Incredibly Fantastic – E.T.A. Hoffmann 2022

The poet, illustrator, musician, theatre director and legal scholar E.T.A. Hoffmann was also one of the most popular writers of his time. But today only few are aware of his influence on music, science fiction, literature and art. On the occasion of the 200^th anniversary of his death in 2022, the Berlin State Library of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation will celebrate the life and work of this universal artist and introduce him to a younger audience with an extensive commemorative programme entitled “Incredibly Fantastic”. The programme will highlight such topics as his interest in artificial intelligence, the boundaries of reality and the development of personality within the context of social constraints.

To do justice to the cross-genre, synaesthetic aspect in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s works, the organisers are planning an innovative exhibition in the form of an “Exploratorium” (working title). Under the artistic direction of TheGreenEyl studio, the exhibition will consist of four rooms which artistically explore the fractures, distortions, reflections, misperceptions and shifts in perspective in Hoffmann’s works. The immersive exhibition design will be supplemented by participatory elements and contemporary artistic perspectives. The Exploratorium will be installed for three months at a time in the new museum of the Berlin State Library, the Bamberg State Library and the planned German Museum of Romanticism in Frankfurt am Main. The hybrid exhibition will be augmented by an academic and cultural accompanying programme with international guests, a podcast and a publication.

Artistic director: Christina Schmitz, TheGreenEyl
Curators: Benjamin Schlodder, Ursula Jäcker, Bettina Wagner, Wolfgang Bunzel
Artists: TheGreenEyl, Kea Bolenz, Emma Braslavsky, Oliver Chanarin, Mathieu Gafsou, Claire Illouz, Oliver Laric, Kyle McDonald, Metheor

Exhibition at the Staatsbibliothek, Berlin: 24 Mar. – 25 Jun. 2022; Exhibition at the Staatsbibliothek, Bamberg: 24 Jul. – 29 Oct. 2022; Exhibition at the Deutsches Romantik Museum, Frankfurt am Main: 24 Nov. 2022 – 12 Feb. 2023