Transcultural Art Histories in the GDR, Exhibition at the Albertinum, Dresden, Germany
The exhibition and research project Revolutionary Romances. Transcultural Art Histories in the GDR focuses on the cultural relationships between the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the socialist-oriented countries and independence movements of the Global South in Asia, Africa, and Latin America in the period 1949-1990. It is the starting point of the institution-wide project Kontrapunkte. The prologue show introduces different topics of the research through collection works and interventions by contemporary artists, and acts as background for an international conference that explores the international(ist) relations of the GDR further. A large exhibition presenting the outcome of the project will take place at the Albertinum in fall 2023.
- Exhibition Site Albertinum
- DATES 13/04/2022—04/09/2022
Im Zentrum der Recherche
The starting point for the research is the rich collection of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. The prologue exhibition, which was created in collaboration with the Kupferstich-Kabinett and the Kunstfonds, presents a selection of paintings, graphics, textile works and films by artists from the GDR, Cuba, Chile, and Vietnam. These include programmatic propaganda graphics, travel images, portraits of students from abroad, works by artists who emigrated to the GDR, and Cuban political posters. The interventions by contemporary artists Ângela Ferreira, Emeka Ogboh, Laura Horelli, and Sung Tieu are integrated into the collection presentation of the Albertinum, critically question the former ideals of the “Revolutionary Romances” and illuminate their historical and artistic significance from the perspective of the present.
