New Society for Fine Arts

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Building of the nGbK , July 2013

The new society for fine arts (nGbK) is a German art association . It was founded in 1969 with a grassroots democratic structure and, according to its own statements, is one of the most important associations of its kind in Germany and has the largest number of members . Its exhibition rooms and the office are located at Oranienstrasse  25 in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg .

history

The nGbK came into being in 1969 after the dissolution of the German Society for Fine Arts at the same time as the re-establishment of the New Berlin Art Association , which showed a more traditional understanding of art. The statutes of the nGbK provide that nGbK members can develop projects themselves and implement them in working groups. The working groups, which must consist of at least five people, are approved by the annual general meeting and dissolved again after the projects have ended. This grassroots democratic principle distinguishes this association significantly from the other larger German art associations, in which an association board usually appoints a curator and the members have no direct influence on the exhibition planning.

Every year more than 60 members take part in the annual program on a voluntary and full-time basis and between six and eleven exhibitions and over 100 events are held. Since 1987 publications on numerous projects and exhibitions have been published by the nGbK publishing house . Early exhibitions such as John Heartfield (1969), Klaus Staeck (1975) and Who Owns the World? (1977) argue convincingly socially critical, provocatively in a novel, sociologically informed way. As a result, topics such as exile and resistance were highlighted and efforts to achieve independence and internationalization as well as the aftermath of National Socialist aesthetics and (cultural) politics in Germany were reflected on. In the 1990s, the nGbK contributed significantly to the establishment of the now ubiquitous genre of thematic group exhibitions. She intensified the discussion of urbanism, media criticism and gender issues , which still run through her program today.

Virulent discourses and debates such as the present and future of work, participation, artistic precariousness as well as postcolonial, (post) migrant and economically critical approaches are openly discussed in the nGbK and reflected on in real time. Art is understood as a form of action that has an impact on social processes.

In addition to thematic group exhibitions, the nGbK repeatedly shows monographic exhibitions by important artists. These include Alfredo Jaar (2012), Félix González-Torres (2006, 1996 and 1990), Valie Export (2003), Yoko Ono (2003), Sanja Iveković (2002), Joan Jonas (2001), Hannah Wilke (2000), Dorothy Iannone (1997), Jeff Wall (1994), Hanne Darboven (1990), Diego Rivera (1987), Hans Haacke (1984), Astrid Klein (1983) and Martin Kippenberger (1981).

Since the 1990s, the nGbK has been in charge of the art competition Art in the Underground on Alexanderplatz , the platform of the U2 subway line . Since 2000, the format has been continuously developed - also geographically - in order to politically and socially critically define, renegotiate and place in other contexts the handling of a quasi-public space, the urban space and the space for art.

Since 2008 the nGbK has been the first institution in Germany to award an annual scholarship for artistic art education. In doing so, it reacted to the latest developments and at the same time continues the promotion of the mediation of artistic practices that has shaped the association's self-image from the start.

The association with an exhibition area of ​​400 m² and an event area of ​​100 m² is located in the middle of Berlin-Kreuzberg, is open every day and is regionally anchored as well as internationally networked. Every year more than 50,000 visitors visit the projects and events of the nGbK , and the association can refer to more than 100 national and international media contacts.

In numerous collaborations, the nGbK realized successful collaborations with foundations and universities and exhibition projects also in other houses such as the Hamburger Bahnhof , the Academy of the Arts , the Alte Nationalgalerie (all Berlin), the House of Architecture ( Graz ), the Taxispalais ( Innsbruck ), LaFilature ( Mulhouse ), INIVA ( London ) and in public spaces.

The association has been financed by the Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin for over 40 years and sponsored by the Governing Mayor of Berlin , the Senate Chancellery for Cultural Affairs.

structure

The structure of the nGbK enables direct influence on the content orientation: exhibitions, interventions, research projects, event series and publications are developed by members in interdisciplinary project groups and supervised from the first idea to implementation.

The decision about the program is also up to the members. It is discussed and elected every year in a collective process. In this way, a large number of significant projects could be realized and the nGbK established itself as an innovative place for contemporary art and exhibition production, which has influenced generations of curators, artists and cultural workers and whose experimental exhibition concepts are considered to be groundbreaking, from which important impulses emanate and questions of socio-political Relevance to be edited. Topics such as racism , nationalism and urban politics are negotiated again and again, and dealing with (post-) migrant, (post-) colonial and gender issues is another focus. Virulent discourses and debates are discussed openly and reflected on promptly. Art is understood as a form of action that has an impact on social processes.

membership

In the nGbK , the members meet like-minded people to exchange ideas, develop and implement projects, to learn and benefit from one another - the members include young people with an interest in culture and politics. At regular meetings, topics are developed and decisions are made - in direct exchange, transparently and including different opinions. A successful program has been based on this working method since 1969.

Anyone who becomes a member of the nGbK can contribute personally with their ideas and receive more

  • Invitations to all openings and events of the nGbK ,
  • free admission to events for which admission fees are charged,
  • all publications of the nGbK at a reduced member price,
  • free entry to the exhibitions of other art associations that are affiliated to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine (ADKV),
  • Invitations to all general meetings to discuss politics and the program of the nGbK ,
  • Discounted offers for art club trips and other activities.

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