»The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is aware of its tradition, but is not restricted by it. It is defined by its contemporaneity, thus following in the footsteps of the Bauhaus of 1919. The Bauhaus anniversary gives us an opportunity and impetus to talk about current challenges and future activities, establish new projects and study courses, and further develop the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar«, the university’s president Prof. Winfried Speitkamp emphasises.
Interdisciplinary, experimental study during the Bauhaus.Semester
The first and most important of the anniversary activities is the Bauhaus.Semester, launched for the winter semester 2018/2019. Teachers and students across the four faculties of Architecture and Urbanism, Civil Engineering, Art and Design, and Media have created their own interfaculty teaching formats for the semester during which they break down the borders between disciplines and experiment freely, just as the Bauhaus did 100 years ago. Across more than 100 projects and lectures, the people involved will use their specific work practices, methods and perspectives to help find new solutions for current issues. The Bauhaus.Semester was launched in the evening of 17 October 2018 with a big celebration and a parade, during which »Bauhaus.Caravans« made an appearance as part of a choreographed performance. These caravans, which had already embarked on a tour of Weimar starting in the afternoon, were developed on an introductory interdisciplinary course during the first two weeks of the semester.
UN climate diplomat named Bauhaus visiting professor
The Bauhaus.Semester sees the creation of the first Bauhaus visiting professorship, for which the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar has been lucky enough to bring in the Mexican diplomat Patricia Espinosa. As executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, she represents the Bauhaus spirit: tackling pressing issues and seeking creative, even unexpected solutions. Espinosa, who for many years was her country’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs and is a former Mexican ambassador to Germany, views the visiting professorship as an opportunity to raise awareness in the academic world of the challenges of climate change. The visiting professor will contribute her expertise to workshops and panel discussions on the topic of resource and climate sustainability. The Bauhaus visiting professorship will be awarded once a year for a semester.
The 2019 anniversary programme
As part of the Bauhaus anniversary programme, visitors are being granted the opportunity to explore the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in various different ways. Numerous teachers, students and alumni have contributed to the programme and are organising exhibitions, conferences, lecture series, concerts, celebrations and much more. The university has created a fund for Bauhaus100 projects, with the projects funded taking place over the year and working to make the university’s fields of art and research comprehensible and accessible to the public. The anniversary website bauhaus100.uni-weimar.de/en and the anniversary brochure published in October 2018 both provide an overview.
Bauhaus Colloquium and Bauhaus festival in April
Two high points of the of the Bauhaus 100th anniversary celebrations are the 14th international Bauhaus Colloquium in April 2019 and the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar’s major joint festival with the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar.
The Bauhaus Colloquium is one of the oldest and most famous conferences on the theory and history of architecture in the German-speaking world. From 10 to 12 April 2019, the colloquium will take an in-depth look at the history of Bauhaus in its homes of Weimar, Dessau and Berlin and examine its international reputation and migration. www.bauhaus-kolloquium.de
Taking the title »Republic of Spirits« after a Walter Gropius quote, on 12 April 2019 the Fürstenhaus and Van-de-Velde buildings will be transformed into sets for architecture, music, sound, projections and performances. The Bauhaus festival organised by Weimar’s two universities follows the tradition of the themed festivals programmed by Bauhaus that were elaborately designed, loved and celebrated by its students and masters. The students of both universities will put on a multimedia show and create light and sound installations that can be walked through in 20 different spaces.
Exhibition projects
Numerous exhibitions will offers visitors an insight into the university’s variety of artistic and research work. The first part of the »Radiophonic Spaces« exhibition is opening on 23 October 2018 at the Museum Tinguely in Basel, shortly followed by the second part at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin on 1 November 2018. In July 2019, this exhibition on the history of radio art will gain a third home at the Weimar University Library.
There are also various alumni initiatives such as the »Galerie Eigenheim Weimar/Berlin« or the »Bauhaus Studio 100« exhibitions, presenting artistic and design work being undertaken at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and making it available to a wider audience at the Galerie Eigenheim in Berlin. In addition, the 2019 programme also boasts the »Matter of Data – Tracing the Materiality of ›Bauhaus Modernism‹« exhibition at the new Bauhaus museum and the »Imaginary Bauhaus Museum« in collaboration with the Klassik Stiftung Weimar.
Explore where it all began
For visitors interested in the building where Bauhaus was founded, there are various ways of seeing the premises and finding out more about the background to the original Bauhaus in Weimar, the university’s eventful history, and the study courses available at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
Bauhaus foyer
From the spring of 2019, the entrance hall to the main building will feature the Bauhaus foyer as a focal point. There will be students here providing information about the events and opportunities available during the anniversary year and offering tips on the best ways to visit the place where Bauhaus was founded. The Bauhaus.Atelier in the courtyard of the main building will also be open daily. The former animal painter workshop houses a café, as well as the university’s shop offering design and art books as well as souvenirs.
Bauhaus walk
The Bauhaus walks are guided tours of the university’s building complex, built by Henry van de Velde between 1904 and 1911 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. These tours are led by students, and include visits to the director’s office belonging to Walter Gropius and wall reliefs and murals by Oskar Schlemmer and Herbert Bayer. Times, prices and booking information can be found on the website www.uni-weimar.de/bauhausspaziergang.
Audio walk
From April 2019, an audio walk will be available for visitors wanting take their own independent tour of Bauhaus history. There will be around a dozen stations with radio art exhibits to listen to and experience with the senses. The audio pieces will include facts, interviews, history, music and sounds. The walk is being designed and implemented by the professors of Experimental Radio and of Conservation and History of Architecture.
Bauhaus.Oases
We are also creating the first »Bauhaus.Oases«. These pieces of urban microarchitecture are creating attention for latent, not always present Bauhaus locations in Weimar and ensuring a quality of stay by engaging with their history of ideas at the authentic site. Bachelor of architecture students will create these temporary pavilions across multiple semesters, from design through to construction.
Illustrated city map
From spring 2019, an illustrated city map will also allow visitors to wander between various Bauhaus attractions – on three individual routes. The locations selected tell the story of 1920s Weimar, but also offer an insight into the modern urban environment. The map is being created as an interdisciplinary project for the Media Studies course.
Stay up to date and find out about the centenary
Bauhaus100 website and anniversary brochure
The whole programme, project information, and services for visitors can be found on the anniversary website bauhaus100.uni-weimar.de/en. From October 2018 there will also be an anniversary brochure, offering insight into the programme approach taken for the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar’s anniversary and featuring up-to-date event overviews. Brochures can be ordered free of charge from bauhaus100(at)uni-weimar.de.
Bauhaus.Podcast
If you are unable to visit Weimar but still want to stay in the loop, you can follow the Bauhaus.Podcast. The podcasts will give listeners a clear, entertaining insight into the anniversary year. Students who have been engaging with music and sound art during the Bauhaus.Semester will also be getting involved with the experimental format. It can be downloaded from the anniversary website from late October 2018.
Anniversary publication
To celebrate the Bauhaus anniversary, in 2019 the university will be producing an academic publication. In this volume, professors, students and alumni will offer up their thoughts on current research topics at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and their discernible Bauhaus links across around 40 essays. The focus will be on the question of how the relationship between humans, environment, nature and technology can be shaped today so as to enable a liveable environment and a dignified life and to ensure societal cohesion.
Bauhaus100 media services
Journalists can make use of the Bauhaus100 media services. These pool all the services relating to the university’s anniversary activities, such as guided tours, photo tours and images to download, and also offer the ability to search for interviewees in academia and art by thematic area: www.uni-weimar.de/medienservice100.
If you have any other questions about the Bauhaus anniversary, please contact Claudia Weinreich, press officer / Bauhaus100 communications at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar: by telephone on +49 (0) 36 43 / 58 11 73 or by email at presse(at)uni-weimar.de.
Related links
bauhaus100.uni-weimar.de/en
bauhaus100.uni-weimar.de/en/projects
www.uni-weimar.de/bauhaussemester/en
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in Social Media
www.instagram.com/bauhaus_uni_100
www.instagram.com/bauhaus_uni
www.twitter.com/bauhaus_uni
www.facebook.com/bauhausuni
#bauhausuni100 #bauhausuni