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Monika HEMPEL on Klaus NOMI: Stimme Im OrbitArtSPEAK@FSW lecture and book-signing event
Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at FSW ANNEX (Building J-118)
Thursday, November 5th, 2026
5:30pm/5pm (doors) – free event, seating first-come.
Limited copies of her latest book “KLAUS NOMI: Stimme Im Orbit” (Verlag Andreas Reiffer, 2024) will be available for sale.
Sponsored by the Richard & Julia Rush Endowment
Fort Myers, FL – The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida Southwestern State College (FSW) is pleased to announce our forthcoming ArtSPEAK@FSW lecture and book-signing with celebrated German author Monika HEMPEL. Speaking on her latest publication, this special event is scheduled for Thursday, November 5th at 5:30pm and is being held in conjunction with our on-going “Klaus NOMI & Kenny SCHARF: Time SPLAT!” exhibition. Sponsored by the Richard & Julia Rush Endowment, doors open at 5pm and seating will be limited for this free, open-to-the-public event.
Monika HEMPEL is the author of the first-ever biography of KLAUS NOMI – “Klaus Nomi: Stimme im Orbit” (Verlag Andreas Reiffer, Germany 2024) and is featured in and served as a consultant for the documentary “KLAUS NOMI: the Singer of the Third Kind” (by Director Thomas Boujut/Step by Step Productions, 2026) which premieres this month on ARTE TV/France. Hempel is a writer, communications expert, and traveller. After studying literature and languages in Giessen (Germany) and St. Andrews (UK), she now lives again in her hometown Frankfurt am Main. She writes both non-fiction and fiction and narrates stories of short getaways and long journeys to Scotland, China, and southern Africa. Besides her passion for literature and travel, music plays a big role in her life. She feels equally at home in the opera house as in alternative clubs. Fascinated by the life and work of singer and performance artist Klaus Nomi, she delves deeply into the cultural scenes of West Berlin and New York in the 1970s and 1980s through her on-going research.
More About KLAUS NOMI: Born Klaus Sperber in Immenstadt, Bavaria in 1944, Klaus NOMI worked as an usher at the Deutsche Opera in West Berlin before moving to New York City in 1973. While working as a pastry chef and nightclub singer, he embedded himself in the downtown scene. Possessing an extraordinary countertenor vocal range, Nomi captivated audiences by blending rock, disco and cabaret with operatic arias. Collaborating with gifted artistic director and musician Kristian Hoffman – who composed original songs and penned original lyrics for Nomi - his repertoire also spanned compositions from Henry Purcell and Saint-Saëns to covers of Elvis Presley, Chubby Checker and Donna Summer. Nomi’s highly stylized aesthetic—including his iconic, geometric tuxedo inspired by Dadaist Tristan Tsara and David Bowie—led to a career-defining performance backing Bowie on Saturday Night Live in 1979, an RCA recording contract, and international tours. Tragically, Nomi became one of the first prominent public figures to die of AIDS-related complications on August 6, 1983. Leaving an indelible mark on music, fashion and visual art, his ashes were scattered over the New York City he helped redefine – while his papers/archive has been more recently acquired by Harvard University’s Special Collections.
MORE ABOUT US: The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery was founded as The Gallery of Fine Art in 1979 on the Lee County campus of Florida Southwestern State College/FSW (then Edison Community College). On June 4th 2004, the Gallery of Fine Art was renamed the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery to honor and commemorate our long-time association and friendship with the artist. Over more than three decades until his death, the Gallery worked closely with Rauschenberg to present world premiere exhibitions including multiple installations of the ¼ Mile or Two Furlong Piece. The artist insisted on naming the space the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery (versus the “Robert Rauschenberg Gallery”) as it was consistent with the intimate, informal relationship he maintained with both our local Southwest Florida community and FSW.
This event is open to the public, free of charge.
Tel: (239) 489-9313
Web: www.RauschenbergGallery.com or visit the Gallery here on Facebook!
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Event venue
Florida SouthWestern State College / 8099 College Pkwy SW, Fort Myers, FL, United States, Florida 33919
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