QUEER ART IN THE GDR?

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.