Archive Newsletter No. 1
June 2018
In 2015 Kunstverein München began working on its archive, as a central part of the new artistic program. By April, a new website was launched – programmed by the artist David Reinfurt, with a new counter-chronological structure, and all known information about the history of the Kunstverein was migrated to this new site without any selection. Everything the Kunstverein has done is to be listed publicly online and, importantly, to be treated equivalently, with the goal of eventually tracing our entire range of activity all the way back to 1823.
In 2016 the archive was renamed in remembrance of the art historian Martina Fuchs, who served for many years as a board member of the institution, and who was a great advocate and supporter of the renewed archive work. That same year, Kunstverein München restructured its weekend attendant position in order to create a new part-time position solely for researching, maintaining, and publicizing the archive. The artist Alexander Wagner was the first to hold this position, from 2016–2017, when he was succeeded by art historian Theresa Bauernfeind.
Kunstverein München’s pre-digital physical archive is located in Munich’s Stadtarchiv and contains 35 running meters of material, waiting to be inspected and to be digitized. After several years of negotiations and discussions over rights, a reciprocal agreement was made between Kunstverein München and the Stadtarchiv, which enables us unlimited access to our physical archives, and to scan and digitally publicize images of our past exhibitions and events.
Founded in 1823, Kunstverein München is one of the oldest institutions of its kind. And since the 1960s, it has gained increasing national and international recognition for its artistic programming, exhibiting work by Andrea Fraser, Martin Kippenberger, William Kentridge, Liam Gillick, Pierre Huygue, Claude Cahun, Yvonne Rainer, Philippe Parreno, and many other artists, often before they achieved such fame. Yet the Kunstverein's history is strongly connected to broader social and cultural developments, and of course to the history of Munich itself.
In view of the 200th anniversary in 2023 and beyond, we would like to invite you to process the history of Kunstverein München with us and to retell its fluctuating story. Feel welcome to share any materials you might have that are related to the Kunstverein. On our website you can follow the ongoing process of uploading more and more images and information. And once a month we’ll inform you with newsletters about new discoveries, interesting references to current art discourses, and other developments in our archival work.
For example, learn more about the different locations of Kunstverein München over the years, and how Heinrich Heine was involved in the institution. What role did Kunstverein München and its former board members play during the Third Reich? What exhibitions in the Kunstverein’s recent history have been part of different social debates and cultural developments?
Many steps have been made over the years to consider our long history, including the famous exhibition Telling Histories in 2003. We are excited to announce that the ground work is finished, and we look forward to immersing ourselves deeper into the history of Kunstverein München and sharing it with you!
Text and Research: Theresa Bauernfeind
Translation and Editing: Theresa Bauernfeind, Post Brothers, Christina Maria Ruederer
If you have any questions or suggestions please contact us via archiv@kunstverein-muenchen.de.