Participatory Practices: Art's Role in Shaping Cultural Narratives

22. Juli 2025, 18.00 Uhr Land Grant, 424 W Town St, Columbus

Artist Talk with Martin Höfer: “Stammtisch and Meet the Artist with Peter Coccia, and Valerie Kohlwey”

Concept and media artist Martin Höfer will present in this Arstist Talk his artistic practice and research, as well as his plans during his stay in Columbus, Ohio.

Admission is free, and no registration is required. Take this opportunity to engage in conversation with Martin Höfer (Artist and University of Arts Linz), as well as Peter Coccia (President Dresden Sister City) and Valerie Kohlwey (Ohio State University Columbus), and learn more about the fascinating intersections of art, mass media, and sports.

Martin Höfer, who specializes in the intersections of art, mass media, and sports, will present his artistic practice and research during this talk. Höfer examines the role of artistic interventions in the context of mass media and their influence on societal structures. In particular, performance sports, shaped by media representation and commercialization, serve as a platform for innovative artistic interventions.

As part of his artistic research, Höfer develops new conceptual tools for analyzing artistic interventions and introduces seven types of intervention: participatory, disruptive, reflexive, parasitic, media-critical, sports-cultural, and systemic interventions. This typology allows for a precise understanding of the interactions between art, sports, and media, as well as their societal relevance.

Martin Höfer is member of the research collective at the University of Arts Linz and a assistant professor with a teaching assignment in Artistic Practice and is actively engaged in university teaching. His international residencies in Norway, Egypt, Jordan, Lithuania, and the USA have shaped his artistic development. His works, such as “Siegen im Auftrag der Kunst” and “EISKANAL / Citius, Fortius, Altius,” question the mechanisms of mass media and sports culture, opening new perspectives on cultural practices.

The Artist Talk offers art enthusiasts in Columbus the opportunity to engage in dialogue with Martin Höfer, as well as moderators Peter Coccia and Valerie Kohlwey, and learn more about current developments in the art scene.

For more information, please contact the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC), the Dresden Sister City, Inc., and The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

PhD Research Collective / Martin Höfer
Greater Columbus Arts Council 
The Ohio State University 
Martin Höfer