Kunstverein Freiburg

Profile

The Kunstverein e.V. was established in 1827 and thus numbers among the oldest Kunstvereine  art associations) in Germany. The history of its programs during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries reads like a "Who's Who" of classic modern ism, and since 1950 the Kunstverein Freiburg has developed into an institution, esteemed both nationally and internationally, which focuses exclusively on current tendencies in contemporary art. In 1997 the Kunstverein moved to the Marienbad, centrally located at Dreisamstrasse 21. Formerly a swimming pool, the building was altered and renovated in accordance with the new requirements; today it offers an extensive exhibition hall with a height of 9 meters and a surface area of around 400 square meters. The hall is surrounded by a gallery which not only provides further space for projects and exhibitions, but also offers the unusual opportunity of viewing all exhibitions in the hall from above. Located at the gallery level is our reference library, with important publications dating predominantly from the nineteen-sixties onwards. For personnel reasons, it does not have regular opening times, but upon consultation with us, it may be used as an instrument for research.
Themes
The Kunstverein Freiburg e.V. focuses on fundamental questions concerning the production, presentation, communication and preconditions of contemporary art. Today art and culture emerge against a background which is characterized above all by an attentive and deliberate observation of social and political themes, along with the multifaceted forms of their treatment and appearance. The borders between individual disciplines such as art, fashion, design, music or theater often appear to be blurred; the interfaces offer hybrid zones as well as unexpected perspectives, and they generate new catchwords and projection surfaces. We are mainly interested in artists who in various ways stand in a clear and thereby binding relationship to their era, and who work within a social-cultural context upon which they also reflect personally.
Communication
In individual and group exhibitions, collaborations and projects, through free guided tours, lectures, music programs, actions and discussions (e.g. the discussion with the artist on the Saturday after the exhibition opening), we devote ourselves intensively to the communication of art, and we also aim systematically at a young public. Hence we seek contact to schools, colleges, academies and universities, and we organize specifically prepared encounters between young persons and contemporary art. The intention here is to clarify again and again the various orientation-models and options which art offers for finding one's way individually in a world which appears to be more and more complex. We hope that the Kunstverein Freiburg e.V. will serve as the lively and vital site for a profound discourse about contents. Deserving of mention here is the bar "derdrittedonnerstag," ("the third thursday"), which is intended to be a social meeting-place and platform for artists and artlovers in and around Freiburg. We would like to offer various possibilities for experiencing and understanding current artistic positions, as well as for viewing art as an important platform for a life characterized by curiosity, attentiveness and tolerance.