26 July 2016

“Uncertain States – Artistic Strategies in States of Emergency”
Programme Focus of the Akademie der Künste This Fall

The fragility of the status quo – triggered by wars, poverty, terrorism, flight and migration – is the starting point underpinning the programme focus for "Uncertain States". An “experiential space of things” from the academy’s archives, an exhibition of contemporary art, as well as a thinking space for scholars, activists and artists form the underlying structure of the three-month programme, opening at the academy building on Hanseatenweg on 14 October 2016.

“Coming face to face with a state of emergency has become an everyday reality in Europe. With ‘Uncertain States’ we are examining current political, social and individual radical changes and uncertainties from an artistic point of view, and are simultaneously looking back to the existential plight in which many artists found themselves after 1933. Their emotional and aesthetic dealings with emigration and exile are exemplarily documented in the archives of the Akademie der Künste and are an essential reference point for our exhibition.”
– Jeanine Meerapfel, president of the Akademie der Künste

Historical experiences of flight and exile between 1933 and 1945 set the backdrop in this exhibition, in order to deal with current refugee movements. 50 selected objects and documents from the archives of the Akademie der Künste – referring to Walter Benjamin, Bertolt Brecht, Hanns Eisler, Valeska Gert, Lea Grundig, Lilian Harvey, Heinrich Mann, Bruno Taut, Kurt Tucholsky and others – will be juxtaposed to contemporary works of art. These reflect recent experiences and situations resulting from crisis and flight, instability, violence and loss. Works of 35 contemporary artists will be on display – including Francis Alÿs, Reza Aramesh, Ayşe Erkmen, William Forsythe, Mona Hatoum, Isaac Julien, Sigalit Landau, Maziar Moradi, Graciela Sacco, Nasan Tur, Micha Ullman and Arkadi Zaides.

A series of lectures and special events will address current political questions on topics such as neo-colonialism, the causes for flight and migration, and the new rise in nationalism in Europe, posited from within the context of cultural and artistic positions. A thinking space (Denkraum) will be created through lectures, debates, concerts, film presentations, performances and theatre.

A programme of the Akademie der Künste
Funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes

 
Uncertain States
Artistic Strategies in States of Emergency
Exhibition and Special Events

15 October 2016 – 15 January 2017
Exhibition Opening: Friday, 14 October 2016, 7 pm, free admission
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin
Tue, 11 am – 10 pm, Wed-Sun, 11 am – 7 pm
Admission: 8/5 €.
Free admission for visitors under 18, and on Tuesdays as of 4 pm

Press Preview: Thursday, 13 October 2016, 11 am