World Hope Forum Germany
THE FUTURE OF WELLNESS
Curated by Ornamenta 2024
Saturday, July 6, 2024
15:00–18:00 Black Forest (CET)
9:00–12:00 New York (EST)
The demand for ways to deal with stress, both virtual and in real life, is at an all-time high. Thus, this edition of WHF, curated by the festival Ornamenta 2024, delves into the future of well-being. For centuries, Germany has embraced the concept of “kur” (spa), a holistic approach to healing that emphasises spending time in nature, utilising thermal waters and fresh air. While the privatisation of the country’s spa industry in the 1990s may have made these traditional experiences less accessible, different public initiatives are breathing new life into this tradition.
Join Germany's inaugural World Hope Forum moderated from the iconic thermal baths of Bad Wildbad, where ten contributors will showcase how design, architecture, and craft draw inspiration from German heritage to create solutions for fatigue and isolation. The World Hope Forum is a virtual symposium that aims to unite major players who have pioneered new, more ethical industrial and economic processes, prioritizing people. Ornamenta 2024 collaborates with trend forecasters Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano, striving to establish a comprehensive global platform for exchanging knowledge and fostering innovation.
THE PROGRAM Black Forest (CET)
15:00 – 15:05 Welcome by LI EDELKOORT & PHILIP FIMMANO, WHF Co-Founders
15:05 – 15:10 Greetings by ORNAMENTA’S CURATORIAL TEAM
15:10 – 15:30 STUDIO OSSIDIANA, Public spaces for wellness
15:30 – 15:35 ILLONA EISENMANN, Live bathing exercise from the spa gardens
15:35 – 15:50 DR. PHIL. ASTRID KÖHLER, The European Spa as a transnational meeting place
15:50 – 16:00 SAM CHERMAYEFF, Touring with the Saunarider (in collaboration with BLESS)
16:00 – 16:20 HELENE STEINBERG, in conversation with WILLEM SCHENK German Walz tradition
16:20 – 16:35 TIM LEBERECHT, The Beautiful Business of a Life-centred
16:35 – 16:55 JULIA F. CHRISTENSEN, Dancing is the best medicine
16:55 – 17:05 ALICIA LINDNER, A garden to recharge during work hours
17:05 – 17:20 HANNES SCHWERTFEGER, Bureau Baubotanik - Plant-based Architecture
17:20 – 17:30 Water break - Live from Tröstbach quelle
17:30 – 17:50 ANDREAS RUDOW, Bagni Popolari - Commoning Thermal Waters
17:50 – 17:55 Closing words ORNAMENTA
17:55 – 18:00 Closing words, LI EDELKOORT & PHILIP FIMMANO
18:00 End
ORNAMENTA
Taking place from July to September 2024, Ornamenta is a regional quinquennial for arts and design in Germany’s Northern Black Forest region. Held first in 1989, Ornamenta returns in 2024 as a platform for contemporary cultural development, which takes place through site-specific exhibitions, public installations, and events at more than 20 locations. Local citizens, curious neighbours, and adventurous national and international visitors are invited to discover the Nordschwarzwald through different exhibition routes set out by Ornamenta. The Northern Black Forest region includes the cities of Pforzheim, Calw, Bad-Wildbad, Nagold, and Maulbronn, and is a popular destination for nature tourism. Besides its perpetual natural beauty, the region is also home to fine metal industries, small spa towns, and a rich variety of people, communities and cultures. ORNAMENTA 2024 is curated by Jules van den Langenberg, Willem Schenk, and Katharina Wahl.
@ornamenta2024 @julesvandenlangenberg @happyhardcoreholland @wahl.katharina
DR. PHIL. ASTRID KÖHLER
Astrid Köhler is one of the four principal investigators of the project "The European Spa as a Transnational Public Space and Social Metaphor," specialising in the history of spa towns. The project is part of a research initiative on public spaces, culture, and integration, funded by the European Union. The researchers examine how spa towns, with their characteristic institutions such as the Kurpark, sanatorium, grand hotel, and casino, developed into public spaces that transcend national borders and function as places for negotiating political, social, and cultural issues. Astrid is also a professor of German Literature and Comparative Cultural Studies at Queen Mary University of London.
ILLONA EISENMANN
Ilona is an active member of the Kneipp association of the Northern Black Forest and a certified Kneipp health trainer. She offers courses and has knowledge of all five elements of Kneipp's teachings. The five elements - water, plants, exercise, nutrition, and balance - form the basis for a balanced and healthy life. "Health is not for sale, but comes through lifestyle," said Sebastian Kneipp, who first formulated the holistic health concept in the 19th century and launched the Kneipp movement that continues to this day. Ilona will demonstrate how to use a public Kneipp bath especially for the World Hope Forum.
STUDIO OSSIDIANA
Studio Ossidiana is an award-winning practice working at the crossroads of architecture, design, and landscaping, led by Giovanni Bellotti and Alessandra Covini. They have created a permanent museum dedicated to the waters of Almere (NL) and temporary gardens designed for humans, birds, and other species. Their projects aim to reconnect us with nature within our built environment. For ORNAMENTA 2024, they have developed three site-specific proposals for the spa town of Bad Wildbad, which are yet to be realised. These proposals reimagine traditional Kneipp wellness practices and incorporate water features from the region.
SAM CHERMAYEFF
Sam is an architect and designer based in Berlin. Previously, he worked for SANAA in Tokyo, where he led projects such as the Serpentine Pavilion and curated the Venice Biennale. Sam has taught at various institutes, including Columbia University and Cornell University. Having experience in building saunas, Sam collaborated with BLESS on the Saunarider, a project that transformed a Mercedes-Benz Sedan into a fully-functioning mobile sauna. This wellness vehicle was first presented at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin in 2022 and will be taken for a test ride during the World Hope Forum Germany.
HELENE STEINBERG
As a trained interior decorator and upholsterer, Helene spent four years travelling through Europe on the traditional 'Walz' (journeyman) route. Preserving a centuries-old tradition, travelling with little luggage, and discovering new things while practising a craft greatly appealed to her. To join the Walz, a whole set of codes and conduct is in place, from not using a mobile phone to wearing specific colours matching your guild. Journeymen are directly reliant on society and, instead of working for money, sometimes exchange labour for a place to sleep and three meals a day.
TIM LEBERECHT
During this talk, Tim will present the foundational elements of his concept of the Life-Centered Economy.
In light of the disruptions caused by Artificial Intelligence, and the impacts of late capitalism on our wellbeing, planet, and societies, business is experiencing a significant transformation. Tim Leberecht, co-founder of the Berlin-based agency House of Beautiful Business, suggests that going forward, the most crucial work for humans will be the kind that must be done beautifully rather than efficiently - with wholeheartedness, imagination, purpose, and compassion. Instead of merely managing life, organisations must become life-like.
ALICIA LINDNER
Alicia Lindner is the general manager and co-owner of Annemarie Börlind, Germany‘s biggest premium natural cosmetics brand. She is the third generation to run the family business and was named one of the '50 Best Female Entrepreneurs in Germany' by Handelsblatt in 2022. In 2023, her commitment to sustainability and efforts to fight casual sexism were recognised by the German Marketing Association. Part of the Börlind production facility is a botanical garden, home to many plants used in the creams the company produces. Employees of the company have full access to the garden, allowing for recharging in-between work.
JULIA F. CHRISTENSEN
Julia is a neuroscientist and former dancer, currently working at the Max-Planck-Institut for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt. She studied psychology, human evolution, and neuroscience, and was awarded a postdoctoral Newton International Fellowship by the British Academy. Her research on dance and the brain has been widely featured in the international press, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Julia co-authored the popular science book Dancing Is the Best Medicine, which was published in four languages and became a bestseller in Germany.
BUREAU BAUBOTANIK
Bureau Baubotanik is an art and architecture practice based in Stuttgart, focusing on plant-based designs. It was founded by Hannes Schwertfeger and Oliver Storz. They use living trees and other botanical elements as the main structural components of their architectural installations, aiming to raise public awareness about the value, functionality, and cultural significance of integrating living plants. Bureau Baubotanik's work centres on green infrastructures as imaginative and performative spaces. These spaces not only enhance the living standards of their environments but also highlight the social, political, and cultural interdependencies between human and non-human societies.
ANDREAS RUDOW- Bagni Popolari
Following the closure of the historic open-air baths 150 years ago and then the demolition of the newer thermal baths designed by architect Otto Glaus, thermal water has gradually disappeared from the public space and the collective consciousness of the town of Baden. In contrast, a group of cultural workers and thermal water lovers formed to keep the precious water accessible and free to use. In the beginning, it was possible to bathe in public areas unofficially and at night only. Then the Bagni Popolari association was founded in 2017 to revive the 2000-year-old tradition of communal and non-profit public thermal bathing. Several temporary pools and events led to the two today’s permanent hot springs that are freely accessible. The temporarily revived old Raben/Raven bathhouse now offers the opportunity to establish a cultural and social bath where, enriched with artistic positions and events, the collective bathing culture can be further developed and explored.
Lidewij Edelkoort
Co-Founder World Hope Forum
Li Edelkoort is a trend forecaster, publisher, humanitarian, design educator and exhibition curator. From 2015-2020 she was the Dean of Hybrid Design Studies at Parsons in New York where she founded a Textile Masters and the New York Textile Month festival. Her thought-provoking writings and podcasts have become increasingly popular at a time when she is regarded as an activist and champion for change. In 2020, she founded the World Hope Forum as a platform to inspire the creative community to rebuild a better society. She is also on the Creative Council for all of Gap Inc.’s fashion brands, advising the group on creative innovation and sustainable practice. In 2022, Edelkoort collaborated with Polimoda in Florence to establish an innovative new textile masters called From Farm to Fabric to Fashion.
PHILIP FIMMANO
Co-Founder World Hope Forum
Philip Fimmano is a trend analyst and consultant, contributing to Trend Union’s forecasting books, magazines and strategic studies for international companies in fashion, textiles, interiors and lifestyle. In 2011, Fimmano co-founded Talking Textiles with Li Edelkoort; an ongoing initiative to promote awareness and innovation in textiles through touring exhibitions, a trend publication, a design prize and free educational programmes – including New York Textile Month, a citywide festival celebrating textile creativity each September. He is the co-author of the design book A Labour of Love (Lecturis, 2020) and the co-founder of the World Hope Forum, a new platform for creative community building. Fimmano is the mentor of Polimoda's fashion forecasting masters and textile masters in Florence, and he is on the Board of Directors for the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe. Fimmano is also on the Creative Council for all of Gap Inc.’s brands, advising the group on innovation and sustainable practice.