Members of the art association talk about their experiences, projects, and working conditions. Why did they join—or leave? What sets the nGbK apart from other art institutions in Berlin? How have perceptions of the institution changed over time?
Anna-Lena Wenzel, a member herself and part of the Wissensspeicher and Klassenfragen project groups, conducted six interviews with long-standing and newer members who have occupied different positions within the institution (in project groups, in the office team, as managing director, or on the steering committee). The interviews also focus on different themes, including feminism at the nGbK, joint projects with East Germany, and the art society’s image within Berlin’s cultural scene.
Who makes a city, and with what cultures and practices? How do we formulate a “right to the city” without being righteous? Berlin has long been characterized by willfully initiated buildings, self-organized spaces, and an abundant social culture. The right to the city is fought for and shaped by multitudes of people by means of the arts, design, planning, and action.
The aim of this glossary is to sharpen the understanding of “Urban Praxis” through presenting diverse voices of the actors of Urban Praxis and thereby to elaborate key criteria and qualities of Urban Praxis. The authors provide the terms of Urban Praxis that are most important to them or critically engage with commonly employed terms. With a shadow glossary and other additional terms, this will be put online. Taken together, the entries form not only a vocabulary about contemporary urbanity and the need for urban and artistic action, but also provide a discourse on Urban Praxis as such. [more]
The nGbK's knowledge repository Archive Matter emerged from a 2015 project that set itself the task of developing entryways into to the physical archive. This resulted in indexing and linkages that make the dense history of the nGbK accessible. Focus texts on key topics from over four decades trace different approaches to the history of the Kunstverein from 1969 onwards. Each entry also refers to selected, thematically relevant publications and archive documents.
After the working group was dissolved, the Archive Matter was continued institutionally. Texts by various authors regularly create new thematic paths through the exhibition, event, and publication archive. The selection made by the texts is always just one of many possible excerpts from the association's collective knowledge.
Find an extensive project description here.
The publications of the nGbK reflect the discourses of the respective time in the art field. Or they refer to the gaps and missing parts in it - with recurring themes such as migration, feminism and gender, city and public space, critique of capitalism, racism, social movements and ecology. The books have emerged from the exhibition and event projects of the nGbK, but also in collaborations with institutional or independent partners; either in the publishing house of the nGbK or in cooperation with other publishers and distribution partners. You can purchase the more than 170 publications still available here. In addition, you will find information on out-of-print publications from over 40 years of institutional history.
Publishing preview (German)
Spring 2024
Reduced prices for nGbK members
For reduced prices, please log into the member area or send your order directly to: office@ngbk.de
Distribution to book shops
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