Reise(un)freiheit – Mobilitäten von Künstler*innen [(un)freedom of travelling- Artists' mobilities during the Cold War]
The strict border controls in the GDR made the mobility of artists difficult. Nonetheless they were able to apply for trips abroad for a variety of purposes, for instance as part of cultural policy projects, to accompany exhibitions or for study trips. Conversely, artists from all over the world also travelled to the GDR. Memories of these journeys are still alive today and can be found in interviews and archive documents such as travel applications, reports and travel diaries. Especially artworks are evidence of the personal experiences and impressions of travelling abroad. Many artists, however, were denied the right to travel, therefore art frequently became a means of protest against these restrictions. The symposium is dedicated to the tensions surrounding the freedom or lack of freedom to travel. Including the political conditions and personal motivations for travelling abroad. Imagined trips as well as realised journeys and their expression in art. How were journeys individually organised and were restrictions sometimes circumvented? What is the relationship between an art history of (non-)travelling during the Cold War and the much-discussed topos of the "artist's journey"? What methodical approaches are suitable for analysing this subject? The symposium will address these questions in lectures, a lecture performance and exhibition tours.