24. Juni, 18:00
Forschungsstation auf dem Lutherplatz

Sarah Alberti and Birgit Grimm present ‘Kunstszene/Ost - Biografien im Umbruch’. The interview project brings together 20 in-depth conversations with influential figures from the East German art scene - including Strawalde, Via Lewandowsky, Christine Rink and Annette Schröter. The aim is to visualise the complex reality of life and work in the GDR from the perspective of artists and cultural mediators. The focus is on personal stories that link individual experiences with social developments. While art created in the GDR has received increasing academic and curatorial attention in recent years, a more differentiated culture of debate is emerging in parallel, moving away from sweeping judgements. The project contributes to this development by bringing together biographical depth of focus and multi-perspective narratives.

The lives of the interviewees could hardly be more different: The artist Angela Hampel, for example, was recognised for her figurative painting outside of Socialist Realism and was allowed to travel to the West with her works - but always returned. Gallery owner Gunar Barthel was expelled from the GDR overnight, but looks back with respect on the creative potential of that time. The artist couple Annette and Erasmus Schröter, on the other hand, waited a long time to leave the country and made a conscious decision to return after reunification. The stories do not end with the opening of the Wall in 1989 - rather, the project asks how the interviewees perceived the change of system in 1990: What opportunities did the geographical opening, the increasing internationalisation and the establishment of a market-oriented art business bring? And what ruptures, losses or new forms of competition arose in relation to West German actors? ‘Art Scene/East - Biographies in Transition’ makes it possible to experience how art asserts itself under changing political conditions - and how biographical ruptures continue to have an impact today.

Dr Sarah Alberti is an art historian and journalist. Born in Leipzig in 1989, she is particularly interested in the contemporary art scene in East Germany and the social and biographical upheavals in the wake of reunification. As a freelance author, she regularly writes for renowned media such as MONOPOL - Magazin für Kunst und Leben, WELTKUNST, taz - die tageszeitung, Der Freitag, Freie Presse and the Sächsische Zeitung. She also writes texts for artists and various institutions, such as the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Hamburger Bahnhof - Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart. Together with Birgit Grimm, she conceived and realised the interview project ‘Kunstszene/Ost - Biografien im Umbruch’.

Birgit Grimm, born in 1961, began her career as a journalist with a traineeship at the Lausitzer Rundschau in Cottbus and Senftenberg. From 1980 to 1984, she studied journalism at the Karl Marx University in Leipzig. Since then she has worked as a permanent editor at the Sächsische Zeitung in Dresden. In 1987, she moved from the politics section to the culture section, now the arts section. Her thematic focus is on art and artists, museums, exhibitions, monument preservation and architecture. She also deals with cultural policy issues. Together with Sarah Alberti, she conceived and realised the interview project ‘Kunstszene/Ost - Biografien im Umbruch’.

Admission free
Event in German language