Jeroen Bouweriks & Linda Beumer
Shaped Canvas Track
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"Come and try Kunsthal Aarhus’ running track.

Shaped Canvas Track is designed by the Dutch artist/designer duo Jeroen Bouweriks & Linda Beumer and was selected from a Call for Ideas in the summer of 2013. The selected project is inspired by the American minimalist icon Frank Stella and the Danish middle distance runner Wilson Kipketer, and in this way it combines art and sport.\xe2\x80\xa8\xe2\x80\xa8\n\n\

With its red rubber surface the track is perfect for a 50 metre sprint from the J.M. Mørks Gade street to Kunsthal Aarhus’ new entrance. The stripes of the track wrap around the old building becoming a hybrid between landscape architecture, sport, design and art.\xe2\x80\xa8\xe2\x80\xa8\n\n\

This fascinates City Architect from Aarhus Municipality, Stephen Willacy:
“The selected team has created a very inspiring project. They have been able to create a temporary artwork, which guides the visitors with humour and clear design, but also respects the existing architecture.”

The artists, Jeroen Bouweriks & Linda Beumer say:

“We believe in the unexpected combination of disciplines, and that this can result in interesting dynamics. The idea of walking, running with a certain goal – in this case to the entrance – can become a game or a challenge. Why not facilitate this motion with an unusual track in a contemporary art context. It’s the mixture of these two worlds that can appeal to different kind of visitors.”\n\n\

Lars Nielsen, Chief Coach for the National Athletics team who has been a consultant on Shaped Canvas Track explains his interest in the project:

“It combines sports and arts, and for me these are two elements with a lot in common. Both demand the same to get you to the top level, and that is commitment. You have to think in new ways, seek inspiration and make use of other people’s ideas.”\n\n\

The project marks the start of the new phase of the transformation of Kunsthal Aarhus, connecting the development of its new artistic profile with its architectural features:

Shaped Canvas Track was opened 25 April 2015 and can be experienced until 2017 and is the first commissioned art project in Kunsthal Aarhus' new public programme "Museum Without Walls" (2015–17) comprising of a series of new artworks developed specifically for urban context and participatory projects developed through social media.

Shaped Canvas Track is supported by the Nordea Foundation and Obelsk Family Foundation.

Contribution from Dan Jord A/S, Aarhus 1900 and Laboratoriet.