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Endre Tót, Berlin TÓTalJOYS, Westberlin, 1979, b&w photography, photo: Herta Paraschin
If the Berlin Wind Blows My Flag. Art and Internationalism before the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Sep 14, 2023 – Jan 14, 2024
Artists: Bettina von Arnim, Gábor Bódy, KP Brehmer, Marcel Broodthaers, Wojciech Bruszewski, Daniel Buren, Vlassis Caniaris, Rafael Canogar, Dalibor Chatrný, Isaac Chong Wai, Contemporary And (C&), Agnes Denes, Braco Dimitrijević, Piero Dorazio, Martin Engelman, Ieva Epnere, Wojciech Fangor, Safi Faye, Robert Filliou, Kasia Fudakowski, Hanna Frenzel, Gyula Gulyás, K. H. Hödicke, Dorothy Iannone, Joan Jonas, Wolf Kahlen, Allan Kaprow, Edward Kienholz, Milan Knížák, Jan Kotik, Shigeko Kubota, Raimund Kummer, Joan La Barbara, László Lakner, Maria Lassnig, MADEYOULOOK, Clara Maïda, George Moorse, Maina-Miriam Munsky, Ann Noël, Roman Opałka, Eduardo Paolozzi, A. R. Penck, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Karen Power, Yvonne Rainer, Robert Rehfeldt, Remo Remotti, George Rickey, Bridget Riley, Alicja Rogalska, Grażyna Roguski, Frederic Rzewski, Sonya Schönberger, Shelly Silver, Charles Simonds, Petr Štembera, Maija Tabaka, Endre Tót, Jiří Valoch, Ben Vautier, Emilio Vedova, Videobase, Wolf Vostell, Lawrence Weiner, Stephen Willats, Emmett Williams, Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt, Constantin Xenakis, a. o.
Curators: Nóra Lukács, Melanie Roumiguière
Associate curators: Kaspar Aebi, Malte Giesen, Krisztina Hunya, Yolanda Kaddu-Mulindwa, Natalie Keppler, Angela Lammert
If the Berlin Wind Blows My Flag delves into the artistic scenes in West Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall, based on the history of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. Launched in 1963, the residency program brought international artists to West Berlin as a signal against the “cultural isolation” of the city. An exhibition in three chapters – at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.), daadgalerie, and Galerie im Körnerpark – accompanied by events at Akademie der Künste and other venues examines the role of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program in nurturing artistic practices and networks during the Cold War and investigates the program’s cultural and political orientation. The focus is on the activities of the Artists-in-Berlin Program, which was initiated 60 years ago by the U.S. Ford Foundation and subsequently continued by DAAD from 1965 onward, particularly with regard to the political motivations that drove efforts to internationalize the art scene in West Berlin.
The exhibition at n.b.k. focuses on key exhibitions and art movements of the 1970s and 1980s in Berlin, presented in dialogue with contemporary artists (Ieva Epnere, Kasia Fudakowski, Isaac Chong Wai). Through an examination of historical projects in public space (such as ADA – Aktionen der Avantgarde, Hotel Room Event, and actions by Daniel Buren, Endre Tót, and Milan Knížák), paintings by proponents of West Berlin Critical Realism (Bettina von Arnim, Maina-Miriam Munsky) and by Maija Tabaka from the former Soviet Union, and the international network connected to Jürgen Schweinebraden’s EP Galerie in East Berlin, the exhibition unravels the interplay of artistic movements within and beyond the borders of the divided city.
At daadgalerie, the focus lies on the interrogation of the origins and cultural-political mission that underpinned the Artists-in-Berlin Program during its first decade. Drawing on historical works (a. o. KP Brehmer, Wojciech Fangor, George Rickey, Bridget Riley, and Emilio Vedova) and new pieces that respond to documents and ephemera sourced from the program’s archive [a. o. Contemporary And (C&) and Sonya Schönberger], the exhibition traces artistic networks and renegotiates established institutional narratives.
Galerie im Körnerpark hosts the first German solo exhibition by Agnes Denes since 1978. Agnes Denes. Early Work revisits the artist’s concepts and proposals for an Artists-in-Berlin Program grant that never materialized. In addition to a newly created wall piece, early photographs, and drawings from the 1970s and 1980s will be on view, offering a glimpse into the influences that continue to shape Denes’s artistic direction, such as science, ecology, and body politics.
Two days of events at Akademie der Künste will be dedicated to the interdisciplinary nature of the Artists-in-Berlin Program and the close collaboration between the two institutions since their founding. One focus is on films and project from the 1970s reflecting on life in West Berlin and its status as a divided city, created by former program fellows (Marcel Broodthaers, Daniel Buren, Safi Faye, Edward Kienholz). The second focus is on the Studio for Electroacoustic Music at Akademie der Künste, which has its origins in the Labor für Akustisch-Musikalische Grenzprobleme (Laboratory for Problems at the Acoustics/Music Interface) in East Berlin. This will be explored through the works of Frederic Rzewski and Luc Ferrari, two early fellows, and contemporary sound artists Clara Maïda and Karen Power.
Outdoor film screenings in the public space will feature works by Artists-in-Berlin Program fellows and Berlin based artists. At Körnerpark, videos will be shown by contemporary female artists entering into dialogue with the work of Agnes Denes. At Kunstquartier Bethanien in Berlin-Kreuzberg, cinematic approaches to West Berlin as an urban living space will be screened, including works from the audiovisual archive of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program.
Alicja Rogalska, whose artistic practice is characterized by creating collaborative situations, has designed an educational outreach program for this cooperation project. For specific events and dates, please check the websites of the participating venues.
Exhibitions
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.), Chausseestr. 128/129, 10115 Berlin
14.9.2023 – 14.1.2024
daadgalerie, Oranienstraße 161, 10969 Berlin
14.9.2023 – 14.1.2024
www.berliner-kuenstlerprogramm.de
Galerie im Körnerpark, Schierker Str. 8, 12051 Berlin
9.9.2023 – 14.1.2024
Events
Friday, September 8, 2023, 8 pm
Contemporary Artists in Dialogue with Agnes Denes
Screening in public space with works by Ana Alenso, Kasia Fudakowski, Alicja Rogalska
Venue: Körnerpark, Schierker Str. 8, 12051 Berlin
Saturday, September 16, 2023, 5–7 pm
Exit! Exit? Exit
Performance by Isaac Chong Wai with Katherine Leung, Yannis Mitsos, Imola Nagy, Eva Robayo, Nobutala Shomura
Venue: daadgalerie
Saturday, September 16, 2023, 8 pm
Filmic Approaches to West Berlin
Screening in public space with works by Egon Bunne, Clemens Klopfenstein, Ken Kobland, Antonio Skármeta
Venue: Kunstquartier Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2, 10997 Berlin
Sunday, September 17, 2023, 4 pm
Assuming Asymmetries: THE MISSING HOUSE by Christian Boltanski and Christiane Büchner, Andreas Fischer
Book launch and talk with Joanna Warsza, Sarah Alberti, Erik Sandberg et al.
Venue: Große Hamburger Straße 15/16, 10115 Berlin
Wednesday, September 20, 2023, 1–6 pm
Drop-in Workshop with Alicja Rogalska (open for everyone)
Venue: Oranienplatz, 10999 Berlin (if it rains: daadgalerie)
Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 11 am – 3 pm
Workshop with Alicja Rogalska (invited group)
Venue: Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.)
Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 7 pm
Berlin Lost. Searching for Traces of a Jewish Berlin
Screening with films by Richard Kostelanetz, Daniel Eisenberg, Su Friedrich
Venue: daadgalerie
Friday–Sunday, October 13–15, 2023
Ferrochrom
Sound installation with audio recordings of the BKP archive by Hanno Leichtmann
Venue: daadgalerie
Saturday, October 14, 11am–5pm
Drop-in Workshop with Alicja Rogalska (open for everyone)
Venue: Körnerpark, Schierker Str. 8, 12051 Berlin (in case of rain: Galerie im Körnerpark)
Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 7 pm
Solitärinnen #1: Ingeborg Bachmann
Reading and talk with Mayra A. Rodríguez Castro, Nhã Thuyên et. al.
Venue: daadgalerie
Thursday, October 19, 2023, 7 pm
Lottando la vita – Lavoratori italiani a Berlino (1975, 99 min) by Videobase (Anna Lajolo, Alfredo Leonardi, Guido Lombardi)
Screening
Venue: daadgalerie
Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 7 pm
Soul Sisters. Sisterhoods
Screening with short films by Maria Lassnig and Su Friedrich, with comments by Sylvia Sadzinski
Venue: daadgalerie
Thursday, October 26, 2023, 8 pm
Hardly Believable Transition between Two Worlds
Concert with works by Frederic Rzewski, Luc Ferrari, Clara Maïda, Karen Power
Venue: Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10
Wednesday, November 1, 1–5pm
Drop-in Workshop with Alicja Rogalska (open for everyone)
Venue: Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, Studiofoyer
Wednesday, November 1, 2023, 5 pm
Berlin oder ein Traum mit Sahne? Life in West Berlin as a divided city in the 1970s
Screening, discussion and archive presentation of works by Daniel Buren, Marcel Broodthaers, Safi Faye, Edward Kienholz
Venue: Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10
Thursday, November 2, 2023, 7:30 pm
Space and Time
Lecture performance by Lily Scherlis, based on interviews with witnesses of the history of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program
Venue: daadgalerie
Thursday, November 9, 2023, 7 pm
Kristina Talking Pictures (1976, 90 min) by Yvonne Rainer
Screening
Venue: n.b.k.
Thursday, November 16, 2023, 7 pm
Archive Fever – Künstlerisches Arbeiten mit und in Archiven
Conversation about the exhibition interventions of participants in Yvette Mutumba’s seminar at the Institute for Art in Context at Berlin University of the Arts
Venue: daadgalerie
Thursday, November 23, 2023, 7 pm
Performance by Grażyna Roguski
Venue: n.b.k.
Thursday, November 30, 2023, 7 pm
A Second Quarter (1975, 88 min) by Lawrence Weiner
Screening
Venue: n.b.k.
Thursday, December 7, 6.30 pm
Curator's tour through the exhibition If the Berlin Wind Blows My Flag
Guided tour
Venue: n.b.k.
Free admission to all events
