University corridor becomes an art gallery

From functional passageway to atmospheric art gallery: in future, anyone walking to the two learning spaces (LEOs) on the first floor of the Hölderlinge building at the University of Siegen will pass large-scale works of art. Colorful murals, filigree nets and patterns, photo series and sketch wallpapers can now be discovered on the walls of the LEO corridors.

Students redesign LEO corridor

The artistic redesign of the corridor is part of the "Campus Art" art-in-architecture project under the direction of Prof. Johanna Schwarz, based at the Chair of Artistic Strategies in Public Space & Cultural Education. A total of twelve art and social work students were involved in the redesign of the LEO corridor. The project took place as part of the seminar "From the outside to the inside - landscape as a spatial installation", which was led by Prof. Johanna Schwarz in cooperation with artist and art educator Stephanie Sczepanek in the winter semester 2025/26. In a participatory process, a collective work of art was created from several individual student works.

Campus art inspired by the Hölderlin backdrop

The campus itself provided the inspiration: The seminar group recorded drawing and photographic impressions of the university's immediate, green surroundings; analog and digital techniques were then used to transform the ideas into individual works of art. The students adapted their works to the conditions of the corridor: For example, large abstract trees entwine themselves from the floor, around the door frames, up to the ceiling. There are red grid lines on the pillars in the middle of the corridor, inspired by the striking metal struts on the exterior façade of the Hölderlinge building. A few meters further on, a black and white photo series shows familiar views of the campus, which have been placed in a new context by the subsequent insertion of red objects. Right next to the entrance to the large LEO, three wallpaper panels show a sketch collage of everyday objects that are usually found in the common room. Photorealistic works line the long walls alongside abstract, painterly murals created using brushes, spray cans and stamping techniques. All the individual projects are connected by a thin green line that runs across the walls like a heartbeat. The common color scheme of red, green and brown tones also makes the hallway a creative unit.

A place to meet and experience well-being

"The resulting 'art-in-architecture' work has a lasting impact on the corridor and qualifies it as a designed meeting and experience space within the campus. This seminar sees itself as a contribution to the artistic and spatial development of the university's learning and working environment and links artistic practice with public space," says Prof. Dr. Johanna Schwarz.

The "Campus Art" art-in-architecture project takes place in cooperation with the Prorectorates for Young Talent, Diversity and International Affairs. Vice-Rector Prof. Petra M. Vogel says: "Through participatory beautification campaigns such as the one in the LEO corridor, we want to specifically increase the quality and attractiveness of our learning spaces. The aim is to create meeting places where students feel comfortable."

Art campaigns come together under "Campus art"

With the beautification of the LEO corridor, the project is already entering its second round - the kick-off took place in the winter semester 2024/25. In a collective art campaign, the employees of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (ETI) were involved in the redesign of their corridor on level 7
- abstract neural networks and graphs were created, giving the corridor an artistic touch. Most recently, Prof. Johanna Schwarz and Kai Gieseler worked with students to create an art exhibition to mark the opening of the electrical engineering teaching laboratory for networked automation systems, which is also located in the Hölderling Building. Under the title "Interconnected", the artists presented drawings and installations that dealt with topics such as programming, laboratory technology, circuit boards and circuit diagrams.

In the future, further corridors and rooms in existing buildings such as the Hölderlin and Paul-Bonatz-Strasse campuses are to be redesigned. Planning is currently underway.

Participants in the art project in the LEO corridor: Lukas Beck, Ebru Kader Heper, Annika Lehmann, Alexandra Lenort, Annika Müller, Maximilian Scholl, Nele Schlabach, Hanna Schreiber, Dana Seibert, Julia Ulrich, Zehra Üremis, Jana Velasquez Zuniga.