Collage and assemblage are important aspects of the About Change, Collection Stiftung—both the principle of combining diverse materials, contexts, and contents, and the general history of this technique. Collage, in this sense, refers to more than just a fine arts technique; Max Ernst described it as the coincidental or artificially provoked concurrence of two or more essentially dissimilar realities. This kind of concurrence can also occur in literature, film, and theater. In the realm of music, at the very latest from the 1980s onwards, the DJ mix, sampling, and VJing—which thanks to MTV were creating a new media reality at the time—are examples of collage as an everyday creative principle.

The first phase of the About Change, Collection Stiftung project will shed light on the breadth of the collecting interest and also provide a catalyst for a series of related events which, taking individual works of art or artists as a starting point, will address the relationship between the arts and other fields of human activity.

The aim here is not to set up systematic overviews or historical canons, or to convey a false sense of completeness. Rather, we are concerned with accruing as many insights and prognoses as possible about the conditions that trigger change. The selection of works on show at Kupfergraben 10 will be changed regularly, presenting new and varying aspects of the About Change, Collection Stiftung.

The venue will also host the Interzone series of talks. The title is a reference to William S. Burroughs, who coined the expression to denote a cut-up wonderland transcending all bounds of convention, ideas, perceptions, and habits. Within the context of the About Change, Collection Stiftung project, Interzone refers to a format in which artists represented in the show choose someone from outside the cultural domain to meet and talk in a chaired debate. These talks are another form of collage in which dissimilar realities meet. The hope, the chance, and the risk is whether "the poetic spark which leaps across when these realities approach one another" (Max Ernst) will indeed fly.

"Innovation and change arise at the intersections of different worlds. That is what fascinates me about art: the extent to which it can trigger change and open up new realms of perception. Collage is a fertile point of intersection, and one that I have been exploring for years, in works ranging from Kurt Schwitters to Ceal Floyer. Be it art and collage, MTV and VJing, About Change and new-media startups—what fascinates me is the change of perspective and the chance to make new connections. I would like the About Change, Collection Stiftung to be the place where this change of perspective happens, again and again, as a matter of course, both within the context of the exhibitions and in that of the Interzone series of talks.” (Christiane zu Salm)

Video recordings of all talks will be made available as downloads on the About Change, Collection Stiftung website.