What's on in Germany
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Sandman on the Road – Exhibition Marking the East German Sandman’s 50th Anniversary
15.10.2009 - 31.12.2010 , Potsdam
50 years on, the Sandman can look back on an eventful history: journeys to distant countries, to the moon or to Fairytale Land – since 1959, the stories of the little Sandman have been thrilling children in East and West Germany alike. The Potsdam Film Museum’s family exhibition pays tribute to the figure created by Gerhard Behrendt, which even survived the ending of Germany’s partition. The exhibition is divided into three sections: Voyage of Discovery, Scientific Expedition and Dream Journey. On show are numerous puppets, original vehicles, entire sets and decorations from 50 years of Sandman adventures.
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1,000th Anniversary of St. Michael’s Church at Hildesheim
01.01.2010 - 31.12.2010 , Hildesheim
One of history’s architectural gems is celebrating its 1,000th anniversary. In 1010, Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim began construction of the Romanesque church with its unique ceiling frescoes. The church was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985. After a five-year restoration, the church will present itself in new splendour in time for the opening of the ten-month programme of celebratory events. Church services, art, music and encounter events will reflect the chosen motto “God’s Angels Are Ever Steadfast”.
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Gods, Spirits and Demons – Cult Objects of Foreign Peoples
27.11.2009 - 31.12.2010 , Oberhausen, Rheinland
Visitors to this interactive, multimedia exhibition in Oberhausen can gain first-hand experience of foreign peoples’ cult objects. On show are original jungle drums, masks and statues of exotic gods, waiting to transport visitors to foreign worlds. The exhibition is divided into six thematic sections: 1. Creation – Myths of the Beginning of Existence. 2. Nature as the Giver of Life and Bringer of Danger. 3. Spiritual Mediators between Heaven and Earth. 4. Masks – The Phenomenon of Metamorphosis. 5. The Guardians of the Cult. 6. Cult and Sound.
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Four Hills Tournament
31.12.2009 - 01.01.2010 , Garmisch-Partenkirchen
The Four Hills Tournament is considered one of the major ski jumping tournaments. Since 1952, the popular winter sports event has been held annually in Germany and Austria at the turn of the year. The tournament takes its name from the four venues: Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen. The Four Hills Tournament’s New Year’s ski jumping event has traditionally been held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Last year’s overall winner was the Austrian Wolfgang Loitzl. The record for the most overall victories is held by the Finn Janne Ahonen. However, the German Sven Hannawald is so far the only ski jumper to win all four events at a single Four Hills Tournament.
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Semper Opernball & Semper Openairball
15.01.2010 - 15.01.2010 , Dresden
“Dream Couples” is the motto of this year’s Semper Opera Ball, which in the space of only four years has succeeded in gaining a firm place in the opera calendar as an internationally acclaimed event. In a year that is celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall, the meaning of “Dream Couples” goes well beyond such celebrated pairs as Tristan and Isolde or Romeo and Juliet. With dream couples like East and West, Saxony and Germany and Germany and Europe, what belongs together is now growing together. For guests who failed to secure tickets, the event will once again be shown on a large screen outside the opera house as part of the Semper Open-Air Ball.
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Long Night of Museums
30.01.2010 - 30.01.2010 , Berlin
Berlin’s museums are opening their doors to the onslaught of nocturnal visitors for the 26th time this year. With Berlin bearing the title “2010 Capital of Science”, the 60 participating museums will be demonstrating not only their exhibition but also their research capabilities. In addition to presentations of the institutions’ scientific work and research projects, the exhibitions will once again be complemented by guided tours, performances and a programme of musical and literary events – offerings that have traditionally given the Long Night its special feeling and atmosphere.
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Opening of the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory’s Tercentenary Celebrations
23.01.2010 - 23.01.2010 , Meissen
The state-owned Meissen Porcelain Manufactory has been in existence since 1710. Following the invention of hard-paste porcelain, the Meissen works became Europe’s first and most important porcelain manufactory. Its “crossed swords” mark is the world’s oldest continuously used trademark. Even today, dinner services, figurines and accessories are exquisitely handcrafted in Meissen. To mark the anniversary, limited tercentenary editions will be on offer and there will be a commemorative event with a tempting array of culinary delicacies. The celebrations are to be officially opened on 23 January.
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Cabaret, Musical
16.01.2010 - 16.01.2010 , Rostock
“Life is a Cabaret” – those were the words sung by Liza Minella alias Sally Bowles in the 1972 film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Cabaret” that brought the latter international renown. The story of the Berlin night club, and the personal dramas of its stars during the period when the National Socialists came to power, has been back on German stages in recent years. The new production in Rostock will premiere on 16 January.
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Biathlon World Cup
07.01.2010 - 10.01.2010 , Oberhof
When the first organized biathlon competitions were held in the late 19th century, the event combining cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship was still a marginal sport with military origins. Today, the biathlon is one of the most popular winter sports events. Thirty-eight nations have already registered to compete in Oberhof’s 19th Biathlon World Cup – a new record.
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Nightmare and Liberation – Max Ernst in the Würth Collection
16.10.2009 - 02.05.2010 , Schwäbisch Hall
Max Ernst is one of the 20th century’s most influential Dadaist and Surrealist artists. His visual worlds and new techniques have had an impact on the work of generations of artists. The Kunsthalle Würth is showing for the first time its complete collection of works by Max Ernst. The exhibition “Nightmare and Liberation” focuses on the artist’s works on paper, collages and drawings, but also on show are oil paintings and sculptures reflecting Ernst’s seemingly boundless visual universe in its well-nigh unparalleled diversity.
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Exhibition “Ai Weiwei – So Sorry”
12.10.2009 - 07.10.2010 , München
Ai Weiwei is regarded as the most important contemporary Chinese artist. In particular his part in designing the stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and his “Fairytale” project at the documenta 2007 in Kassel have brought him international fame. The exhibition at the House of Art features two works specially designed for the exhibition and a documentation of “Fairytale” as well as photographs, sculptures and films by the artist.
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Musical – Manitou’s Shoe
01.12.2009 - 01.05.2010 , Berlin
Following the resounding success of the Western comedy and parody of Karl May’s well-known Manitou’s Shoe stories by and with director, writer and protagonist Michael “Bully” Herbig, the musical’s run at Berlin’s Theater des Westens has also been extended. Presented here is the continuing success story of the blood brothers Abahachi and Ranger.
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Exhibition: Witches – Myth and Reality
13.09.2009 - 02.05.2010 , Speyer
How did witches come to be persecutedin the early modern era? What part did the belief in magic and spells play in people’s everyday lives? What conceptions of witches have prevailed in modern times? The exhibition “Witches – Myth and Reality” at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate focuses thematically on the belief in and persecution of witches as well as the response to witchcraft and examines these in the light of the latest research findings. Visitors to the exhibition in Speyer can learn more about the subject from the over 600 rare and mysterious exhibits on display there.
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Exhibition: “Techno – Looking Back at the Future”
08.11.2009 - 18.04.2010 , Gronau
The Love Parade – the “world’s biggest party”, an event that has been known to draw several million guests – is celebrating its twentieth anniversary: reason enough for the German Rock´n’Pop Museum to take a closer look at what’s behind all the musical hype. The special exhibition “Techno – Looking Back at the Future” focuses on pop culture’s musical revolution. Divided into six thematic sections, “The History of Electronic Dance Music” examines how sounds were synthesized and what trends influenced Techno. Music genres such as Industrial, Acid House and Minimal are explained to visitors, as is the pioneering role of the formation Kraftwerk. A supporting programme featuring talks and DJ workshops rounds off the exhibition.
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Treasures of Ancient Syria – The Discovery of the Kingdom of Qatna
17.10.2009 - 14.03.2010 , Stuttgart
In 2002, excavations at Qatna unearthed a spectacular find: archaeologists working together with an international team of researchers discovered an intact royal burial chamber beneath the remains of the monumental palace complex. This forms the centrepiece of the exhibition “Treasures of Ancient Syria – The Discovery of the Kingdom of Qatna”, which is being presented for the first time in Europe at the Württemberg State Museum. The impressive exhibits, selected from among the more than 2,000 excavated objects, draw a lively picture of the advanced Bronze Age civilizations of ancient Syria that formed a bridge between East and West.
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F.C. Gundlach. The Photographic Work
20.11.2009 - 14.03.2010 , Berlin
With the exhibition “F.C. Gundlach. The Photographic Work”, Berlin’s Martin Gropius Building presents a retrospective of the photographic lifework of one of the most important fashion photographers, who worked for leading German magazines and publications over a period of four decades. In his fashion photography, F.C. Gundlach had the unique ability to capture the spirit of the times and use it as a seismograph of social change. The exhibition is the most comprehensive presentation of the photographer’s work so far. Along with numerous well-known photographs, it features some 350 exhibits revealing many previously unknown facets of his oeuvre.
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Exhibition: Botticelli in Germany for the first time
13.11.2009 - 28.02.2010
Sandro Botticelli’s paintings epitomize the Italian Renaissance. The beauty of Botticelli’s mythological figures and the elegance and grace of his Madonna figures make the artist’s paintings the embodiment of Florentine art in the age of the Medici. Yet the much-acclaimed magic of Botticelli’s visual language is to be found not only in his masterly realization of Renaissance ideals but also in the unique expressive power of the figures he created. With more than 80 works by Botticelli, his workshop and contemporaries, the Städel Museum’s exhibition is the first in the German-speaking world to be devoted to the oeuvre of the great master of the Italian Renaissance with a selection of portraits, mythological allegories and depictions of the Virgin Mary.
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Sigmar Polke. We petty bourgeois! Contemporaries
13.03.2009 - 17.01.2010 , Hamburg
The third part of the exhibition of work by the post-modernartist Sigmar Polke at Hamburg’s Kunsthalle focuses on the forgotten, only recently reunited group of works from the period 1974 to 1976: We petty bourgeois! - Contemporaries. The political interest and commitment of Sigmar Polke and his artist friends are clearly evident here.The exhibition includes ten large-format works on paper, whose presentation offers visitors at long last the opportunity to take a critical look at this series of works and the hitherto little-heeded artistic strategies of the 1970s.
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60/40/20. Leipzig Art since 1949
04.10.2009 - 10.01.2010 , Leipzig
The exhibition “60/40/20” highlights breaks, dislocations and continuities in Leipzig art since 1949 and marks interactions between political and social conditions and artistic production. The title of the exhibition at Leipzig’s Museum of Fine Arts defines its temporal frame in terms of political developments: 60 years of Leipzig art, 40 years of artistic development in the GDR and 20 years of artistic development in reunified Germany. Featuring over 250 works by more than 90 artists, this look at 60 years of Leipzig art comprises selected thematic sections examining what characterizes Leipzig as an artistic and creative environment.
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Ice Age – Art and Culture: Humankind’s oldest works of art
18.09.2009 - 10.01.2010 , Stuttgart
The Archaeological State Museum of Baden-Württemberg invites visitors to take a different sort of trip back through time at the Kunstgebäude on Stuttgart’s Schlossplatz. The exhibition entitled “Ice Age – Art and Culture” mounted by the State Museum shows how people lived in Baden-Württemberg and Europe in the Palaeolithic Age and testifies to the culture and survival strategies of our Ice Age ancestors. The exhibition presents the world’s oldest works of art, including animal figurines from the Swabian Jura and the tens-of-thousands-of-years-old Venus of Hohle Fels, the oldest known sculpture of the human form.
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“Cranach and Renaissance Art under the House of Hohenzollern” in Charlottenburg Palace
31.10.2009 - 24.01.2010 , Berlin
The Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation is showing masterpieces by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his son at Charlottenburg Palace. The exhibition, which features more than 200 items, is the first to provide insight into this early phase of Brandenburg-Prussian history and art. Cranach the Elder and the Youngerhad a determining influence on the art of their period and, together with the magnificent new Berlin Palace, helped shape the public image of the Hohenzollern. Highlights of the exhibition are an early version of the Nymph of the Spring and the nine surviving panels of the Passion cycle from the old Berlin Cathedral.
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Exhibition: Against All Reason. Surrealism Berlin – Prague
14.11.2009 - 14.02.2010 , Ludwigshafen
Fathoming the mind beyond reason, the unconscious and delusion is a key theme of Surrealism. The exhibition mounted by the Wilhelm Hack Museum and the Kunstverein Ludwigshafen presents paintings, films and photographs by well-known Surrealists like Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst and René Magritte, but also with a special focus on the Czech artists Jindrich Štyrský, Karel Teige and Toyen. In a parallel show entitled Surrealism and Madness, the Prinzhorn Collection is presenting works by psychiatric patients, who are believed to have inspired the Surrealists.
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Exhibition: Arno Fischer – A Retrospective
05.11.2009 - 03.01.2010 , Bonn
The retrospective at Bonn’s Art and Exhibition Hall celebrates the life’s work of one of Germany’s most important photographers. The photographs Arno Fischer took in East and West Berlin in the 1950s impressively illustrate the special situation of the divided city. Arno Fischer gained fame mainly through his work for the East German magazine “Sibylle – Zeitschrift für Mode und Kultur” (Sibylle – Journal for Fashion and Culture) and his travel photography. The items on show include the original draft for Fischer’s legendary book “Situation Berlin”, which remained unpublished after the Wall was built in 1961.
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Exhibition: Alexander the Great and the Opening of the World
03.10.2009 - 21.02.2010 , Mannheim
The German Archaeological Institute’s special exhibition “Alexander the Great and the Opening of the World. Asia’s Cultures in Change” takes a fresh look at an impressive historical figure. While previous shows devoted to Alexander the Great were mostly confined to his life and work in Europe and Egypt, the exhibition in Mannheim turns its gaze on Central Asia. The show accompanies Alexander the Great on his campaign of conquest across the vast Persian Empire, which was ruled by the Achaemenid Great Kings. On display until February 2010 in the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums’ Museum of World Cultures D5 are more than 400 exhibits that impressively showcase the exchange between Greek, Persian and Central Asian culture.
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Languages of Futurism Exhibition
02.10.2009 - 11.01.2010 , Berlin
To mark the hundredth anniversary of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti’s Futurist Manifesto, the Martin Gropius Building in Berlin is showing the exhibition “Languages of Futurism” from 2 October onwards. The exhibition reflects Futurism’s claim to bring together all art forms – from painting and sculpture to architecture and design to literature and film – in the construction of a new aesthetic. The exhibition focuses on the especially innovative phase of Futurism, which followed Umberto Boccioni’s death in 1916.