For the first time on such a large scale, this exhibition features original works of art, archival material and costumes from the personal collections of the members of the group.

The Künstlerinnengruppe Erfurt (Erfurt Group of Women Artists) has been active for about a decade, starting in the later years of the East German state. Founded by Gabriele Stötzer in 1984, it experienced an artistic alternative to existing conditions. Unlike many other subversive female collectives, its long existence and cohesion were based on artistic motivation. The group defended its freedom and autonomy under the conditions of a totalitarian system, its non-institutional structure ensuring maximum flexibility. The group’s Super-8 films, photographs, performances, fashion / object displays, manifestos and sound experiences celebrate women’s empowerment, gender justice, artistic freedom as a universal human right, and radical critiques of society. While displaying the heterotopic quality characteristic of the subcultures of the art scene of the time, the group’s activities were also explicitly social and political.

Artistic and social liberation in authoritarian systems
Initially, the women met to discuss nonconformist and feminist literature, esoteric knowledge, and issues of sexual liberation. But their interest quickly shifted towards the development of an interdisciplinary artistic practice. This is reflected particularly clearly in five experimental Super-8 films which also give the exhibition its basic structure. These films (made from 1986) and later live performances with literary and musical elements revolve around provocative costumes created by the artists as alter egos. The first films like Frauenträume (Dreams of Women, 1986) and Geister berühren (Touching Ghosts, 1987) were not deliberately conceived of as acts of political dissent. At this early stage, the group’s actions were more focused on exploring the unspoken secrets of female identity and energy. In Frauenträume personal dreams served as a symbolic surface for the projection of brief, often surreal scenes: Monika Andres examined the archetype of the “third breast”, Verena Kyselka staged a secret break-in at Erfurt Cathedral, while Ingrid Plöttner made her fantasy come true. Komik Komisch (Comedy Funny, 1988) was the first film to politicize the aesthetic. Signals (Signals, 1989) and Die Überfahrt / Cross-over (1990) can be interpreted as explicit responses to political changes in the real world.

Although many cultural figures went into exile at the time due to political repression, these women artists all refused to leave East Germany. Additional space for their activities was provided by the counter-cultural infrastructure of the Protestant Church of Thuringia, which also supported punks and peace activists. The high-profile occupation of the Stasi headquarters in Erfurt on December 4, 1989 was organized by five activists, including three women from the Künstlerinnengruppe. During the events of late 1989, it was the first occupation of a Stasi building anywhere in the GDR, soon followed by similar actions in other cities. What was special about the occupation of Erfurt was that it was organized exclusively by women – women who had improved and honed their organizational skills over many years of underground activity. Such strategies, going beyond the realm of art, and the successful founding of the Kunsthaus Erfurt, which still operates today, mark the unique quality of the Künstlerinnengruppe Erfurt, which remained active with different members until 1994. As put it the curators: “The way they transformed their ideas, their fears and their desires into art, based on solidarity, creativity and political fearlessness, remains very relevant today. “

Artists: Monika Andres, Claudia Morca Bogenhardt, Tely Büchner, Elke Carl, Monique Förster, Gabriele Göbel, Ina Heyner, Angelika Hummel, Verena Kyselka, Bettina Neumann, Ingrid Plöttner, Marlies Schmidt, Gabriele Stötzer, Harriet Wollert and others.
NGbK project group: Susanne Altmann, Kata Krasznahorkai, Christin Müller, Franziska Schmidt, Sonia Voss

Guided tours of the exhibition with the curators
December 8, 2021, 6 p.m., with Susanne Altmann (German / English)
December 18, 2021, 4 p.m., with Kata Krasznahorkai (German / English)
January 8, 2022, 4 p.m., with Christin Müller (German)
January 12, 2022, 6 p.m., with Sonia Voss (German / English / French)
January 12, 2022, 4 p.m., with Franziska Schmidt (German)

Film & debate, Weggefährtinnen OstWest (Sisters in arms East-West)
January 15, 2022, 5 p.m.

“Aus dem Jetzt ins Heute” (From now to today)
January 29, 2022, 5 p.m.

For the latest details regarding access to our space during the pandemic, please visit the website.

Press contact:
Wayra Schübel, T + 49-30-616 513 13 / = (c = c.charCodeAt (0) +13)? C: c-26);}); return false “> press [​at​] ngbk.de

Please find more press information here, including images.