There is no there there

With its upcoming exhibition “There is no there there”, the MMK Frankfurt focuses on works of art which have received relatively little attention by established institutions, namely, pieces produced by persons with refugee, exile and migration backgrounds in the divided Germany of the 1960s to the 1980s. The exhibition dialogically juxtaposes works by some 30 artists who made Germany the centre of life and work starting in the 1960s either through immigration or corresponding cultural treaties and exchange programmes (GDR). The presentation also includes pieces by artists who had fled to West and East Germany to escape military dictatorships, war or the Islamic Revolution.

The central motifs and themes of the exhibition include the disparate life experiences and realities of the immigrant artists and their aesthetic practices. Interestingly, these manifested in very different ways, though they all arose amid the tensions of the Cold War in two antagonistic political systems in West and East Germany. However, in terms of social belonging, exclusion and personal identity, they also share commonalities. The exhibition aims to redefine and contextualise these artistic positions within the political and cultural climate of East and West Germany. The art academies in both former countries and the role they played in training these immigrant artists will also be examined. The extensive research and exhibition project also hopes to shed more light on how the participating artists have been received in their countries of origin. To this end, the MMK is collaborating with numerous international partners. An accompanying programme with public talks and podium discussions, as well as a comprehensive catalogue will supplement the exhibition with further (post-)migrant, activist and academic perspectives and introduce them into a public dialogue.

Curators: Gürsoy Doğtaş, Susanne Pfeffer
Artist: Cecilia Boisier, Vlassis Caniaris, Santos Chávez, Grazia Eminente, Azade Köker, MARWAN, Núria Quevedo, Dito Tembe, Drago Trumbetaš, Hanefi Yeter, Serpil Yeter and others

Exhibition: Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt am Main: 5 Apr. – 22 Sep. 2024