21 February 2018

Akademie der Künste presents the Katrin Sello Archive Special event on 4 March, Hanseatenweg venue

The Akademie der Künste has acquired the archive of art historian, publicist and exhibition organiser Katrin Sello, which it is presenting to the public in a special event on Hanseatenweg on 4 March 2018.

In 1976 Katrin Sello (1941–1992) became the first woman to head the prestigious Kunstverein Hannover. In the more than 70 exhibitions that she organised – some quite unusual – Sello focused on connections between art and society, works by women artists, contemporary positions in Lower Saxony, and the East-West exchange in Germany. Amongst her outstanding presentations, which go beyond the usual monographic exhibitions, are rarities that include Nachbilder (1979) and Spiegelbilder (1982). Before assuming her post at the Kunstverein Hannover, Katrin Sello was chiefly active as a publicist. In addition to art criticism, she published literature, theatre and film reviews for Der Tagesspiegel and Die Zeit, et al. As co-founder of the Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst (nGbK) in Berlin, Sello was involved in the preparations for numerous exhibitions. Moreover, Sello dealt intensively with the work of the art critic Carl Einstein, whose archive can also be found at the Akademie der Künste.

Both her critiques and her exhibition programmes demonstrate Katrin Sello's ability to sensitively perceive social problems and to make this awareness public. Very early on, and with an uncharacteristic openness towards art in the GDR, she stood up for its mediation and dissemination in the Federal Republic. Sello's support of works by women artists was also exemplary for subsequent developments leading to further equality.

The archive contains approx. 3.6 linear meters of documentary materials and photographs from the years 1941 to 1992, with supplementary materials to 2012. It includes typescripts of reviews and an extensive collection of materials on Carl Einstein. Concepts, opening speeches, lectures, and collections of materials document preparations that were undertaken for exhibitions and events at the Kunstverein Hannover. Sello's correspondence with artists as well as exhibition institutions, primarily from Lower Saxony, illustrates her wide network of relationships. The inventory is enhanced by biographical documents, personal photos and exhibition materials from the Kunstverein Hannover.

At the archive presentation, Uwe M. Schneede, art historian and long-standing director of the Hamburger Kunsthalle, will provide an overview of Katrin Sello's work. Actress Victoria Sturm will read from Sello's texts and pianist Irmela Roelcke will perform works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert. Werner Heegewaldt, director of the Akademie archives, will open the event. Original documents and photographs from the archive are on view in the display cases.

Special Event Information
Katrin Sello. Von Spiegelbildern und der Macht der Kunstkritik
(On Reflections and the Power of Art Criticism)
Archive presentation (in German): lecture, reading, concert
With Werner Heegewaldt (welcoming address), Uwe M. Schneede (lecture), Victoria Sturm (reading), Irmela Roelcke (music)
Sunday, 4 March 2018, 11:30 am
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, Studio foyer
Admission: € 6/4
Ticket reservations: Tel. +49 (0)30 20057-2000 or online: www.adk.de

Press Tickets: presse@adk.de, Tel. +49 (0)30 200 57-1514

For further inquiries and information: Dr. Anke Matelowski, Archiv Bildende Kunst (Visual Arts Archives), Tel. +49 (0)30 200 57-4042, matelowski@adk.de