District culture academy

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A district culture academy was a cultural institution set up in the German Democratic Republic for cultural mass work in folk and lay art in the culture and clubhouses in the cities and municipalities, as well as in the state-owned companies.

history

In 1952 the Commission for Art Affairs of the GDR decided to promote folk and amateur art. The Ministry of Culture, d. H. the State Commission for Cultural Affairs (StaKuKo) planned broad support in the field of amateur art through competitions and festivals in folk art. For this purpose, the art colleges and art colleges were built up and the district culture academies were created in the districts. District culture cabinets and city cabinets for cultural work were subordinate.

The beginning of the 1950s was actually enforced in 1968 with a State Council resolution.

The district culture academies were formed in accordance with the instructions of the Minister for Culture of June 1, 1968 in implementation of the State Council resolution of November 30, 1967 and in enforcement of the People's Chamber resolution of September 16, 1970 on the principles of basic and advanced training for working people. The district culture academies were subordinate to the culture department of the district councils. In legal traffic they were represented by the councils of the districts. The heads of the culture department of the district councils appointed the heads of the district cultural academies and, to support the work of the cultural academies, voluntary advisory boards chaired by the heads of the cultural academies. The district culture academies were the lead institution for the cultural-political and cultural-aesthetic education and training in the district and as such were responsible for the training and further education of cultural officials and professional artists in the district as well as for the permanent qualification of voluntary cultural officials. As scientific and methodological centers for all forms of qualification in the cultural field, they support state and economic management bodies in the cultural education of the management cadre. The district culture academies should impart knowledge in the field of philosophy, political economy, cultural policy, cultural studies, cultural law, cultural economics, adult education, social psychology and management science. They worked closely with the district cabinets for cultural work. The district culture academies worked on the basis of curricula that were approved by the heads of the culture department of the district councils after consultation with the social organizations.

The Bitterfeld path pointed to since 1959, as the "existing separation between art and life" and the "alienation between artists and people" should be overcome and the working class in the building of socialism can be culturally comprehensive involved. For this purpose, artists and writers should work in the factories and support workers in their own artistic activities. After that, many artistic circles were founded, which then instructed amateur artists.

Training of amateur artists

In the district culture, district culture and city culture cabinets, talented amateur artists who had previously participated in exhibitions, competitions, etc. a. had highlighted, promoted through advanced courses. Graduates were nominated and delegated for the various special classes by a jury of the district culture academy, in which professional artists and functionaries sat. The political goal was to win mainly artistic, socialist circle leaders for the 861 art and cultural institutions of the workers 'and peasants' state. These workers , delegated to the various special classes , could apply for paid time off for up to 20 days per year through the union management of the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB) . As a rule, the graduates were paid time off for the ten-day courses and their travel expenses were covered. The Central House for Lay Art (1952) was superordinate to the BKA. Since 1962 it has been renamed the Central House for Cultural Work of the GDR , it functioned together with the subordinate district and district cabinets for cultural broad-based and youth work.

Exhibitions, calls for social highlights

An example of how things went in the Schwerin district.

  • Call for the preparation of an exhibition on the 60th anniversary of the Russian October Revolution in 1977

The best selection of works of art by amateur artists should be determined in two stages.

Communication on the delegation to the District Culture Academy 1978

First, city exhibitions under the direction of the city cabinet. This is followed by an exhibition by the district cabinet in the Schwerin Museum.

A jury delegated excellent amateur artists to the district culture academy. After this procedure you received a request to attend the courses at the district culture academy. (Which one of course gladly followed.) The support class for painting and graphics II. Was founded.

  • Call for an exhibition in honor of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the GDR (1979)

  • Call for an exhibition of visual arts in the city of Schwerin on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the GDR, 1979 front

  • Call for the exhibition 30 Years GDR, 1979 back

  • Call by DSF for the exhibition "30 Years of GDR Years of Friendship!" front

  • Call by DSF for the exhibition "30 Years of GDR Years of Friendship!" back

In order to specify the political directives, the city cabinet for cultural work sent a letter to the amateur artists in the spring of 1979.

Quote: "The work should give evidence:

  • of the victory of the socialist revolution in the country,
  • from the growth of industry and the AKL (working class) in the former agricultural district,
  • on the rise of science, education and culture under socialist conditions
  • of the historically new and
  • the nature of the revolutionary transformation in our society and the class struggle in the world,
  • about the great and beautiful of our socialist reality, about the changes in the company, in the village, in the city, in the family and in the collective,
  • from proletarian internationalism and solidarity,
  • Thoughts on the UN Year of the Child and last but not least
  • Artistically reflect conflicts and struggles from outdated views in the form of political graphics or caricatures through satirical and ironic design. "

"During the exhibition, a jury will select the exhibits that meet the desired high-quality basic statement for the district exhibition in the State Museum in December (1979)."

Awards

Folk art collectives were honored with awards on special occasions for special achievements.

The subordinate city cabinet for cultural work awarded circles with the following title.

  • Excellent folk art collective of the GDR

Divisions in the academies

  • Painting and graphics
  • photography
  • plastic
  • Ceramics
  • Textile design
  • Writing workers (writing workers)
  • song writer
  • Music folklore movement , (folk scene)
  • Record entertainer (disco operator)
  • Folk dance

Magazines and publications

There were monthly publications "Folk Art" in the categories:

  • Word and play : Dramatic circles, cabaret, puppet shows and artistic word
  • Folk music : choirs, music groups and mixed ensembles
  • Folk dance : choreography, dance research, body and movement school
  • Visual folk creation : carving, sculpture, painting and drawing and all areas of textile folk art: sample booklet, issue 2 1967, magazine for circles and working groups of fine and applied arts with supplement, publisher Zentralhaus für Kulturarbeit der DDR
  • Bilden und Gestalten, guideposts for artistic creation in folk art, published by Zentralhaus für Volkskunst Leipzig, 1956, sample booklet: 1st year, booklet 1

Academies in the districts

The district culture academies (BKA) had various special schools and special classes in the lay culture branches. The class sizes were around 10 to 12 people. The training in the special classes was also organized across districts.

BKA Berlin : Lecturers Jürgen Nagel, Oscer Pioppi and HOW Toppel , Joachim Bayer

  • Special school photography u. a. Micha Winkler
  • Special class for painting and graphics etc. a. Siegfried Maske, Eberhard Hartwig (etching)

BKA Dresden : Hagen Bächler editor of the Dresdner Hefte, publisher of the Dresden District Culture Academy

BKA Frankfurt / Oder

BKA Halle / Saale : Head from 1969 to 1972 Herbert Keller

BKA Karl-Marx-Stadt

BKA Leipzig

  • One focus in Leipzig was the training of writing workers , some talented circle leaders completed a distance learning course at the Johannes R. Becher Literature Institute
  • Lay cabaret artists were also trained in courses

BKA Magdeburg : Lecturer DJ Wolf record entertainer (music editing and dramaturgy, rhetoric, etc.)

BKA Potsdam

  • Special class painting Cornelia Felsch
  • Special school for artistic textile design, director Ingeborg Fiegert

BKA Rostock

  • Special class for painting and graphics etc. a. Hugo Knobloch
  • Special class for ceramics

In addition to the BKA, there was also the Mecklenburg Folklore Center (MFZ) for the three northern districts .

BKA Rudolstadt : Lecturer Herbert Enke

  • Special class textile design / tapestry designer Dora Claußner

BKA Schwerin : Lecturers were Prof. Fritz Eisel , Paul Eisel, Carl Hinrichs , Inge Wolfram, Christine Stäps, Helga Kaffke , Horst Holinski, Gerhard Floss, Stefan Thomas, Winfried Wolk

  • Special class for painting and graphics I. u. a. Marianne Flindt, Heidi Lankow, Burkhard Richter, Horst Schmedemann
  • Special class for painting and graphics II. U. a. Lilian Bremer, Mario Fröhlich, Jürgen Gerner, Dieter Müller, Peter Opfer, Monika Scheffler, Christa Schenk, Erika Uerckwitz, Jens Boddin
  • Special class for plastic

BKA Suhl :

  • Special school for artistic textile design Thea Keßler, Ruth Peter

Curricula and examples

  • Painting and graphics
  • plastic

Training objects of the district culture academies

  • Schwerin district
    Gutsschloss Severin 2008, former training center of the BKA Schwerin

The Severin Castle was expropriated in 1945 and belonged to Günther Quandt , Magda Goebbels' first husband . It is a style of Neo-Renaissance built in the 1880s brick manor house. After 1950 it served as a residential building and as an educational facility for the GDR Cultural Association . The cultural use by the Schwerin Culture Academy lasted until 1996. Ateliers were built into the manor castle, the large reception rooms were studios for dance, practice rooms and drawing rooms. The middle floor served as sleeping accommodation. There were kitchen rooms and workshops in the basement. The full catering of the academy students was realized by sharing the LPG company kitchen in the house . The manor palace in the middle of a landscape characterized by meadows and ponds was an ideal location for various art training courses.

  • Leipzig district

Center of the Leipzig workers and amateur theaters, Haus der Volkskunst (HdV) on Lindenauer Markt was a supraregional training center for amateur cabarets in the GDR.

literature

  • Dresdener Hefte, editor Hagen Bächler, publisher Bezirkskulturakademie Dresden
  • The central house for lay and folk art in Leipzig 1952–1962 by Miriam Normann, German cultural history after 1945 / contemporary history, culture as a political tool?
  • Artistic textile design, Ingeborg Fiegert, VEB Fachbuchverlag Leipzig 1977 (reference, curriculum for the training of leaders of artistic collectives in textile design. Dedicated to the circle, course and special school participants, according to the introduction)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv on the history of the establishment of the BKA