The 9th KGB Art Week opens Berlin’s autumn art season. From September 2nd to 11th 2022, numerous exhibitions and events invite you to get to know the versatility of Berlin’s municipal galleries. Workshops, artist talks, concerts, bicycle tours and much more show how rich Berlin’s municipal art scene is. The focus of the KGB Art Week is on 38 exhibitions and their accompanying events in Berlin’s 34 municipal galleries. Over 200 participating artists will be showing paintings, graphic art, photography, sculpture, video, installations as well as sound and performance art. The exhibitions deal with topics such as the rebellious power of art and artistic field research. In the supporting programme, art meets music at KGB-Sounds, KGB-Young offers workshops for young people and the KGB tours lead through the city’s galleries on different routes.
Image above: Jürgen Wittdorf, Baubrigade der Sportstudenten, 1964
Within the framework of the KGB Art Week, the exhibitions focus on different themes. “Art as Revolt” plays a special role in the exhibition “Battle Cry” – with works by the Ukrainian artists Zhenia Stepanenko and Maksym Khodak, among others – which can be seen in the Galerie Nord I Kunstverein Tiergarten. It’s Brutal Out Here” with three-dimensional works by Lukas Liese, Zoë Claire Miller and Mary-Audrey Ramirez also deals with the rebellious power of art at Galerie Parterre. The possibilities and limits of artistic creation in politically precarious times are shown in “Ausnahmezustand. Polish Photo Art Today” at the ZAK Centre for Contemporary Art.
“Artistic field research” in the city, the district or the immediate surroundings is another theme that plays a role in several exhibitions. The Schwartzsche Villa is exhibiting works by Andrea Pichl under the title “Dogmen”. Like a field researcher, the artist goes in search of clues, takes aim at neglected architectures in social housing, the design of front gardens and houses as well as interior furnishings. As part of the project “Stad(T)raum Fennpfuhl 50”, various exhibitions deal with urban space in the district of Lichtenberg. Works of various artistic genres are on display: “Teilstadt-Mosaik” shows abstract-surreal imagery by the artist Wadim Hermann in the gallery in the Kulturhaus Karlshorst, “Stadt Kunst” in the rk – Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst shows the results of artistic research by eight artists and collectives, “50 Jahre Utopie” (50 Years of Utopia) in the studio in the HOCHHAUS deals with the 50-year history of Fennpfuhl and in the Galerie 100 works by the artist Christine Falk can be experienced under the title “Die Stadt sehen” (Seeing the City).
Another thematic focus is “Artists:inside the GDR”. With “Worin unsere Stärke besteht” (What Our Strength Is), Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien is showing contemporary positions by 50 still-living female artists from three generations, all of whom were born in the GDR before the fall of the Wall, some of whom were socialised in the socialist system and were confronted with the transformation in one way or another. Schloss Biesdorf is showing a retrospective of the artist Jürgen Wittdorf, whose works are juxtaposed with contemporary positions by Veneta Androva, Norbert Bisky, Harry Hachmeister and Bettina Semmer. The Pankow Gallery is dedicating an exhibition to York der Knoefel, one of the GDR’s outstanding photographers, with works from his estate.
Courtesy: the artist and beacon Munich © Dirk Tacke
The supporting programme of the KGB Art Week offers various event formats that introduce those interested to the art world of Berlin’s districts. Highlights include the KGB tours on September 4th, which this year include a bus tour, five bicycle tours and a walking tour. The tours take different routes through all districts of the city. The tour programme includes exhibition visits to several municipal galleries as well as exclusive guided tours and presentations by gallery directors, curators and/or artists.
With KGB-Young, the KGB Art Week addresses children, young people, families and – new this year – school classes with a special workshop programme. From September 2nd to 10th, young people can try out various art techniques such as collage, silkscreen, video, performance and many more, under the guidance of artists. Visits to exhibitions in the respective galleries form the basis for the artistic activities in the workshops. This year, KGB-Young also includes several inclusive offers.
The conclusion of the KGB Art Week will be celebrated on September 11th with the KGB Sounds. In front of the Galerie im Körnerpark, art meets music, four bands and a DJ programme – all at home in both art and music – provide an impressive acoustic experience. The four Ukrainian jazz musicians of Zukor fuse elements of hip hop, groove and fusion. Marco Montiel-Soto experiments with sound and noise recordings of trains, birds, animals, bells, aeroplanes and lectures from his own vinyl collection. Inspired by various journeys, collaborations and teachers, Andi.Andean creates electronic soundscapes that combine Afro, techno, downtempo and dub and awaken the desire to dance. Unconventional influences of coldwave, postpunk, darkwave and electronic music are brought to the stage by All Frames Crack. And finally, Perera Elsewhere serves up a DJ set with their bass-heavy sound of global and experimental club music. KGB Sounds takes place as part of the Kultursommerfestival Berlin 2022.
The detailed programme of the KGB Art Week 2022 can be found at: http://www.kgberlin.net/
With the kind support of the Senate Department for Culture and Europe, Exhibition Fund Municipal Galleries
WHEN?
Friday, 2. September to Sunday, 11. September 2022
