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.