Toni Ebel, Andreas Fux, Harry Hachmeister, Jochen Hass, Dorothea von Philipsborn, Erika Stürmer-Alex, Rita „Tommy“ Thomas, Jürgen Wittdorf, Egon Wrobel

Curated by Stephan Koal

nGbK is a collaborating partner in the QUEER ART IN THE GDR? Biographies between Underground and Propaganda project which sheds light on artists’ positions in East Germany and encourages a new reading of art from the GDR. The exhibition and extensive accompanying events program are a KVOST – Kunstverein Ost e.V. initiative and are taking place in cooperation with nGbk, Mitte Museum, and Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge. The exhibition draws on the checkered life stories of nine artists and their works, ranging from painting, sculpture, and ceramics to photography. On that basis it shows how differently the nine addressed the political and social conditions of their day. To what extent did sexual orientation influence their artistic practice and their careers?

Despite its gradual decriminalization, homosexuality in the GDR remained subject to strong social and political stigmatization. After the Fall of the Wall, the situation facing queer artists did not improve significantly. On the contrary: Many artists from East Germany ran the risk of being completely forgotten. Today, general interest in the art and culture of East Germany and in queer lived realities is growing. However, to date combining these two perspectives, namely queer life stories and forms of artistic expression under a Communist dictatorship, has gone largely unresearched.

Although the term “queer” in today’s meaning did not exist in the GDR, it is consciously used in the exhibition: as a collective term for people who as lesbians, gays, and bisexuals desire and love the same sex, as well as for those who as transgender and non-binary persons live outside conventional notions of gender.

DISTANZ Verlag is publishing a catalogue to coincide with the exhibition.

Exhibition Venues

KVOST / Leipziger Straße 47, 10117 Berlin / kvost.de (all artists)
nGbK / Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 11/13, 10178 Berlin (all artists)
Mitte Museum / Pankstraße 47, 13357 Berlin / mittemuseum.de (Andreas Fux & Jürgen Wittdorf)
Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge / Leipziger Straße 54, 10117 Berlin / museumderdinge.org (Egon Wrobel)

Additional Cooperation Partners

Feministisches Archiv FFBIZ, Leibniz Centre for Literary and Cultural Research, Museum Lichtenberg, Schwules Museum, Sonntagsclub, Leipzig University, as well as other private collections, contemporary witnesses and experts.

The project is being made possible with funding from the Capital City Cultural Fund.

With thanks to the Berlin Commissioner for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship for the funding of the catalogue.

PROGRAM

Soft Opening KVOST
with presentation of the catalogue
Wed, 25.3.26, 6.00–9.00 pm

Soft Opening Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge
Wed, 25.3.26, 5.00–7.00 pm

Soft Opening Mitte Museum
Thu, 26.3.26, 6.00–9.00 pm

Opening nGbK
Fri, 27.3.26, 6.00–9.00 pm

Queer – An East German History
Lecture by Maria Bühner
Wed, 15.4.26, 7.00 pm

Queer lifestyles in East Germany were already diverse in the past – and at the same time often invisible. How did queer people live and love in the GDR? How did they experience the upheaval of 1989/90 and the 1990s? What strategies did they develop to form relationships, friendships and communities – in private, in subcultural spaces or in political movements? The lecture provides an insight into this little-known side of East German contemporary history. Using a wide range of archive material, it shows how queer people in East Germany were confronted with discrimination and control, but also created spaces for exchange, self-realisation and political change. The lecture invites us to reflect together on visibility, the culture of remembrance and the significance of queer perspectives for East German contemporary history.

Maria Bühner is a historian who graduated in cultural studies; she is a member of the research network queer contemporary history in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. She wrote her PhD thesis on the subjectivization of women who desired women and lesbian women in East Germany (1945–1995), and thus offered a new reading of East German history from a queer perspective. She has, among other things, worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Cultural Studies at Leipzig University and at Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden. She has published findings from her doctoral project in the journal Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte (2025, no. 21) and in an expert report for the Berlin Senate (2024). In her freelance and volunteer work, she actively champions greater visibility for queer East German history.

Guided Tour to all Venues with Viviane Tabach
Sun, 19.4.26, 2.30 pm

The tour starts at KVOST (Leipziger Straße 47, 10117 Berlin).
Route: KVOST → Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge → nGbK → Mitte Museum.
Viviane Tabach is a Brazilian curator, art mediator, and artist based in Berlin. Her practice explores the intersections between education, curation, and artistic research. She is a member of Cruising Curators and The ReRouting Project and is part of the working group Dissident Paths at nGbK (2025–26).

Out in Ost-Berlin
Film screening and artist talk with Andreas Fux
Wed, 22.4.26, 7.00 pm

Moderation: Stephan Koal, curator of the exhibition

In the GDR, too, most homosexuals experienced fear and feelings of guilt. Section 175 of the East German Penal Code which made homosexuality between adult men a penal offense was repealed as early as 1968, although social stigmatization and discrimination remained intact. Many homosexuals found themselves caught in a dramatic conflict between love for their homeland and protest against a state that ignored them. The film tells exciting and surprising stories from the everyday life of a minority in the GDR. A film by Jochen Hick and Andreas Strohfeldt.

Andreas Fux, born in Berlin-Lichtenberg, is a German photographer who has been working freelance since 1990 and lives and works in Berlin. His first works were published as early as 1988 in the East Berlin magazine Das Magazin. He is part of the Prenzlauer Berg art scene, which documented the final years of the GDR, the period of transition, and the societal changes that followed. In his photography, he explores themes such as the body, identity, and sexuality, developing a distinctive and often provocative visual language.

Guided Tour with the Curator Stephan Koal
Sat, 25.4.26, 2.30 pm

Guided Tour with the Curator Stephan Koal
Sat, 2.5.26, 2.30 pm

Guided tour with the curator Stephan Koal through the exhibition at KVOST and Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge. The tour begins at KVOST.

Guided Tour to all Venues with Viviane Tabach
Sun, 3.5.26, 2.30 pm

The tour starts at KVOST (Leipziger Straße 47, 10117 Berlin).
Route: KVOST → Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge → nGbK → Mitte Museum.

Viviane Tabach is a Brazilian curator, art mediator, and artist based in Berlin. Her practice explores the intersections between education, curation, and artistic research. She is a member of Cruising Curators and The ReRouting Project and is part of the working group Dissident Paths at nGbK (2025–26).

Queerpolitik im Handgemenge
Reading and discussion with Klaus Lederer and Pieke Biermann
Wed, 6.5.26, 7.00 pm

In the tense relationship between politics, social development and queer lifestyles, emancipation and regression often lie close together. Klaus Lederer, former mayor of Berlin and senator for culture, reflects on this in his essay ‘Queerpolitik im Handgemenge’ (Queer Politics in the Melee), published in March by Querverlag, which looks at recent history since 1990. Pieke Biermann, author and translator with a feminist West Berlin background, and Lederer, who is gay and comes from East Berlin, talk about these ambivalences, their experiences, paths and missteps – and then look at the challenges of the present.

Pieke Biermann, born in 1950, is a writer (three-time winner of crime fiction awards, author of “the Berlin Quartet” published by Argument in collaboration with Ariadne) and a translator (winner of the 2020 Leipzig Book Fair Translation Prize). A graduate in politics, linguistics and literature, she was active in the feminist movement in West Berlin during the 1970s and 1980s.
Klaus Lederer, born in 1974, is an independent Member of Parliament and spokesperson for queer politics for the Left Party faction in the Berlin House of Representatives. A doctor of law, author (including “Mit links die Welt retten”, Kanon 2024) and publicist, he served as Mayor and Senator for Culture and Europe in Berlin from 2016 to 2023.

Guided Tour
Sat, 9.5.26, 2.30 pm

Guided Tour
Sat, 16.5.26, 2.30 pm

Guided Tour to All Venues
Sun, 17.5.26, 2.30 pm

The tour starts at KVOST (Leipziger Straße 47, 10117 Berlin).
Route: KVOST → Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge → nGbK → Mitte Museum.

An evening with Caspar Gutsche
Wed, 20.5.26, 7.00 pm

Reading and Talk
Moderated by Stephan Koal

Caspar Gutsche, author of the early lesbian protocols (1991) and companion of Erika Stürmer-Alex, reads from her debut novel ‘Ich tanze nun mal nicht gerne Standard’ (I just don’t like dancing standard) about her childhood and time at the Lietzen artists’ colony, which Stürmer-Alex created in 1982 as a free space in Brandenburg. The reading offers personal and literary insights into life as a lesbian woman in the GDR and dealing with social role models and ideological expectations.

Caspar Gutsche works as an author and has been active as a singer and songwriter for over thirty years. Her first novel “Ich tanze nun mal nicht gerne Standard” was published last autumn by Querverlag. To balance out her verbosity, she engages in both craft and design, ranging from interior design to shoemaking. Born and raised in East Berlin, she lives with her wife in Berlin-Zehlendorf.
Stephan Koal is a co-founder and director of KVOST. His career began in 2003 at C/O Berlin. From 2010 to 2018, he curated the “Portfolio Berlin” exhibition series at the Kunsthalle Rostock, where he organized an exhibition of Gregor Hildebrandt’s work in 2024. From 2007 to 2010, he worked as curator and project manager at Art Biesenthal. For KVOST, he curated exhibitions including “Clara Mosch,” “The Auto-Perforation Artists,” and “QUEER ART IN THE GDR? Biographies Between Underground and Propaganda.”

Aids – in Zeiten der Liebe
Film Screening followed by a Panel Discussion
Thu, 28.5.26, 7.00 pm

Panelists: Jens Bisky, Johannes Nichelmann, Dr. Henning Tümmers
Moderator: Christine Watty

Screening of the first episode of the new ZDF documentary series about a gay artist couple from East Berlin and a virus that suddenly changed everything in the 1980s. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion about the political and social role of AIDS in the GDR. Why did Erich Honecker’s government wait for years before informing its population? What measures did the authorities take, and how did queer people in particular respond to the threat? What role was the first gay film produced in the GDR, Coming Out, supposed to play in the fight against the disease—even though it does not address AIDS at all? The discussion will also examine the impact of the epidemic on the art world in both East and West. The art theorist Wolfgang Max Faust, who died of AIDS, once observed: “Art is no longer about art. It’s about our lives.”

Jens Bisky, born in 1966, was for many years a culture editor at the Süddeutsche Zeitung and has worked since 2021 as Managing Editor at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. He is the author of several books, including Berlin: Biography of a Great City (2019) and The Decision: Germany 1929–1934 (2024).
Dr. Henning Tümmers, born in 1977, is Professor at the Seminar for Contemporary History at the University of Tübingen and author of the book AIDS – Autopsy of a Threat in Divided Germany (2017).
Johannes Nichelmann, born in 1989, is a TV and audio journalist as well as the director of the documentary AIDS – In Times of Love. He is also the author of the non-fiction book Nachwendekinder (2019) and co-founder of the Berlin-based production company nb Studios.

An event by ZDF aspekte, KVOST and Deutschlandfunk Kultur in cooperation with nGbK and nb Studios

Guided Tour
Sat, 30.5.26, 2.30 pm

Guided tour through the exhibition at KVOST and Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge. The tour begins at KVOST.

Film Screening Coming Out
followed by a talk with the lead actor Matthias Freihof
Wed, 3.6.26, 7.00 pm

The DEFA feature film Coming Out (1989), directed by Heiner Carow, tells the story of Philipp (Matthias Freihof), a young teacher from East Berlin who is increasingly coming to terms with his own homosexuality. Whilst he initially has a relationship with his colleague Tanja, his encounter with the young Matthias plunges him into an inner conflict and leads him to begin questioning his sexual identity. The film follows this personal journey, navigating societal expectations, prejudice and the desire for self-acceptance.

Historically, Coming Out is regarded as the only GDR feature film to focus on homosexuality. It premiered on 9 November 1989 at the Kino International in East Berlin – on the very night the Berlin Wall fell. This gave the film a special symbolic significance: whilst a political system was collapsing outside, a social taboo was being addressed inside the cinema.

Followed by a talk with the lead actor Matthias Freihof (Moderation: Stephan Koal).

Matthias Freihof, born in 1961, is a German actor, singer, and director. After studying at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin, he achieved his breakthrough in 1989 with the lead role in the DEFA film Coming Out. He is also known for numerous television productions such as Tatort, Siska, Der Alte, and Soko, as well as for his work as a theater director.
Stephan Koal is a co-founder and director of KVOST. His career began in 2003 at C/O Berlin. From 2010 to 2018, he curated the “Portfolio Berlin” exhibition series at the Kunsthalle Rostock, where he organized an exhibition of Gregor Hildebrandt’s work in 2024. From 2007 to 2010, he worked as curator and project manager at Art Biesenthal. For KVOST, he curated exhibitions including “Clara Mosch,” “The Auto-Perforation Artists,” and “QUEER ART IN THE GDR? Biographies Between Underground and Propaganda.”

Guided Tour
Sat, 6.6.26, 2.30 pm

Guided Tour to all Venues with Viviane Tabach
Sun, 7.6.26, 2.30 pm

The tour starts at KVOST (Leipziger Straße 47, 10117 Berlin).
Route: KVOST → Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge → nGbK → Mitte Museum.

Viviane Tabach is a Brazilian curator, art mediator, and artist based in Berlin. Her practice explores the intersections between education, curation, and artistic research. She is a member of Cruising Curators and The ReRouting Project and is part of the working group Dissident Paths at nGbK (2025–26).

Guided Tour with the Curator Stephan Koal
Sat, 13.6.26, 2.30 pm

Guided tour with the curator Stephan Koal through the exhibition at KVOST and Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge. The tour begins at KVOST.

Guided Tour to All Venues with the Curator Stephan Koal
Sun, 14.6.26, 2.30 pm

The tour starts at KVOST (Leipziger Straße 47, 10117 Berlin).
Route: KVOST → Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge → nGbK → Mitte Museum.

Guided Tour with the Curator Stephan Koal
Sat, 20.6.26, 2.30 pm

Guided Tour
Sun, 21.6.26, 2.30 pm

Together. Lesbian Artists in the GDR
Talk with Birgit Bosold, Judith Geffert and Nina Weller
Wed, 24.6.26, 7.00 pm

In the GDR, there were extremely active and vibrant networks of lesbian-feminist artists. What spaces were they able to create for themselves, and which were denied them? Birgit Bosold and Judith Geffert speak with Nina Weller about artistic practices, collective strategies and forms of self-empowerment among lesbian artists in the GDR.

Birgit Bosold has since 2006 been a member of the board of Schwules Museum in Berlin (SMU). Over the last 20 years, with her focus on strategy, programming, finances, and curation she has contributed decisively to the SMU’s dynamic development and has (co-)curated countless exhibitions. These have included Lesbisches Sehen (Lesbian Seeing, 2018), and most recently the tripartite exhibition series Lesbian Legacies at Kunstraum Scherben Berlin. Since 2021 she has also been a member of the board of Stiftung Schwules Museum, which is dedicated to supporting queer art and culture.
Judith Geffert is a freelance radio writer. She studied literature and theatre studies, as well as the culture and history of Central and Eastern Europe, in Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder). She produces radio plays, features and podcasts on topics including lesbian-feminist networks in the GDR. She co-curated the exhibition Gemeinsam sind wir unerträglich. Die unabhängige Frauenbewegung in der DDR. Her radio play Kontaktanzeigen. Queere Generationendialoge in Ostdeutschland was first broadcast on Deutschlandradio in 2024
Nina Weller is a specialist in Slavic studies and literary studies. At the Leibniz Centre for Literary and Cultural Research (ZfL), she conducts research into popular culture, cultures of remembrance and documentary literature in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.  She also works as a literary educator and translator.

The event is a cooperation with Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung (ZfL). 

Guided Tour
Sat, 27.6.26, 2.30 pm

Guided tour through the exhibition at KVOST and Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge. The tour begins at KVOST (Leipziger Straße 47, 10117 Berlin).

Guided Tour to all Venues with Viviane Tabach
Sun, 28.6.26, 2.30 pm

The tour starts at KVOST (Leipziger Straße 47, 10117 Berlin).
Route: KVOST → Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge → nGbK → Mitte Museum.

Viviane Tabach is a Brazilian curator, art mediator, and artist based in Berlin. Her practice explores the intersections between education, curation, and artistic research. She is a member of Cruising Curators and The ReRouting Project and is part of the working group Dissident Paths at nGbK (2025–26).