For Frieze Sounds, Creed will compose a short song that doubles as a hypnotic lullaby. Moody will produce a sound version of The Undependable Global Positioning System, a literary composition that will function as an ‘anti-destination device’. Stark continues her investigation of the generative power of language as seen in My Best Thing, the highly acclaimed video first shown at the Venice Biennale in 2011 – a 99-minute conversation between two online avatars.

The sound works will premiere in the BMW 7 Series VIP cars operating shuttle services from Randall’s Island during the fair. They will also be posted at FriezeNewYork.com and will be made available to download starting 4 May.

“We wanted to enhance our global partnership with Frieze by providing a unique sound experience to art enthusiasts with Frieze Sounds in our BMW 7 Series shuttle service,” said Ludwig Willisch, CEO of BMW North America.

“In response to police and local authorities’ high hazard assessment, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation has decided to withdraw the BMW Guggenheim Lab from the site planned in Kreuzberg, Berlin,” the Guggenheim says. “This decision follows threats against the project. The foundation regrets having to make this decision, as the purpose of the BMW Guggenheim Lab is to create a space for public discussion, open to the widest possible range of views. While we welcome vigorous debate, we cannot risk the possibility of violence, as raised by a small minority.”

The Berlin leg of the Lab – the roadshow is slated to visit nine cities in a six-year period – would have comprised a carbon fibre building designed by cool Japanese architectural firm Atelier Bow-Wow, which would have opened its doors in May. The Lab is headed by groups in the areas of urbanism, architecture, art, design, science, technology, education, and sustainability, with a goal to develop ‘forward-thinking solutions’ for city life.

During its 10-week stint in New York last year, the Lab attracted 56,000 visitors from 66 countries, while 400,000 users went to the BMWGuggenheimLab.org website. It also received 45,000 Facebook likes and more than 40,000 YouTube views.

One performance will take place live each month at the Tate Modern for live online broadcast around the world. The global audience is also encouraged to chat via social media channels during the performance and to put questions to the artist or curator on Twitter, Facebbok and YouTube with hashtag #BMWTateLive.

The Lab also received 45,000 Facebook likes and more than 40,000 YouTube views, while in excess of 3,000 people submitted ideas for the BMW Guggenheim Lab’s interactive logo. The Urbanology game has been played more than 26,000 times at the Lab and online.

The Lab’s East Village site at First Park has now been transformed into a community park, and there are plans to continue using the space for cultural programming.

“The BMW Guggenheim Lab inspired people throughout New York to think more imaginatively about what it means to live in a city and how we all shape the urban future, while bringing life to a formerly closed-off, empty lot,” says Adrian Benepe, commissioner, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

“It is a testament to the spirit of the BMW Guggenheim Lab that it has left behind a better public space than it originally found. … A permanent, tangible improvement is now added to the intellectual and social benefits the Lab gave the people of our city.”

The Lab is currently en route to the second stop on its nine-city world tour, Berlin. From the German capital, the Lab will then head to Mumbai, where it will conclude its first two-year cycle under the theme ‘Confronting Comfort’.

Like its counterpart in the Big Apple, the BMW Guggenheim Lab Berlin will be housed in a pop-up structure designed by Tokyo-based architects Atelier Bow-Wow. Germany will see a range of free programmes exploring issues confronting urban life, including empowerment technologies, dynamic connections, urban micro-lens and the ‘Senseable City’.

“In its 53 days, the New York Lab welcomed more than 54,000 visitors from 60 countries, and 329,000 people from 168 countries visited the Lab’s website,” says Richard Armstrong, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum & Foundation. “With the appointment of the Berlin Lab Team, and the range of experience and interests they bring to the project, we are excited to see how this initiative will continue to evolve and further the Guggenheim’s commitment to education, scholarship, and design innovation.”

By Mark Terry

The performances will take place at London’s Tate Modern for live streaming but without a physical audience. Online viewers will be able to communicate with each other via e-mail and social media channels. Each performance will then be archived and available to view on the BMW Tate Live page.

“The development of technology has transformed people’s approach to art,” says Chris Dercon, director, Tate Modern. “Audiences today expect more interaction, participation and personalisation than ever before. BMW Tate Live will answer this need. BMW Tate Live will bring live art performance directly to people on the web, wherever they are in the world.”

“The transnational programme that has been brought into being with this trendsetting institution proves once more that for the BMW Group intercultural dialogue is not only desirable, but provides the basic concept for an internationally successful company,” says Dr. Uwe Ellinghaus, director brand steering, brand management BMW. “I am personally excited that we are intensifying this dialogue in London with BMW Tate Live and thus promoting it throughout the world.”