As curator, producer, and agent, Axel Wirths (1960–2025) was a pioneering figure in the field of media art in North Rhine-Westphalia and beyond. In the early 1980s, he co-founded the media art agency 235 Media together with Ulrich Leistner, opening up new and innovative distribution channels for video art and making it accessible to broader audiences. As curator of the 5th Videonale, the MedienKunstRaum at the Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, and vision.ruhr at the Zeche Zollern II/IV in Dortmund, he continually set new standards for the presentation and mediation of technology-based art. Working closely with artists such as Ulrike Rosenbach, Nan Hoover, Marcel Odenbach, Maria Vedder, Gary Hill, Studio Azzurro, and Bill Seaman, Wirths realized complex media installations and built international networks. As a co-founder of the IMAI – Inter Media Art Institute, he was a committed advocate for the digitization and sustainable preservation of video art, establishing lasting standards for the institutional care of media art.

We warmly invite you to join us on Saturday, June 28, 2025, from 3–5 PM at Salon21 of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen for a screening program in tribute to Axel Wirths. IMAI artists and longtime collaborators will present video works and reflect on past projects, formative encounters, and Axel Wirths' remarkable commitment to media art. We look forward to remembering Axel Wirths together.

Participating artists: Studio Azzurro / Fabio Cirifino, Gary Hill, Iris Hoppe, Gudrun Kemsa, Van McElwee, Achim Mohné, Marcel Odenbach, Ulrike Rosenbach, Roland Schappert, Bill Seaman & Ellen Sebring, Anna Sokolova, Maria Vedder & Bettina Gruber

K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Ständehausstr. 1, 40217 Düsseldorf

Admission is free. As space is limited, we kindly ask you to register at: info@stiftung-imai.de