The Württembergische Kunstverein Stuttgart

GENERAL

The Württembergischer Kunstverein, founded in 1827 and located in the center of the city of Stuttgart directly on Schlossplatz, is one of the largest art associations in Germany with its approximately 2,500 members, exhibition and event space of over 1,700 square meters, workshops and a studio building. Its program, which is both local and global in its orientation and constantly tries out new and unusual forms of presentation, mediation and participation, is not only respected in Stuttgart, but also on a broad international level.

The Kunstverein sees itself as a place of open, even controversial engagement with the diverse methods and practices of contemporary art and with its far-reaching socio-political fields of reference. Exhibition and debate, art and theory, research and production are just as important as fathoming collective and participatory working methods and opening the house to diverse communities. It is about a space of action in which the relationships between art, artists, the institution, socio-political issues and various publics are constantly renegotiated: in conversations, discussions, working groups, workshops or actions, as well as through access to publications and other materials and infrastructures. These infrastructures include not least the rooms of the Kunstverein itself, which are available to local actors and groups as shared spaces for their own meetings, events and articulations. In addition to its own program, numerous activities of other local initiatives also take place in the Kunstverein's rooms.

The Kunstverein does not have a collection, but can and must constantly redefine itself and its focal points. This allows it to work close to the agendas of contemporary art and leaves room for an open concept of art.

WHAT DOES THE KUNSTVEREIN DO?

The Württembergischer Kunstverein works on the basis of a broad network that is anchored both locally and internationally. In addition to currently emerging art, it regularly devotes itself to revisiting artistic works, practices and discourses from the 1960s to the 1980s. For example, the solo exhibitions of artists such as Anna Oppermann (2007), Teresa Burga (2011), and Lorenza Böttner (2019) have contributed significantly to their international recognition and reassessment. The Kunstverein dedicated first comprehensive solo work shows in Germany also to artists such as Stan Douglas (2007), Carrie Mae Weems and Trinh T. Minh-ha (both 2022).

The program, whose conception regularly involves external curators, is transcultural and transdisciplinary. It is dedicated to artistic practices not only between the fields of visual arts, dance, music, architecture, etc., but also, for example, between art and activism. Many projects – from On Difference (2005, 2006) to Subversive Practices and Acts of Voicing to Actually, the Dead Are Not Dead (2020-2022) – are based on collective processes in which a group of curators and other participants from different cultural contexts work together. The goal is to explore a particular question from different and even opposing perspectives.

The program includes an average of four exhibitions each year, as well as over a hundred events. In addition, there are the exhibitions in the Querung, an open presentation platform that essentially sees itself as a resonance space for the local art scenes and is used both by the Kunstverein and by other initiatives.

The program of events, consisting in workshops, film and lecture series, podiums, performances and much more, is intended on the one hand as an extension of the current exhibitions. On the other hand, it refers to upcoming projects and thus creates insights into the development processes of the Kunstverein. Furthermore, the program takes up general questions and debates of contemporary arts and theory. In addition to the Kunstverein's own events, it also includes cooperative and guest events.

Among the regularly recurring events are the free Sunday tours, artist talks, curator tours, and the members' jour fixe, which takes place on the last Wednesday of every month.

FOR MEMBERS AND THOSE WHO WANT TO BECOME MEMBERS

The monthly members' jour fixe is an open forum dedicated to a wide variety of topics. Ongoing and upcoming exhibitions are discussed here, as well as current affairs of the Kunstverein. General concerns of art, cultural politics, society, etc. are also the subject of discussion. In addition, other institutions on site or in the region are regularly visited. Members are explicitly invited to suggest topics or to present their own ideas, questions or projects.

About half of all members of the Württembergischer Kunstverein are artists. Against this background, we – as one of the few art associations – organize exhibitions of the artist members every two years. Since 2005, the artistic advisory board determines a theme for each exhibition, for which artworks can be submitted. In principle, all interested artist members can participate in the exhibition, as long as their proposals do not exceed the scope of a group exhibition or correspond to the specified content. The aim is to show an insight into the diversity of artistic approaches, both with regard to the members of the Kunstverein and to a specific thematic field. With its numerous artist talks, performances and much more, the exhibition also serves as a platform for mutual exchange.

ADDITIONALLY

The Kunstverein edits various publications: a website that provides detailed information on the institution, the program, the participating artists and their works – and whose archives date back to 1946 – as well as exhibition flyers, readers and books. The latter are equally intended as documentation of exhibitions and their deepening in terms of content and theory.

Since the 1960s, the Kunstverein has operated a studio house that provides affordable workspace for about 20 artists.