The exhibition QUEER ART IN THE GDR? and the accompanying educational programme are dedicated to queer artistic positions from the GDR from 28. March to 28. June. The focus is on the multifaceted lives of nine artists and their works, including painting, sculpture, ceramics and photography. These biographies reveal how differently the artists responded to the political and social conditions of their time and what role their sexual orientation played in their artistic practice and professional development.
Image above: Andreas Fux, Berlin, 1985, Fotografie, Courtesy: Andreas Fox & KVOST, Berlin
Despite gradual decriminalisation, homosexuality remained a strong social and political taboo in the GDR. Even after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the situation for queer artists improved only to a limited extent; many positions from the GDR were instead forgotten. While interest in the art and culture of the GDR is growing today, as is attention to queer realities of life, the intertwining of both perspectives – queer biographies and artistic forms of expression within the communist dictatorship – has hardly been researched to date.
The term ‘queer’ is deliberately used in the exhibition in its current meaning, even though it did not exist in the GDR. Here, it serves as a collective term for those individuals who identified themselves as falling outside or between the categories of “gay” and ‘lesbian’ at that time.
The artists participating in the exhibition are Toni Ebel, Andreas Fux, Harry Hachmeister, Jochen Hass, Dorothea von Philipsborn, Erika Stürmer-Alex, Rita Thomas, Jürgen Wittdorf, and Egon Wrobel.
The project is an initiative of KVOST – Kunstverein Ost e.V. in cooperation with the Neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst, the Mitte Museum and the Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge. The exhibitions are curated by Stephan Koal.
Supported by the Capital Cultural Fund and the Berlin Commissioner for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship.
WHEN?
Exhibition dates: Samstag, 28. März bis Sonntag, 28. Juni 2026
WHERE?
KVOST
Leipziger Straße 47
10117 Berlin
nGbK
Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 11/13
10178 Berlin
Mitte Museum
Pankstraße 47
13357 Berlin
Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge
Leipziger Straße 54
10117 Berlin
