Affective Archives – Artists' Travels Abroad during the GDR
Freedom of art and travel were severely restricted in the GDR - and yet artists and their works crossed borders before and behind the Iron Curtain. The project "Affektive Archive - Auslandsreisen von Künstler:innen zur Zeit der DDR" (Affective Archives – Artists' Travels Abroad during the GDR), funded by the Thyssen Foundation, is dedicated to the recollections of trips undertaken, imagined, and prevented, and searches for their archival traces and artistic testimonies.
Welcome!
Since April 2023, the small team around Prof. Kerstin Schankweiler, Jule Lagoda (M.A.) and Nora Kaschuba (M.A.) has been researching the topic of foreign travel by artists during the GDR era. The project is funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation until March 2025.
To what extent did artists from the GDR travel abroad - or were they politically prevented from doing so? How were these experiences reflected in their works? And was the GDR itself also a destination for artists from other countries?
Methodologically, the project combines in-depth archival research with art-historical analysis and oral art history. It aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the various forms of travel by artists and objects and their affective dimensions.
Read more about the project "Affective Archives - Artists' Travels Abroad during the GDR".