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Art in the Underground

ongoing Type: Competition Organizer: neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst

Auf dem Bahnsteig in einer Berliner U-Bahnstation mit bunten Fliesen ist ein Plakat zu sehen und Personen. — Art in the Underground 2020/2021: as aboce, so below, nGbK, 2021. Photo: Adam Naparty

Historical development of the Art in the Underground competition

Originally called Art Instead of Advertising, the competition was first held in East Berlin in 1958, with entrants asked to submit posters for peace. The works were shown on platform billboards at Alexanderplatz underground station. Whereas many East German institutions were dissolved or renamed after 1989, this competition survived in its original form. Since the early 1990s, neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst (nGbK) has been realizing projects in cooperation with Berlin’s Senate Office for Culture under the title Art in the Underground with artworks in or near underground stations.

Archive

Art in the Underground since 1993