Between Image and Action:
The Participatory Practice of
Lars Schumacher 

Between Image and Action: The Participatory Practice of Lars Schumacher 

Born in 1971 in Burgwedel, Germany, Lars Schumacher is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work seamlessly traverses photography, film, conceptual art, and socially engaged practice. Rooted in a tradition of civic participation and cultural reflection, his oeuvre has evolved over decades into a nuanced expression of what Joseph Beuys once termed Soziale Plastik—art as a transformative force within society.

Schumacher’s earliest artistic impulses emerged from documentary filmmaking. His works 10:15 Saturday Night (1989) and The Weekend After November 9 (1989)—a poignant study of youth and reunification—were not only timely but historically prescient. Together with his brother Leif, he went on to create a trilogy of short films (Route 66, Speed, Spinning Head), achieving critical acclaim and screenings across Europe and the Americas. Notably, Virulent Vision (1994) was awarded the Bronze Bear at the Festival der Nationen in Austria, while Route 66 received accolades from WDR and circulated internationally.

This early cinematic engagement opened toward participatory media through OKOK TELEVISION, a self-initiated regional broadcast format in the 1990s. The project foreshadowed Schumacher’s enduring commitment to democratic image-making and collective authorship.

Encounters with the Fluxus movement in the 2000s deepened this ethos. Schumacher’s projects such as Kassler Dokumente (documenta 13, 2012 - www.kasslerdokumente.de), FACE – a BOOK project (2014), and Front of Stage (2013) eschewed traditional object-making in favor of social situations—rituals of perception and presence. His performative works became invitations: to participate, to reflect, to co-create.

While grounded in process, Schumacher’s visual output remains striking. His photography, print, and mail art have been shown internationally—from the Phoenix Art Museum and Jheronimus Bosch Art Center to Museo de Arte de Cañada de Gómez (Argentina), Karuizawa New Art Museum (Japan), and the Mail Art Museum Montecarotto (Italy). His work has been featured at the 57th and 59th editions of the Venice Biennale (Ophen Virtual Art Gallery), and at major thematic exhibitions including Utsanga.it 2014–2024 and POSVERSO – Poetry is Resistance (Argentina, 2024).

Schumacher’s artistic footprint is archival as much as aesthetic. His works are held in institutions such as the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, MUMOK Vienna, Musée de La Poste Paris, and ARTPOOL Budapest. His publications in Attic Zine and The Artistamp Revue reflect his ongoing dialogue with experimental publishing and visual poetry.

Thematically, his practice returns often to questions of identity, memory, and transformation. Whether through intimate bronze objects, conceptual collages, or ephemeral performances, Schumacher cultivates an art that grows out of lived experience and returns to it—like the seeds planted in his mail art call Plant and Seed (2019).

This ethic of engagement is also reflected in the recognition he has received, including the “Print/Art” Prize from the University of Tyumen (Russia, 2020) and the Honorary Award from Namik Kemal University in Turkey (2016). And yet, it is perhaps through his local exhibitions—such as those regularly hosted at Kunst & Musik Etage Hannover—that his work speaks most tenderly to its origins: not art for prestige, but for presence.

Lars Schumacher’s practice reminds us that art can exist in letters, in glances, in seeds, in shared meals. It is not only about showing something, but showing up.

LINK & MORE INFORMATION

Arbeiten in öffentlichen Sammlungen [Auswahl]

• IMAGED WORDS AND WORDED IMAGES, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Australien (2022)

• AN ISLAND FAR FAR AWAY, Post Office & Philatelic Bureau, Tristan da Cunha (2020)

• IN MEMORIAM TO EMILIO CARRASCO, Zacatecas City, Mexiko (2021)

• A BOOK ABOUT DEATH (seit 2009) – vertreten u. a. im Musée de la Poste (Paris), ARTPOOL (Budapest), Smithsonian Institution (Washington D.C.), Karuizawa New Art Museum (Japan)

Zines & Mail Art Projekte

• KART No. 119 – Joyce Ulysses 100th Anniversary, hrsg. von D. Dellafiora (2022)

• Collage No. 19, hrsg. von A. Aguado Ortuno (2022)

• Book of Collage – Eyes, hrsg. von S. Silverman & L. Schumacher (2022)

• Brain Cell #1112 & #1139, Ryosuke Cohen (2021–2022)

• The Artistamp Revue #17, hrsg. von A. Roussopoulos (2022)

• Artist Matter No. 01 – A Mail Art Zine about Visual Poetry, hrsg. von H. Braumüller & T. Reuscher (2019)

Medienprojekte

• 20 – Geboren op de dag dat de Mauer fiel, TV-Miniserie, Produktion: The Jam Department / Heleen Gerritsen (2009)

• 10:15 Saturday Night, Filmausschnitt Medienhaus Burgdorf e.V. auf Youtube "Suchbegriff "Hannover Ende der 80iger"

• Les Archives du Cœur - Kunstprojekt von Christian Boltanskis Museum Insel Teshima [Recherche vor Ort nach nach Lars Schumacher]

Ausstellungskataloge & Dokumentationen

• The Ocean Between 2 – Internationales Kunstsymposium 2019, hrsg. von M. Buchwald, International Art Adventures (2019)

• Acro Gym – Katalog zum Mail Art Projekt (2018–2019), Hrsg. Chrystobal / Roelands Iluna (2020)

• bra-participation, BoD – Books on Demand (2016)

• 1945 – Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges, Mail Art Projekt, Kunstraum Reuter (2020)

• (R)Evolution, Markgräfler Museum, Katalog / Buch zur Ausstellung Eigenverlag Markgräfler Museum (2025)  

• Sende mir dein Licht, Ausstellungskatalog Lichthof Kunstfabrik, Bremen, 2021

• Lady Madonna - The Woman with one Thousend Names, Jheronimus Bosch Art Center, s-Hertogenbosch (NL) 2018-2019 

• The Monk -  Jheronimus Bosch Art Center, s-Hertogenbosch (NL) 2019 

Publikationen & Buchbeiträge

• KUNST vernetzt - Kunsthaus Nordstemmen (2016)

• KUNST vernetzt - 31 Künstlerinnen aus Hannover, Galerie Carlshöhe, Eckernförde (2015)

• Book for Mail Art, Karuizawa New Art Museum (2018)

• abgezoomt – 10 Jahre Kinder- und Jugendfilm in Hamburg, KoPäd Verlag (1998)

• Jugend-Medien-Treff – Wege zur Medienkompetenz, Kulleraugen-Medienschriften (1997)

• (R)Evolution, Markgräfler Museum, Katalog / Buch zur Ausstellung Eigenverlag Markgräfler Museum (2025)  

Lars Schumacher – The Artist Who Turns Everyday Things into Magic

Lars was born in a small town in Germany in 1971. As a kid, he loved looking at the world with curious eyes — not just at what things were, but what they could become. Instead of just watching movies, he wanted to make his own. At age 18, he created his first films about young people and how their world was changing — and guess what? People all over Europe watched them!

Later, Lars and his brother made more short movies, even ones that won prizes. But Lars wanted to do more than just films — he wanted everyone to have a chance to tell their stories. So he helped make a small TV station that showed videos from local people. Imagine turning your own video into a TV show!

As he grew older, Lars began creating all kinds of art — photos, books, stamps, mail, and even small objects — but what made his art truly special was this: He invited other people to take part. He asked questions like: 

Can a letter be a work of art?  

Can planting a seed be creative? 

What happens when we make art together — even without paint or clay?

His art traveled the world, reaching museums from Japan to Argentina. But Lars didn’t just make art to hang on walls — he made art to share, to remember, and to ask big questions:  

“Who am I?”  

“What do we forget?” 

“How can we understand each other better?”

He even made a project where children helped plant real seeds — not just in the ground, but in their imagination.

Lars shows us that you don’t have to be a famous painter to be an artist. You can be one by writing a letter, making a collage from old tickets, planting a flower for someone you love, or taking a picture of your favorite corner in the world. His work tells us:

Art doesn’t always sit in a museum. Sometimes, it lives in your hands.