Düsseldorf and art - a love story that began during the 18th century if not before: in 1773, Elector Karl Theodor founded the academy of fine arts, which attracts artists from all over the world to the state capital and who continue to play a key role in shaping Düsseldorf's vibrant art scene to this day. VIVID asked five of them to talk about their life and work in the city.

Anna VOGEL

I see myself as an artist because I can express my thoughts and observations in the media of my choice, in my own time and way of working, without any external constraints. I spend most of my working time in the studio. Here I use photography, which I rework using manual techniques I have developed myself, so that an additional, more graphic level is created. I have always decided autonomously which direction my work takes and which themes interest me. Of course, you also talk to gallery owners and hear what collectors say about your work. But that has had little influence on me. I studied at the academy with Thomas Ruff, Christopher Williams and Andreas Gursky. Since graduating in 2012, I've been able to make a living from my art in Düsseldorf. The city is a good size. You recognise a lot of faces when you're out and about. Galleries, museums and the academy are always attracting new people, so it never gets boring. •

Holger Kurz Jäger, Malerei. Zudem malt er Graffiti und tätowiert.

Holger Kurt Jäger

I reject the genius-coloured term "artist", actually I find it simple and bland. For me being an artist is more closely associated with more work, more thinking and more risk. You really have to want it, however, I also feel it`s for those who dare - I love the adventure. I started when I was 12 and taught myself how to do graffiti, later I trained as an interior decorator and when I was 25, I started studying art. Six months after my graduation I put all my eggs in one basket, applied to galleries and used my contacts. That worked out very well, and for the last 13 years I have been able to concentrate fully on my work in the studio. For me, artistic freedom means that I have the peace and quiet to produce ten works at the same time, to pursue the ideas and approaches and to finalise them without any outside influence. The academy and the appeal of the young artists as well as three contemporary museums make Düsseldorf a hotspot for me. Many of the established artists remain loyal to the city and there is a large off-scene. What I miss are more affordable studio spaces and flats for students. And more

Norika Nienstedt

I define an artist as an open, free spirit who enjoys movement, development and learning and for whom creativity is both a need and a game. There are phases when I draw or paint, but by far the majority of my time is spent collaging. It is a very intuitive, meditative way of working that means a lot to me. From 1974 to 1979 I studied painting at the Städelschule Academy of Fine Arts in Frankfurt am Main. At the beginning of my life as an artist in the Heidelberg/Weinheim area, I was able to make a good living from my work, as I quickly achieved local "fame". After moving to Düsseldorf in 1982, it took a very long time before I had my first exhibition opportunity here. I've only been able to make a living from my art again for the past few years now. Artistically, I consider myself to be completely free, and that is very important to me. I am happy to accept advice and criticism, but I am only committed to myself. Düsseldorf is becoming a city of art thanks to the academy, the good work of the cultural office and the growing number of exciting open spaces. What's missing? Even more off-spaces! •

ANYS REIMANN

As an artist, I make use of my very own language, with which I can speak freely of conditions and sensitivities of our world from the universal to the most intimate and personal. What I direct my attention to or what can influence me "from the outside" are social and political conditions, events, local, global, gender issues! Düsseldorf has an enormous variety of art spaces of all kinds. A high initiative density of creative artists, great exchange and an equally large number of interested parties. However, I think the term "city of art" is very exaggerated. The supra-regional visibility and appeal, basically the cityscape, could shine with lasting, striking actions created by artists, right up to immpressively elegant routing and traffic CI, cartwheelers could for once give way to powerful, contemporary sculpture. And Art in Architecture, a subject at the academy, could possibly create progressively noticeable new landmarks and ever changing, visual moments. Integrate the academy's reputation more directly into more vibrant/ urban projects, as is common practice everywhere else. •

Jan Albers

As an artist, you dedicate your life to art - there is hardly an alternative. In addition to working in the studio, exhibiting is an important part of artistic practice. Every work of art always reveals the personality of its creator to some extent.

I originally came to Düsseldorf because of the art academy and then made a conscious decision to stay here at a time when many people were moving to Berlin. Artists have always lived in the Rhineland, we have important museums, very good galleries and committed collectors. For a long time, this county used to call the shots, however, that has certainly changed somewhat. The art world has become a lot bigger, yet the Rhineland is still a good starting point.

After your graduation, there is no one waiting for you. You settle into your studio, think about what you have to say and try to get the attention you think your work deserves. You can hope for luck or rely on persistence, which seems to me to be the much more effective method.

Text: KATJA VADERS
Fotos: PR, Anna Vogel, Alexander Romey, Atelier Anys Reimann, Michael Jonas

Is Düsseldorf a city of art?

Anna VOGEL

Holger Kurt Jäger

Norika Nienstedt

ANYS REIMANN

Jan Albers