User:Lexprofi/Kunsthaus Göttingen

Opening in 2021, Kunsthaus Göttingen is an exhibition space for works on paper, photography and new media. Its focus is on contemporary art with an international emphasis. The project received 4.5 million euro funding from the federal program National Projects of Urban Development.

General
The new building has been constructed next to the Günter-Grass-Archiv in Düstere Strasse. Kunsthaus Göttingen is not a museum, because it does not have its own permanent collection. The program will instead provide alternating exhibitions with a focus on international contemporary art while also maintaining a regional connection.

Management
For the construction and operation phase, the Kunsthaus Göttingen team comprises of Founding Director Gerhard Steidl, Founding Managing Director Alfons von Uslar, Manager Dorle Meyer and Curator Ute Eskildsen. Guest Curator is Joshua Chuang.

Gerhard Steidl honorarily supports all aspects of the Kunsthaus project in addition to operating his publishing house Steidl. As early as 1969, he printed posters and multiples for artists such as Joseph Beuys and Klaus Staeck, and today publishes selected art and photography books, literature and political non-fiction. In addition to making books, Steidl designs and curates exhibitions worldwide. Alfons von Uslar voluntarily guides the project as its Founding Managing Director. As a trained agronomist and qualified lawyer, he supports Kunsthaus Göttingen with his in-depth knowledge of business processes and legal requests combined with a great interest in art and culture. Dorle Meyer, who has a doctorate in art history, is the Manager and Authorized Signatory of the Kunsthaus. Alongside her research and teaching of contemporary art, she has worked for many years in museums supporting the establishment of new exhibition projects. She has worked at Munich’s Deutsches Museum as a project manager and curator of its new branch, as well as in Kassel and Berlin. Ute Eskildsen is the Founding Curator of Kunsthaus Göttingen. Eskildsen was Deputy Director of Folkwang Museum in Essen, where she initiated and managed the Department of Photography. The photography exhibitions she curated at Folkwang Museum are renowned beyond the borders of Germany. Joshua Chuang is a Guest Curator of Kunsthaus Göttingen. As the first curator of Yale University Art Gallery, he established the photography section and worked there as its Chief Curator. Today he is Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Associate Director for Art, Prints and Photographs and the Robert B. Menschel Senior Curator of Photography at the New York Public Library, alongside his teaching at Yale School of Art.

Architecture & Inner Courtyard
After winning the international architectural competition in 2016, the architecture studio Atelier ST from Leipzig was awarded the contract for the architecture and general planning of Kunsthaus Göttingen. In 2017, Berlin landscape architect Stefan Bernard won the competition for the design of the inner courtyard.

House
The four-story construction with its pointed roof engages in dialogue with the neighboring timber-framed houses - here, too, the floor space expands as one ascends. Via the entrance, visitors step into the foyer of the Kunsthaus where they are greeted by a view of the flourishing inner courtyard. The uniqueness of the building lies in its three column-free rooms of approximately 120 sqm and high ceilings of 3.2 meters. In order to protect the works on paper, and to enable video installations and projections, the exhibition rooms have only one large, floor-to-ceiling window, which can be concealed if necessary. In addition to the three gallery rooms, the building has two smaller exhibition spaces. Furthermore, there is an approximately 100 sqm forum on the top floor, designed for educational activities and special events. Kunsthaus Göttingen has a total exhibition space of 500 sqm.

Courtyard
One enters the inner courtyard through the Kunsthaus foyer. Kunsthaus Göttingen shares the inner courtyard with the Rote Straße bookstore, which is also accessible to the public via the Nikolaikirchhof. The courtyard is accessible from three sides and forms a communal garden for the neighboring houses. An additional highlight is the pavilion in the courtyard containing the site-specific installation “Poet Singing (The Flowering Sheets)” by American pop art artist Jim Dine, which was constructed in the summer of 2020

Exhibitions
During curatorial planning, close cooperation with the artists is paramount: not only do they receive a platform for their artwork, they also have the opportunity to create new productions, collaborations and interactive projects. The program will feature three to four exhibitions per year, either as extensive solo or group exhibitions. A comprehensive solo exhibition of New York artist Roni Horn will be the Kunsthaus’ inaugural exhibition, followed by the group show “Modell Tier” (Animal as Model). The third exhibition presents the two very different African artists Banele Khoza and Santu Mofokeng. A diverse series of workshops, lectures and discussions will round off the exhibitions. The artist Sebastian Stumpf has created a video projection exploring the establishment of Kunsthaus Göttingen, which will be presented at its opening.

KuQua - Göttingen's Art Quarter
Since 2008, City of Göttingen and Gerhard Steidl have been pursuing the idea of an art quarter with the Kunsthaus as the heart of the district. Located in the historic core of the city between Düstere Strasse, Nikolaikirchhof, Nikolaistrasse and Turmstrasse, the district is already considered the nucleus of the Göttingen art scene including an artist atelier, an art gallery, the office of the Göttinger Literaturherbst, the international renowned Steidl publishing house for literature and photography as well as bookshops, workshops for bookbinding or framing and the Günter-Grass-Archive. The Günter-Grass-Archive with all first editions of the famous author, is part of the University of Göttingen and has been active as an exhibition and event space since 2015. In 2016, it was awarded the Monument Preservation Prize by the Lower Saxony Sparkasse Foundation. Kunsthaus Göttingen will be a unique art space with a focus on the spectrum of international contemporary art in terms of assorted media.

Circle of Friends
The Circle of Friends provides significant support to Kunsthaus Göttingen. The founding objective is the promotion and communication of art and culture. The members share the vision of the Kunsthaus with the city and beyond. Financial contributions are vital to the success of the Kunsthaus and offer support towards the ongoing operations and establishment of the exhibition program.