Press kit. Status as of 28 June Content. Applied Modernism in Saxony-Anhalt : about the exhibition

Transcription

1 Big Plans! is an initiative of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation on Applied Modernism in Saxony-Anhalt in association with exhibitions in Dessau, Halle, Magdeburg, Merseburg, Leuna, Elbingerode and Quedlinburg. Press kit Status as of 28 June 2016 Content Applied Modernism in Saxony-Anhalt : about the exhibition concept Modernists, Visionaries and Inventors : the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation s exhibition Modernity is an Attitude : Interview with Dr. Claudia Perren, Director, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and curators Torsten Blume and Janek Müller Portraits of the protagonists (selection) The contributor exhibitions Outreach programme Appendix Travel routes through Saxony-Anhalt Press contacts for all institutions

2 Big Plans! Applied Modernism in Saxony-Anhalt About the exhibition concept Speed, acceleration, movement: a very specific dynamic evolved in Saxony-Anhalt when the industrial region in Middle Germany was catapulted into the modern age in the 1920s. Here in the Weimar Republic era numerous artists, architects, engineers and politicians developed ideas, models and projects for a modern, refined society that have lost none of their fascination today. Big Plans! is an exhibition project of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation in association with exhibitions in Dessau, Magdeburg, Halle, Merseburg, Leuna, Elbingerode or Quedlinburg that focus on applied modernism in Saxony-Anhalt from 1919 to Dessau, 6 April / 3 Modern housing estates, progressive schools, sensational product design, ground-breaking technology and creative power despite the political and economic instability that prevailed in the wake of the First World War, in Saxony-Anhalt the years from 1919 to 1933 were characterised by a tremendous pioneering spirit, by speed, acceleration and movement: With a momentum all of its own, in the 1920s the region of present-day Saxony-Anhalt was catapulted into the modern age in politics, culture and art. The many activists and reformers willed this industrial region in Middle Germany, which had seen rapid expansion in the wartime economy, to become one of the most up-to-date places to live and work. Artists, designers, architects, engineers, entrepreneurs and politicians shared this spirit of optimism. Although it soon became evident that the grand political and economic plans were not necessarily in tune with the ideas for a better world cultivated by cultural reformers and artists, the emerging democracy and the machine age motivated the varied modernists, visionaries and inventors to rethink the future of

3 2 / 3 society, to design new living environments and to radically reform education and learning. The idea was to systematically exploit the new political freedom to the full, backed by technological progress and the economic power of the region, in order to develop a future humane, socially just and happy industrialised society. Whether in Dessau, Magdeburg, Halle, Merseburg, Leuna, Elbingerode or Quedlinburg small and large projects with ideational plans for the New Man, New Architecture or New Education sprang up everywhere. The exhibition Big Plans! Applied Modernism in Saxony-Anhalt shows that, at the time, the Bauhaus Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt was not isolated, but associated with numerous other utopias, ideas, places and people. The Bauhaus Dessau Foundation s exhibition Big Plans! Modern Figures, Visionaries and Inventors, which will be on show from 4 May 2016, first conveys an overall impression of the emergence into the modern era, based on selected projects and protagonists of the 1920s. It outlines and discusses the history of applied modernism in Saxony-Anhalt in four chapters: Ascending, Systematic Settlement, Practising Learning and Advertising Mechanism. The main exhibits will include documents, images and models related to the designs, visions and projects that illustrate the diverse departures into the new age in an exemplary and descriptive fashion. Listening stations will enable visitors to hear the protagonists of the day in their own words. It will become clear that the evolution of applied modernism was not only rich, but also contradictory in its quests. At the same time, the organisers hope that the exhibition will bring to life how inspiring and challenging the ideas of the time and modernity as an intellectual attitude continue to be today. The perspectives shown in the exhibition in the Bauhaus Dessau will be complemented by a comprehensive supporting programme and augmented and explored in greater depth in location-specific exhibitions presented nationwide by the Bauhaus Association s partners. With the extensive exhibition project that embraces all of Saxony-Anhalt, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt are working towards the centenary of the Bauhaus in For Stephan Dorgerloh, Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs for the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt, modernity is a unique cultural theme in Saxony-Anhalt: Our region is invariably associated with Luther, the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz and the Bauhaus. The exhibition Big Plans! broadens our view of modernity throughout Saxony-Anhalt in many and varied ways. There can be no better way of preparing for the international Bauhaus Centenary 2019 in Saxony-Anhalt as the federal state of modernity. The Bauhaus Association s partners have curated their own exhibitions in close, ongoing dialogue with the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation s team. Claudia Perren, Director of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, identifies a new quality in the regional collaboration: Our idea to set up Big Plans! as a Bauhaus Association project was immediately convincing for all concerned. The collaboration between all the partners was open, constructive and positive, although all the institutions are so different. Together, we narrate the history of modernity in these ambivalent 1920s, a time in which everything seemed to be possible in this region.

4 3 / 3 Overall, visitors will find 14 exhibitions in 5 cities spread across Saxony-Anhalt. The first exhibitions will open from March 2016 and the general exhibition at the Bauhaus Dessau will be open from 4 May 2016 to 6 January New exhibitions in other locations will open regularly over the course of The exhibition project will be accompanied by an extensive outreach programme, which will also propose travel routes for visitors to Saxony-Anhalt. All information, including contact details for the tourist information offices in the respective cities, is available online at The exhibition project is supported by the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt and sponsored by the Ostdeutsche Sparkassen Stiftung with the Stadtsparkasse Dessau and Lotto Anhalt: Press contact, overall project Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Press officer: Dr. Helga Huskamp T +49 (0) presse@bauhaus-dessau.de Project assistance: Sascha Stremming T +49 (0) grosseplaene@bauhaus-dessau.de

5 Modern Figures, Visionaries and Inventors 04 May Jan 2017 Exhibition of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Big Plans! Modern Figures, Visionaries and Inventors is the general exhibition of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation in the framework of the Bauhaus Association s project Big Plans! Applied Modernism in Saxony-Anhalt The exhibition, which will be on show from 4 May 2016 to 6 January 2017, is divided into four sections Ascending, Systematic Settlement, Practising Learning and Advertising Mechanism and uses the stories of the era s protagonists to describe the emergence of a modern society and a new way of living in the interwar years. Dessau, 6 April 2016 From 4 May 2016 to 6 January 2017 the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation will show the exhibition Big Plans! Modern Figures, Visionaries and Inventors. Applied Modernism in Saxony-Anhalt The exhibition is the starting point for the Bauhaus Association s project Big Plans! This was initiated by the Bauhaus Dessau and involves 14 institutions showing exhibitions in various locations in Saxony-Anhalt. 1 / 3 The exhibition focuses for the first time on all of present-day Saxony-Anhalt and shows in exemplary fashion how, with and alongside the Bauhaus, a whole world of applied modernism evolved in the region from 1919 to Based on the utopian architectural designs of Bruno Taut, the far-sighted modern regional planning ideas of Erhard Hübener and the adventurous visions of the Bauhaus, the exhibition shows how the artists, authors, architects, designers, technicians, engineers, entre-

6 2 / 3 preneurs and politicians of the interwar years shaped the beginnings of an improved, progressive and open-minded modern era. Today s Saxony-Anhalt, an industrial region in Middle Germany already shaped by the First World War, offered them a wealth of opportunities. The challenges they faced were huge for instance the housing shortage, the outdated education system, poor infrastructure and, last but not least, a new image of humanity and the world and called for grand plans. Most of those who shaped the new age as visionaries and inventors hoped that their abundant creativity could be synchronised not only with industry, but also especially with the immensity of the departures and transformations then taking place in society. They were full of enthusiasm for the idea that the artists and the people, the technicians, scientists and engineers, were working together to build a new world. They believed that the utopian architectures and experimental images of a new humanity could be catalysts for a collective modernity. Their visions were not always realised; many of them stayed in the region for just a few years and in hindsight we know that it was only temporarily possible to synchronise the artistic ideas and the demands of industry in order to bring about a utopian added value that still fascinates us today. The exhibition categorises the many diverse ideas, inventions and innovations according to the following themes: Ascending, Systematic Settlement, Practising Learning and Advertising Mechanism. These four sections featuring models, films and multiple contemporary documents are complemented by listening stations in which the protagonists themselves are heard in their own words. Ascending represents the limitless expansion of the world through technology and aeronautics, Systematic Settlement a socially just housing policy; Practising Learning addresses the new start initiated by educational reform and Advertising Mechanism deals with the modern consumer culture. What does it mean to be modern? This question informs the exhibition project, which as a Bauhaus Association project deliberately aims to demonstrate that the Bauhaus Dessau was not isolated. The exhibition curators Torsten Blume (Bauhaus Dessau Foundation) and Janek Müller (HKW Berlin) have a clear definition of what it means to be modern: When traditions lose their meaning and the construction of new things, ideas and concepts becomes more important, when what we have learned so far and knowledge in general is only relatively and temporarily valid, when opinions and ideas have to be negotiated, then being modern means being open minded and flexible. With the exhibition project, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation intentionally broadens its outlook to include the entire region of Saxony-Anhalt. Claudia Perren, Director of the Foundation and exhibition director, states: Modernity is a coherent ideational and discursive field of many modernists, visionaries and inventors, especially here in Saxony-Anhalt. The Bauhaus was part of this expansive movement, which was characterised by open mindedness, curiosity and a pioneering spirit. There can hardly be a more contemporary historic exhibition theme. Modernity and experimentation. The Bauhaus Dessau Foundation pursues this aspect of modernity in that it eschews a classical type of exhibition architecture. This is replaced by the artistic installation of the Stuttgart-based office umschichten. This uses the term pre-cycling to describe its basic approach: Here, only materials from the respective regions are used and these are

7 3 / 3 utilised in such a way that they can be returned to their industrial cycles as reusable materials once the exhibition is over. umschichten and its team will work for four weeks on site to set up the exhibition, the materials being supplied free of charge by the companies KUBRA GmbH, REHAU AG + Co and Mansfelder Aluminiumwerk GmbH. Exhibition team Exhibition Director: Claudia Perren / Assistant project lead: Alexia Pooth Curators: Torsten Blume, Janek Müller Project management: Katja Lehmann Exhibition design: umschichten (Lukasz Lendzinksi, Peter Weigand, Levin Stadler and Team) Press contact Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Press officer: Dr. Helga Huskamp T +49 (0) presse@bauhaus-dessau.de Project assistance: Sascha Stremming T +49 (0) grosseplaene@bauhaus-dessau.de

8 Modernity is an Attitude Interview with Dr. Claudia Perren (Director, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and Exhibition Director) and the exhibition curators Torsten Blume (Bauhaus Dessau Foundation) and Janek Müller (HKW, Berlin) Big Plans! This seems to be a very open-ended theme for an exhibition at the Bauhaus. How did the idea for the exhibition come about? Claudia Perren: For us, the exhibition Big Plans! represents the start of the Bauhaus Centenary It addresses applied modernism in Saxony-Anhalt at the time the Bauhaus was founded, up to its conclusion in a number of grand plans in the region. These span politics, technology, architecture, art, theatre and advertising. Torsten Blume: The exhibition project is conceived as a prologue to the centenary. We want to able to finally show in detail why the Bauhaus after it had to be closed in Weimar in 1924 was made so welcome specifically in the region that is now Saxony-Anhalt. 1 / 4 Janek Müller: After the First World War a lot changed in Germany, in Middle Germany especially. For example the responsibility of local self-government. For the cities, this was associated with rising tax revenues, but also with new challenges, such as the planning and production of housing on a massive scale to accommodate the workers arriving in the region due to industrialisation. Many places were flourishing at the same time; not only Dessau, but also Magdeburg, Bitterfeld and Leuna. It is all connected.

9 2 / 4 The exhibition intentionally focuses on modernists. What does that term mean to you? Does a modernist have to be a visionary, a playful artist? TB: The modernists that we present as examples in the exhibition with their ideas and projects are for us ultimately different manifestations of the New Man, who was so widely discussed in the modern era. Modernists are project makers that embrace and think of life, the world and themselves as things that can be shaped. This includes artists that propagated expressionism as the new folk art as well as research firms like Hugo Junkers or the rocket pioneers and inventors Max Valier and Rudolf Nebel. But a photographer like Gertrud Arndt, who projects countless self-image variations in front of the camera, is also a modernist. JM: To be modern does not necessarily mean being a visionary or an artist, but it does mean being flexible in intellectual terms and willing to grasp the present as an open, dynamic question. Modernists are people that practice adaptation to the fundamentally unstable, contradictory conditions, who for example know that traditions can no longer really be relied upon and that knowledge and experience are invariably only relatively valid. TB: There s no such thing as an ideal modernist. Even many of the modernists in our exhibition only behaved in a modern way in relation to specific projects or aspects. Friedrich Zollinger for example developed his lamella building method in Merseburg so that anyone could then build an own house without an architect or a construction company. While this basic principle is modern, the stylistic circles in which Zollinger moved were thoroughly conservative. Walter Gropius himself is another good example. Of course he was a modern man in many respects, even though at the same time he had very traditional notions as regards women as artists, designers, or even architects. You state that most of the protagonists were only briefly in Saxony-Anhalt. Where did these people come from, and where did they find their audacity, the drive for their ideas? JM: Creative people have always followed their inspiration. They go to those places that are at the cutting edge of developments. That was once New York, but now cities like Shanghai are perhaps where it s at. I could easily imagine some of our protagonists there today. In the 1920s, Middle Germany was that place. CP: Middle Germany s potential for new developments was the critical factor. There was a lot of creative scope, because there still weren t any established traditions in this region. This made Saxony-Anhalt the ideal place to try out modern approaches, which were not infrequently passed on and developed through regional and international networks. TB: The 1920s is the era in which many of the models with which we are familiar today come into being, for instance thinking and working in networks and collectives. The Bauhaus as a forum for an avant-garde network is also an example of this, as are the architects workgroups of Martin Knauthe and Alfred Gellhorn in Halle.

10 3 / 4 CP: At the same time these networks were dynamic connections involving people who were not necessarily based in one place. Saxony-Anhalt was therefore also often a place to pass through or a springboard for protagonists such as, for example, the rocket pioneer Max Valier, originally from Bolzano, who came to the region in order to realise his dream of manned spaceflight. TB: That many of the protagonists were here only temporarily is also due to the political development. The strengthening of the right the NSDAP took over the local government in Dessau as early as 1932 meant that the protagonists ultimately turned their back on the region, and many of them left Germany entirely. JM: The National Socialists however also offered many engineers the best job opportunities in an industry that was gradually becoming more militarised. Even before coming to power in 1933, since 1926 in fact, Adolf Hitler and his NSDAP had been negotiating a possible collaboration with the company IG-Farben AG and the Leuna Works. Many of the more pragmatic and also technocratic engineers and scientists, but also artists and designers who believed that their work was purely formal and intellectually apolitical, failed to see the backgrounds and consequences of the new, large-scale national socialist plans that aimed at something entirely different. How did this modern region, this present-day Saxony-Anhalt, stand in relation to the rest of former Germany? TB: Present-day Saxony-Anhalt was a unique model region for innovation, inasmuch as while the state-of-the-art enterprises of the day, e.g., the chemical, electrochemical and aircraft industries were concentrated here, there were hardly any genuine major cities with a real urban feel. That s why, in a variety of different individual projects, cultural modernism developed here in a way that was above all more pragmatic and down-to-earth than, for example, the then global metropolis of Berlin. JM: Nonetheless, in the Weimar Republic Saxony-Anhalt became a kind of hub for the contemporary artistic and social developments. Throughout the region, wherever the modernists were at work, the international developments were recognised as inspirations and reflected. These included Russian constructivism as well as the American Taylorism and Fordism. Why is it important to you Dr. Perren, as Director of the Bauhaus Dessau, to show that the Bauhaus was not isolated? CP: To date, the Bauhaus has generally been perceived as a place of the international avant-garde. That is also true! Nevertheless, there are also productive relationships and networks, which are frequently neglected. With our exhibition, we aim to shed light on these rarely discussed aspects and, in doing so, to also open up new ways of seeing the Bauhaus.

11 4 / 4 Since you have been so intensely involved with the protagonists of modernity, what does being modern mean to you personally, as regards the past and especially the present? TB: For me, to be modern still means to have and to live out an attitude of constructive open-mindedness. Above all I associate it with the awareness that I live in a world in which diverse, equally valid world interpretations, meanings and values exist side by side. Grand plans are part of being modern, but today as indeed in the 1920s it is not about realising these immediately, let alone enforcing them, but about grasping them as inspirations for the powers of imagination. I believe that Paul Scheerbarth, who in 1910 wrote, Wanting to see everything carried out immediately in reality [...] is dilettantish is still right in this regard. CP: Modernity as the Bauhaus shaped it is worth striving for today more than ever. This is less about the products that this world famous school created than about the appreciation of being a platform for questions of design, the resolutions to which should improve daily life. That s not to say that it was not possible to find answers to some design questions, or that some miss-steps were made. What is important is the courage and open-mindedness to continue to address situations and problems from a fresh perspective. The interview was held by Helga Huskamp. Press contact Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Press officer: Dr. Helga Huskamp T +49 (0) presse@bauhaus-dessau.de Project assistance: Sascha Stremming T +49 (0) grosseplaene@bauhaus-dessau.de

12 Portraits of the protagonists. A selection. Gertrud Arndt, Photographic artist at the Bauhaus Dessau Cheeky, sylphlike and innovative. With a fish-like pout or as a sophisticated woman.gertrud Arndt is regarded as a modern photographer and pioneer of the selfie. Having trained as a weaver at the Bauhaus, Arndt, who in fact wanted to be an architect, focuses increasingly on photography. From 1929 she experiments with various costumes, facial expressions and angles in front of the camera, thereby reinventing herself again and again. The resulting 43 Mask Portraits show a mercurial and self-confident master of disguise. The artist also shows her diverse talents in another series of photographs in which her particular feel for black, white and grey contrasts comes to the fore. Marianne Brandt, Artist and metal designer at the Bauhaus Dessau Ceiling lights, pendant lights, the famous Bauhaus teapot MBTK 24 SI. With unflagging creativity, Marianne Brandt made design history in just five years ( ). Today, the lamps designed by the trained artist are famous the world over. Brandt seeks to express the complexity and dynamic of her age not only in geometric and functional experiments with form and in product designs, but also in photographs with modern collage techniques in which she depicts the tempo, advances and culture of the day in relation to the individual. In addition, she makes an important contribution to early emancipation as the first female head of the metal workshop of the Bauhaus Dessau (1928). 1 / 4

13 2 / 4 Karla Grosch, Dancer and sports teacher at the Bauhaus Dessau, That s just how I am, light-dark, hot-cold, up-down. Karla Grosh, student of Gret Palucca, came to the Bauhaus in 1928 as a sports and gymnastics teacher and was at that time one of two female teachers at the Bauhaus Dessau. Grosch represents the new awareness of the body. With a forceful and resilient personality, she collaborated as a dancer and choreographer among other things on Oskar Schlemmer s Metal Dance and Glass Dance. Together, the two of them devise experiments in movement intended to establish a new connection between body and mind. Karl Plättner, Left-wing agitator, gang leader and author in Halle, Leuna, the Mansfeld Land region and in prison, Karl Plättner is the red Robin Hood of the 1920s. The founding member of the initially radical communist workers part of Germany (KAPD) later became leader of the March Action of 1921 that reduced Leuna-Merseburg and Halle to a civil war-like state. For the revolutionary workers, Karl Plättner fights an embittered class war with incendiary attacks and robberies. Following an eight-year prison sentence he analyses his experiences and observations of the prison and justice system in texts and books. In Eros in Prison. On the Sexual Needs of Prisoners, he actively support the introduction of more humane conditions in prisons and shines a clear and uninhibited light on taboos such as sexual needs, masturbation and homosexuality among prisoners. Gustav Nagel, Advocate of nature and temple guard on Lake Arend, Go veggie! Toughening up by bathing in winter, fresh air and always walking barefoot. The prophet Gustav Nagel is one of Germany s most renowned itinerant preachers. Owing to chronic illnesses and numerous allergies the young Nagel soon chooses to turn his back on civilisation. In earthen caves and on his wanderings he discovers his love for naturopathy. Riding his new, alternative wave, Nagel is carried to Lake Arend. There, he builds a temple complex from crude natural materials. His business model becomes popular and tens of thousands of pilgrims visit him every year. With the sale of natural products and promotional items, he is for a time the town s most important taxpayer. His messages are still well received today. Easy for everyone to understand, they show how to live a healthy lifestyle. Once outlandish, now more topical than ever.

14 3 / 4 Rudolf Nebel, Rocket designer, founding father of space travel, advocate of research into spaceflight in Magdeburg, The mechanical engineer, rocket scientist and inventor of patents Rudolf Nebel had grand plans. His rockets were designed to fly high. Known as a contact broker, Nebel connects the various parties involved in the city s space research scene. Together they build the first rocket launch pad in Berlin. The rocket designer s visions lead him to Magdeburg in the later 1920s. In the prospective city of spaceflight, he was to test the most pioneering prototype rocket design the first flight of a manned rocket into space and therefore the first flight into the future. Max Valier, Astronomer, science fiction author and pioneer of rocket propelled cars in Blankenburg (Harz), 1928 Courage, dogged commitment and almost limitless determination. Max Valier, a trained astronomer, has dreams and visions of voyaging to the moon and with that, the possibility of venturing into outer space. Valier is one of the greatest pioneers of rocket technology, a project developer and an orator in the lecture theatre. The trailblazer designs rockets as precursors to the space rocket. He constructs the first rocket propelled airplanes and cars. As a science fiction writer, he foresees even the atom bomb. His last experiment with a paraffin-fuelled rocket ends fatally, making him the first casualty of spaceflight. He leaves behind a fascination with his unflinching quest to change the world. Erich Rademacher, Swimming world champion and sport icon from Magdeburg Ete Rademacher, a qualified insurance salesman, found his passion in swimming. He became the most successful swimmer of the 1920s. With 30 world records, the winner of eight German championship records in the 100 m breaststroke as well as numerous other medals is regarded as a sports icon. Rademacher exemplifies the appreciation for the athleticism of the New Man and is moreover the figurehead of the city of Magdeburg. Through his fame as a sportsman, Rademacher plays a part in the reintegration of Germany in the international community following its isolation in the wake of the First World War.

15 4 / 4 Edith (Schulze) Dinkelmann, Town planner and architect in Dessau, Entirely common now, but a sensation at the time: Edith Dinkelmann is the first woman to study architecture at the University of Braunschweig. She gets her first job after an internship with the Dessau building authority. Active in housing development and large-scale town planning projects, Dinkelmann leaves a significant footprint in Dessau. The Bauhaus Dessau is sceptical and critical of the graduate engineer. In 1926 Dinkelmann publishes an open letter attacking the Bauhaus and specifically the architecture of Walter Gropius. Dinkelmann exemplifies the tension-laden disparities in the visions of modern architecture. Siegfried Ebeling, Visionary architect at the Junkers works in Dessau, Buildings must breathe. Walls are membranes. The visionary Siegfried Ebeling calls for an organic architecture and advocates energy-efficient construction sees the publication of his text Space as Membrane, a result of his time at the Bauhaus Weimar. With his cosmological theories of architecture, the friend and student of Wassily Kandinsky and Marcel Breuer causes a furore in architectural circles. Even Ludwig Mies van der Rohe subsequently refers to the thought processes of the artist, cosmologist, dancer and later architect. Today, his views are regarded as game changing for modern architecture and bionics. Bruno Taut, Ingenious architect and head of the municipal planning office, Magdeburg Colours, glass and light: these are incisive criteria in the work of Bruno Taut. During his time in Magdeburg, the town councillor and architect unites functionality and pictorial art. Stale and dreary looking workers settlements are made more people-friendly with intense colours. To this day, entire streets are still decorated with the municipally ordered graffiti. The enthusiastic painter revives the lost tradition of colour in architecture and thus allows for the emotional effect. Affordable homes for tenants, light-filled buildings and the social significance of architecture all have an influential role to play in his visionary town planning

16 The contributor exbhitions Dessau Technikmuseum Hugo Junkers Dessau Visionary, Entrepreneur, Promoter of Modernity 14 May 31 Oct 2016 Professor Hugo Junkers shaped the development of modernity in Middle Germany in the early 20th century. His research projects, inventions and entrepreneurial success have had a lasting impact on the industrial history of Germany. But the collaboration with the Bauhaus, which without him would probably have never found its way to Dessau, was likewise multifaceted and productive. This special exhibition presents the people, inventors, entrepreneurs and contemporaries associated with Hugo Junkers. The Technikmuseum Hugo Junkers Dessau is run by a private association. Curator: Michael Otto Opening times: daily 10 a.m. 4 p.m. Admission: 5, concessions 2, families 11 Kühnauer Straße 161a, Dessau-Rosslau T +49 (0) info@technikmuseum-dessau.de 1 / 10

17 2 / 10 Halle Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle Neo Luna Park Search for pleasure, create pleasure 16 July 17 July 2016 The modern age believed in progress and looked to the future. Beyond the huge advances in science and technology however, it also focused on the phenomena of modern life: leisure, cinema, music, dance and new teaching and learning models delineated a future scenario, every aspect of which was versatile and dynamic.the contribution of the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle looks at significant achievements of the modern age, transfers them to the present day and scrutinises their current role in society. It puts forward a range of propositions about the different forms of recreation and leisure in society today and the places they should occupy in people s lives. One key issue is the psychological significance of leisure activities today. How can the interaction between these and other social spheres such as work or learning be developed? A further focus is placed on the question of what brings us pleasure as individuals, and what role our fellow human beings and our own physical experience play in this. Initiator: Prof. Dieter Hofmann Visiting professors: Yi-Cong Lu, Stephan Schulz Opening times: 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Admission free Neuwerk 7, Halle T +49 (0) neolunapark@burg-halle.de Kunstverein Talstrasse e.v. Halle Karl Völker, Rudolf Schlichter and more members of the November Group 28 Apr 24 July 2016 The painter Rudolf Schlichter is regarded as one of the main proponents of New Objectivity. In 1919 Schlichter joined the revolutionary November Group in Berlin. The Halle Group, a local branch of the November Group, formed at the same time, organised by the sculptors Karl Oesterling and Richard and Paul Horn, architects Martin Knauthe and Alfred Gellhorn and the painter Karl Völker. Karl Völker was a politically active artist who endeavoured to articulate himself through expressive woodcuts and other works with socio-critical content. He and Rudolf Schlichter were among the protagonists of New Objectivity and Modernism. They were not only peers, but also pursued a similar, challenging course of artistic development, influenced by the First World War.

18 3 / 10 Kunstverein Talstrasse e.v. Halle Textile Art at Burg Giebichenstein in the 1920s 11 Aug 20 Nov 2016 In the 1920s Burg Giebichenstein became a place of tradition for textile art in Saxony-Anhalt. The exhibition shows examples of textile art from Halle and recalls the strong influence of the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau and its workshops: Many of the Bauhaus experiences entered into education at Burg Giebichenstein. The exhibition also introduces the influence of French tapestry artist Jean Lurçat, whose work was first shown in Germany in exhibitions in the mid-1950s. His tapestries had a huge influence on artists working in Middle Germany, leading to a new involvement with tapestry after Curators: Matthias Rataiczyk, Christin Müller-Wenzel Opening times: Wed to Fri 2 7 p.m., Sat to Sun 2 6 p.m. Admission: 5, concessions 3 free: members, students of the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle and Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Faculty of Art History Talstraße 23, Halle T +49 (0) info@kunstverein-talstrasse.de Kunstmuseum Moritzburg Halle Lyonel Feininger: Paris Return of a Missing Painting 24 Oct Jan 2017 The exhibition focuses on the painting At the Seine, Paris (1912) by Lyonel Feininger, which was believed lost, and on answering the questions associated with this enigmatic fragment. This is complemented by works by the artist that exemplify his stylistic orientation during the pre-wwi phase in which the painting originated and offer a deeper insight into the time in question. This is a showcase exhibition that takes a specific look at the work genesis and integrity and aspects of art technology in the oeuvre of Lyonel Feininger. Curator: Wolfgang Büche Opening times: Mon, Tues, Thurs to Sun and Bank Holidays 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Admission: Permanent exhibition: 6, concessions 4, Special exhibition: Please visit the website for details Friedemann-Bach-Platz 5, Halle T +49 (0) info@sds-kunstmuseum-moritzburg.de

19 4 / 10 Magdeburg Forum Gestaltung Magdeburg maramm Magdeburg Modern Advertising and Exhibition City 01 June 11 Dec 2016 After World War and the German Empire, Magdeburg discovers new design as an indicator of modern urban-social identity. Not only architecture, but also advertising and exhibitions establish significant trends. These range from Bruno Taut s call for colourful architecture to the internationally well received 1927 German theatre exhibition, from the company logos and exhibition designs of Wilhelm Deffke to the advertising columns and posters of Walter Dexel, from the typeface classes exemplified by Hermann Eidenbenz to the photographs of Xanti Schawinsky that reflect a modern city. Curator: Norbert Eisold Exhibition director: Norbert Pohlmann Opening times: daily 12 6 p.m. daily, Thurs 12 8 p.m. Admission: 5, concessions 3 Brandenburger Straße 10, Magdeburg T +49 (0) info@forum-gestaltung.de Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen JOACHIM BROHM State of M. 22 Mar 12 June 2016 The letter M plays on modernism, on Magdeburg and on the name Mies in reference to a never-realised private villa that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed for Magdeburg. Brohm s perspective looks for connections with the past, but does not negate the time difference. Groundbreaking innovations, especially for the development of photography and specifically as it was practiced at the Bauhaus, become a foil for the exploration of the same medium. Curator: Uwe Gellner Admission: 4, concessions 2 free for under-18s

20 5 / 10 Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen Xanti Schawinsky From Bauhaus into the World 21 June 25 Sep 2016 The Xanti Schawinsky ( ) retrospective brings together work from all his creative phases as a painter, photographer and stage designer with regard to his continued impact today. Besides avant-garde utopias and proto art happenings, there were also other links to mainstream pre- and postwar modern movements in Europe and the USA. Shown in Zurich in 2015, the retrospective focuses on the Bauhaus and the Black Mountain College era and shows lesser-known paintings, complemented by photographs, that shed light on Schawinsky s work in Magdeburg during the age of New Architecture. Curator: Dr. Annegret Laabs Opening times: Tues to Fri 10 a.m. 5 p.m., Sat to Sun 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Admission: 5, concessions 2, free for under-18s Regierungsstraße 4-6, Magdeburg T +49 (0) sekretariat@kunstmuseum-magdeburg.de Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg Colourful City New Architecture. The Architecture of Carl Krayl 28 Oct 12 Feb 2017 The first retrospective to focus on Carl Krayl ( ), one of the greats of New Architecture who from 1921 contributed significantly to shaping Magdeburg as an exemplar of the modern city. Krayl collaborated closely with Bruno Taut (head of municipal planning in Magdeburg from ) and was in charge of his renowned, even notorious programme to paint colourful facades on a hundred buildings. As a freelance architect, he designed a number of modern Magdeburg s key buildings, including the AOK health insurance building, a union headquarters, the cinema OLi and parts of the Cracau and Curie housing estates and the garden city colony Reform. An accompanying programme comprising lectures, films and guided tours of selected local buildings will begin in May Curator: Dr. Michael Stöneberg Opening times: Tues to Fri 10 a.m. 5 p.m., Sat to Sun 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Admission: 7, 5 concessions, free for under-18s Otto-von-Guericke Straße 68-73, Magdeburg T +49 (0) museen@magdeburg.de

21 6 / 10 Technikmuseum Magdeburg Magdeburg Pilot Rocket, Masters of the Skies, Visionaries, Inventors from 27 May 2016 Major milestones in astronautics, aviation and rocket design were achieved in Magdeburg. This began with the first motor-flight by Hans Grade, with the activities of the Junkers works leading to the development of the first ever axial compressor jet engine and with the launch of Rudolf Nebel s prototype Magdeburg Pilot Rocket. These visionaries and inventors were supported by the far-sightedness and receptiveness to innovations of the incumbent lord mayor Ernst Reuter and the town council of Magdeburg. These visionary experiments will be on show in the exhibition in the Technikmuseum Magdeburg. Curators: Albrecht Ecke, Jürgen Rösener, Gerhard Unger Opening times: 01 Apr 31 Oct: Tues to Sun 10 a.m. 5 p.m., 01 Nov to 31 Mar: Tues to Sun 10 a.m. 4 p.m. Admission: 3, concessions 1,50, free for schoolchildren up to year 6 Dodendorfer Straße 65, Magdeburg T +49 (0) info@technikmuseum-magdeburg.de Merseburg Kulturhistorisches Museum Schloss Merseburg The People of Leuna Photographs from the Factories 30 Apr 31 Oct 2016 The Leuna works near Merseburg employed several photographers who documented the major plant s emergence and growth from the start. A selection of over 120 photographs dating from 1916 to 1928, many of which possess a remarkably artistic quality, shows impressive images of workers on building sites, surrounded by factory buildings or in daily life, initially in the barrack town and later in the Leuna garden city. Exhibition director: Dr. Karin Heise, Kulturhistorisches Museum Schloss Merseburg Curator: Joachim Riebel, Leipzig

22 7 / 10 Kulturhistorisches Museum Schloss Merseburg 100 Years Leuna Daily Life, Crises, Global Successes 04 June 31 Oct 2016 With the construction of the ammonia factory in Merseburg in 1916, the Leuna works, from the start converted chemical research into mass production on an industrial scale. The vast plant thereby transformed not only Merseburg and Middle Germany. Its products, initially explosives made from ammonia, later fertilizer from ammonia and fuel derived from lignite and polyethylene, played a pivotal role in Germany, Europe and beyond in the 20th century. The exhibition presents information about the rise and development of this important industrial location and its effects on life in the Leuna-Merseburg region. Exhibition director: Dr. Karin Heise, Kulturhistorisches Museum Schloss Merseburg Curator: Niklas Hoffmann-Walbeck, Berlin Opening times: daily 9 a.m. 6 p.m., Nov to Feb daily 10 a.m. 4 p.m. Admission: 3,50, concessions 2 Guided tours Cast concrete and Zollinger roof Cycle tours of the Zollinger quarter The growth of large-scale industry in Leuna and the associated population explosion also led to the construction of new residential neighbourhoods, schools and administration buildings in nearby Merseburg. The city s head of municipal planning Friedrich Zollinger ( ) devised new cast concrete and load-bearing building methods that facilitated standardised, cheap and independent construction. The renowned and elegant Zollinger roof, the vaulted structure of which is reinforced with timber lamella, may be admired in Merseburg in unusual variety and abundance. The roof, which Zollinger developed here in the 1920s, is now prevalent worldwide in varying dimensions. 16 / 23 / 30 July and 6 Aug 2016 at 2 p.m., meeting point: Train station Merseburg, please reserve in advance Prices 9 / person incl. exhibition admission, Zollinger city tours for groups (2 h, min. 10 persons, max. 25 persons): 40 plus 2 / person Domplatz 9 (Schloss), Merseburg T +49 (0) museum.schloss.merseburg@saalekreis.de

23 8 / 10 Leuna City of Leuna Garden City Mar 18 Sep 2016 The history of the garden city of Leuna, the largest heritage area in the Saale region, began with the BASF chemical plant. Homes for the workers were required near the production plant, which is still in the same location. The foundations for the workers settlement Neu-Rössen, designed by architect Karl Barth ( ), were laid on 21 January The exhibition provides insight into Barth s oeuvre, sheds light on the English garden city movement and focuses on the history and development of the settlement up to Concept: City of Leuna, Communications in corporation with City Archives Leuna and Thomas Lebek, architect, Leuna. Opening times: Fri to Sun 10 a.m. 4 p.m. Admission: 1,50, concessions 2,50 Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 26, Leuna T +49 (0) gartenstadt100@leuna.de

24 9 / 10 Elbingerode Diakonissen-Mutterhaus Elbingerode The Deaconess Cloister Lasting Testimony to a Lived Idea 01 May 31 Oct 2016 The main building of the Deaconess Cloister in Elbingerode was designed by Godehard Schwethelm and built from 1932 to Schwethelm called the building in Elbingerode his favourite child. The planning and execution owes a great deal to New Architecture. Many details still bear witness to the ideas of the modern age. In the framework of Big Plans!, the Deaconess Cloister in Elbingerode opens its doors to the public so that they can visit this continually occupied testimony to the architectural era. Guided tours of the building will be held from May to October on the first Sunday of every month, following the Sunday service at 11 a.m., which visitors are also welcome to attend. Exhibition director: Pfarrer Reinhard Holmer Opening times: 1st Sun of the month from May to Oct from 11 a.m. Please announce your visit by phone Unter den Birken 1, Elbingerode T +49 (0) info@neuvandsburg.de

25 10 / 10 Quedlinburg Lyonel-Feininger-Galerie. Museum für grafische Künste bauhaus at the schlossberg. 30 years feininger-gallery 25 June 19 Sep marks not only the 60th anniversary of Bauhaus master Lyonel Feiniger s death, but also the 30th anniversary of the Lyonel-Feininger-Galerie. The exhibition to commemorate these occasions focuses on the artist s special relationship with Quedlinburg. The Bauhaus student Hermann Klumpp was a close friend of the Feiniger family and a native of Quedlinburg. In 1936, after the National Socialists came to power, Klumpp brought important works of Feininger s to Quedlinburg in order to save them from destruction as degenerate art. Feininger emigrated to the USA and died in New York in years later the Lyonel-Feininger-Galerie was founded, based on Dr. Hermann Klumpp s collection. The gallery holds the largest single collection of works by this Bauhaus master. The anniversary exhibition shows graphics, watercolours and paintings as well as unique objects such as Feininger s graphics filing cabinet and easel. Curator: Dr. Michael Freitag Opening times: Wed to Mon, Bank Holidays 10 a.m. 6 p.m Admission: 6, concessions 4 Schlossberg 11, Quedlinburg T +49 (0) info@sds-feininger-galerie.de

26 Supporting programme for the exhibition project State as of 28 June 2016 current events on Big Plans The Salons Talks on being modern and becoming modern with guided curator tours and guests Dessau Sat 11 June 2016 OVER-PLANNERS: 2 5 p.m. Planning as therapy? Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Sat 17 Sep 2016 UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS: 2 5 p.m. Advertising is beautiful and unites people? Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Sat 15 Oct 2016 HIGH-FLYERS: 2 5 p.m Rocket Pioneers, Revolution Dancers and Machine Men: Is it going on and on? Technikmuseum Hugo Junkers Dessau Sat 12 Nov 2016 PRACTISING MODERNISM: 2 5 p.m. Learning is pure happiness or just good luck? Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Berlin 1 / 4 Thu 30 June 2016 COSMIC FANTASISTS: 5 7 p.m. The crystal as world model and life as music? Berlinische Galerie

27 2 / 4 Halle Sat 02 July 2016 REVOLUTIONARIES AND APOCALYPTICISTS: 2 6 p.m Artists as politicians? Kunstverein Talstrasse e.v. Magdeburg Wed 13 April 2016 ABOUT REPRODUCTIONS 7 p.m. Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen Artist talk with photographer Joachim Brohm und curator Uwe Gellner Sat 23 July 2016 TOTAL THEATRE: 2 5 p.m. Is everything possible on stage? Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen Sat 19 Nov 2016 HEALTHY AND ECONOMICALLY EFFICIENT: 2 5 p.m. Are modern housing estates models of the Good Life? Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg Sat 17 Dec 2016 TECHNOLOGY AND IMAGINATION: 4 6 p.m. Remain ghosts? Technikmuseum Magdeburg Merseburg Tue 21 June 2016 IMAGES OF HUMANITY: 6 9 p.m. Workers as happy people? Kulturhistorisches Museum Schloss Merseburg Elbingerode Wed 18 May 2016 MODERNITY IN HARZ MOUNTAINS: 5 7 p.m. Technicians, Reformists and Aesthetes Inauguration of the exhibition: Modernity in Elbingerode: The Deaconess-Cloister Diakonissen-Mutterhaus Elbingerode

28 3 / 4 Cinema of the Big Plans Magdeburg once a month July Dec 2016 at 8 p.m. Films und Film documents of the 1920s and 1930s OLi Kino Magdeburg Workshops for children and young people Dessau, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Sat 11 June 2016 Sat 17 Sep 2016 Sat 12 Nov 2016 Play with construction kits 2 5 p.m. Mechanical display windows 2 5 p.m. Crystallisations 2 5 p.m. Magdeburg, Forum Gestaltung 18, 19 July 2016 Bye-bye selfie from 9 a.m. 1 p.m. 20, 21, 22 July What a Performance! at 10 a.m Workshops Dance in Paper Wed 17 Fri 19 Aug Dance in paper 2016 Torsten Blume, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Lena Wenke, Dance Educationalist and Choreographer, Magdeburg Christiane Hercher, Schauspiel Magdeburg

29 4 / 4 Theatre Performance SUPER BROCKEN: a formal theatre game after Paul Scheerbarth In the early 1920s the author Paul Scheerbart described in great detail his desire for a perpetual motion machine to make our universe magnificent and great with wonderful glass architecture but perhaps starting just in the Harz in Saxony-Anhalt, as Scheerbart said. Super Brocken is an experimental attempt to stage this dream of Scheerbart s, who once also emboldened Bruno Taut, Walter Gropius and many other modern architects to plan colossal projects. Machines and archangels design a Harz dream, where imagination juggles with the infinite narrow-mindedness of the possible and renews itself on and on, like a perpetual motion machine. (Torsten Blume / Edita Karko, Berlin / Juan Pablo Lastras, Dessau / Olaf Helbing, Berlin / Stephan Murer, Leipzig / Students of the Kuwasawa Design School Tokyo) Sat 04 June 2016 Sun 05 June 2016 Sat 10 Sep 2016 Sun 11 Sep 2016 Thu 24 Nov 2016 Fri 25 Nov 2016 Dessau, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, 7 8:30 p.m. Magdeburg, Forum Gestaltung, 7 8:30 p.m. Quedlinburg, Lyonel-Feininger-Galerie, 4 5:30 p.m. Elbingerode, Diakonissen-Mutterhaus, 7 8:30 p.m. Halle, Kunstmuseum Moritzburg, 7 8:30 p.m. Dessau, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, 7 8:30 p.m