Connections to 200 Years of the Present

The Kunstverein and the Fictions of the Sovereign, Freedom and Nation

2027 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Württembergischer Kunstverein. In the run-up to the bicentenary, the WKV is undertaking a two-year process of examining three central ideas that are closely interwoven with the founding of German Kunstvereine (art associations) at the beginning of the nineteenth century from a contemporary perspective: the constitution of the (white, male) citizen as sovereign; the freedom of art; and nation building. The local particularities and concrete developments of the WKV will be considered in terms of their national and global entanglements. The linear concepts of time will be questioned by means of anachronistic narrative styles based on ruptures, digressions, gaps, and loops. A series of exhibitions is planned that reflects in four constellations possible connections between past, present, and future. All four constellations are open arrangements among exhibition, archive, and workshop.

The starting point is a three-week phase of open and public review of the materials, questions, and approaches collected so far. Anyone interested is invited to participate in the joint review and to get involved in further processes.

Overwiew

CONNECTIONS TO 200 YEARS OF THE PRESENT
The Kunstverein and the Fictions of the Sovereign, Freedom and Nation

Open Archive
March 1–20, 2025
Constellation 1
March 22 – May 4, 2025
Opening: Friday, March 21, 2025, 7 p.m.
Constellation 2
May 24 – August 3, 2025
Opening: Friday, May 23, 2025, 7 p.m.
Constellation 3: Exhibition by the artist members
August 23 – September 21, 2025
Opening: Friday, August 22, 2025, 7 p.m.
Constellation 4
October 17, 2026 - January 17, 2027
Opening: Friday, October 16, 2026, 7 p.m.