transitstation Copenhagen 2010 took place on April 17th – April 19th 2010 at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. The final production phase and operational preparations started on February 15th and were managed on site by Dagmar I. Glausnitzer, Artistic Director. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts provided an office and accommodations. The partnership with the Academy proved helpful and several PR tasks were delegated because of established good relations between the press and the Academy Director Mikkel Bogh. The Academy provided all necessary technical equipment for the event, the space and hospitality.

40-70 international artists collaborate to create a two-day high-energy event in a changing international context. The event has been on tour through Europe since 2003.

The work appeals to a wide audience and generates many creative opportunities. The demographic profile is 15% children and teenagers, 25 % University students, 55% adults and local artists and 5 % pensioners.

At the centre of the space is a scaffolding system, which against all expectations for a silent visit, seems to explode with non-stop action during the 24-hour weekend event. Artists choose how to integrate  their individual genres with the sculptural scaffolding structure. Performers and visitors alike become part of the work, by occupying and experiencing the space and the actions held within it.

In Copenhagen Dagmar I. Glausnitzer-Smith and Assistant Curator and Artist Natalie Bikoro shared the responsibility of creating the performance schedule for 50 Artists arriving from Europe and 20 Danish and Scandinavian Artists joining the event with their work.

The final schedule with set times for the artist’s work was revised twice on April 16th due to the cancellation of flights for 20 arriving artists due to the eruption and dusty clouds of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland.

In retrospect the artists mastered the energy and the power of improvisation, while recognising the absences of their colleagues. The dynamics of actions and their reception by the viewers changed from Saturday to Sunday thus introducing the diversity of art works and their tangibility, and allowing indeterminism to be an original factor of live experiences both enjoyed by the visitors and the artists themselves. 

The public relations were part of the Academy’s responsibility and primarily had been reflected through the Internet and mailing proceedings. transitstation was visited by approximately 250 people interested in culture, of whom 10% were students and staff of the Academy of Fine Arts.

Monday April 19th after the transitstation weekend was dedicated to EduAction Day, a critical debate around experiences, impressions, the idea of the event-character and the artists’ presentations; the EduAction Day with about 50 participants became a successful conference and motivation to travel to the next transitstation stop. 

The transitstation idea remains one of process, continually reinstating the original and non-compromising state of Art-in-Action-in-Art in new relations with other European cities.