl district. Some of these were published in the volume "Kunst und Öffentlichkeit - Kritische Praxis der Kunst im Stadtraum Zürich" (ed. by Christoph Schenker and Michael Hiltbrunner, Zurich 2007). The studies and their evaluation served as a basis for inviting the artists. They also formed the starting point for determining factors to which the artists implicitly or explicitly referred in their works. For the works of Sislej Xhafa and Zilla Leutenegger, it was above all factors from the social field that formed the points of reference. The contributions to this publication draw attention to these aspects where they are visible and can be experienced. They present the context on which a work of art is based as well as the environment with which the work enters into dialogue. The booklet contains 29 short articles with illustrations on the formative aspects of the neighbourhood as well as interviews with Zilla Leutenegger and Sislej Xhafa.