There are as many different concepts as there are university galleries
German university galleries have started to network. Representatives of eight university galleries from throughout Germany met on Thursday, 4 June 2015 at the invitation of the professor of art history, Prof. Dr. Nieke Bätzner, and curator Dr. Jule Reuter, both from the university gallery of the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle. Their goal: to establish an exchange network.
The marke.6 university gallery was represented in the dialogue by June Drevet and Andrea Karle, coordinators of the student initiative at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. On Wednesday, 3 June, the evening before the talks began, the women, both graduates of the Media Studies programme, were already talking about their exhibit experience with students from the newly-established BURG2-Galerie. Although based on different concepts, both gallery projects arose from the need to increase the visibility of student work.
The 16 m2 room at BURG2 showcases short-duration solo exhibits. The organisational team at the gallery provides space and offers support for exhibit applications. The marke.6 takes a different approach. With theme-based exhibits and its Bauhaus Essentials exhibit series, it places student work into new contexts and presents their artistic work within the cultural landscape of Weimar and beyond.
These differences were cast into sharper relief during the workshop. »It's amazing how many different concepts there are for running university galleries,« said Andrea Karle and June Drevet. »It's good to know that our student-run gallery is operating on the same level as large art galleries like Weissensee in Berlin, despite the structural differences.«
At the end of the workshop day, the participants expressed an interest in Joint exhibit projects, dialogue on professional topics and an annual meeting. One plan, for example, is to show a travelling exhibit with work by graduates from all the colleges.
Background information on the galleries: