Curated Monthly: Top art picks in Leipzig this March

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This last month brought cause for concern throughout Germany over radicalisation of thought and discrimination against specific communities. Art and culture can at once be a tool for protest and connecting communities whilst also often being seen as a symbol of elitism and exclusion. The Leipzig Glocal’s Curated Monthly is ultimately a simple art listing of cultural events in the city to help our readers find their way around the art scene. We curate these lists with a firm desire to connect, and this is reflected through the careful selection of projects that we feature. These can range from productions in the Spinnerei’s commercial spaces and the main museums to artist-run initiatives and non-profit programmes. We hope our readers see our monthly list as an encouragement to engage with and explore the power of art in its most positive manifestations!

On that note, it feels appropriate to begin this listing with a special one-off event encouraging expressions of anti-racism through the medium of screen printing.

Screen printing against Racism

Inklusives Nachbarschaftszentrum
Lindenauer Markt 13
Tuesday 24 March
3-6pm

This community space acts as a living room hosting a wide range of events. Not only does it offer an insight into the process of screen printing, it does so through creating images against racism and for empowerment. A small donation is asked to support the project. Join to learn, connect and create!


 

Dirk Krüll photo
Image: Thyssen Henrichshütte, by Dirk Krüll (1983). Courtesy of the Museum für Druckkunst

The Eye of the Photographer – Industrial culture in photography since 1900

Museum of Printing Arts
Nonnenstraße 38
March 8 to June 28, 2020

This exhibition focuses on photography that reflects the diversity of industrial culture. Since the beginning of the 20th century, photographers have been documenting the rapidly changing industrial society, its people, handicrafts and architecture. In a post-industrial city like Leipzig, this exhibition will be a great opportunity to get to know more about the former life of many of the abandoned buildings we see today. For further insight, join the museum’s tour on March 8 from 12:00-13:00.


Beyond the visible – Hilma Klint

Passage Kino
Friday 6 March
At 20:00

Hilma Kint has become an art world heroine, but only after her death: an all too common occurrence with great female artists. Kint painted her first abstract picture in 1906, long before Kandinsky, Mondrian or Malevich. She created over 1,000 abstract paintings that have remained hidden from posterity to this day. The film explores the reasons this great artist has remained unnoticed for so long. The screening this Friday will also play host to a discussion with the director of the film.


Leipzig Book Fair

Update: The Book Fair has been cancelled due to the current Corona-Virus outbreak

The Leipzig book fair is the second biggest in Germany, after the one in Frankfurt. The four day festival is filled with readings, discussions and many books to discover. A large section of the fair is also dedicated to artist catalogues from all over the world.


 

Diesen Mangel nehmen wir persönlich
Image: Diesen Mangel nehmen wir persönlich, by Adele Dittrich Frydetzki & Ko

Diesen Mangel nehmen wir persönlich #2

Galerie für Zeitgenössiche Kunst (GfZK)
Karl-Tauschnitzstr 9
Wednesday 11 March
19:00 – 21:00

This performance takes place in the new building of the GfZK and is a collaboration between Adele Dittrich Frydetzki, Marten Flegel and Klara Lyssy. The artists, born shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, explore their own lack of GDR experience as the first undivided generation. The performance will consist of a multi-part structure, with the performers searching for the gaps in the story.

There is another great event taking place at the GfZK that explores the cultural forms of the GDR this time in the format of a concert

Brot und Ro-sen

GfZK
Karl-Tauschnitzstr 9
Wednesday 4 March
19:00 – 21:00

This electro-acoustic sound concert is performed by Anna Schimkat in dialogue with the archives of Gabriele Stötzer. In the 1970s and 80s, all female music, singing and art groups were active in both the GDR and the BRD as part of the women’s movement. This performance samples interviews of people active in these groups from both sides of the wall and weaves them together to create a new sound.


Klinger 2020

Museum der bildenden Künste (MdbK)
Katharinienstr. 10
Opening Thursday 5 March
18:00 – 20:00
Runs until 14 June

Max Klinger was a Leipzig born artist who carried the city with him throughout his highly esteemed career. 2020 marks 100 years since his death, and to mark the occasion, the MdbK will be presenting a large exhibition of his work and influence. If you are city-proud, and enjoy a serious etching, this may be one for you.


Tour with Henrike Naumann

MdbK
Katharinienstr. 10
Saturday 14 March
15:00-16:00

The Zwickau-born installation artist Henrike Naumann won this year’s LVZ Art Prize. Her work frequently looks back at growing up in former East Germany in the 1990s. As seen in the events listed above, this specific period is also being explored in the presentations at the GfZK this month. The topic clearly deserves further understanding and exploration. Join the tour at MdbK to learn more about Naumann’s work from the artist herself.


This Tragedy

Fonda
Eisenbahnstr. 141A
Opening Saturday 14 March
from 19:00

Fonda is a relatively new non-commercial, artist run space in the east of Leipzig. ‘This Tragedy’ is the 5th show at the space and is organised by Ginny on Frederick. In line with authentic project space mysteriousness, not much information is available about the exhibition, however, from what Fonda has already hosted, it is sure to be well worth a visit. The space is only open by appointment (except Saturdays) so make sure to book ahead in case you can’t make the opening.


 

Fe*male Intervention
Image: Fe*male Intervention exhibition. Courtesy of the organisers

If anyone is looking to venture out of Leipzig for an art experience, check out this fun show coming up in Dresden..

Fe•male Intervention

C Rockefeller Center for the Contemporary Arts
Rudolf-Leonhard-Straße 54
Opening Saturday 7 March from 19:00
Runs until 11 March

The starting point of the curation is fruit, with the selected works using it as a symbol to explore topics of fertility and femininity. This show is only on for a few days but I think it will be worth the trip!

Clementine is an independent curator interested in historic and contemporary structures that empower cultural exchange. She is a British native that sees herself in a semi-permanent self-exile. She is currently planning to settle by a Saxon lake, but next year the dream may be entirely different.

Felix Kerkhoff as Philoctetes. Image by Emily Wessel, courtesy of ETL.
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Felix Kerkhoff compels as Philoctetes. Image by Sira Bitan, courtesy of ETL.
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