Kunstverein München

200 Years
Kunstverein München

“Are you a member of a Kunstverein? Why did you become a member? Why haven’t you become a member ?”– Andrea Fraser

One of the oldest institutions of its kind, the Kunstverein München will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2023. In this context, the Kunstverein is publishing the first comprehensive book dedicated to the institution, its history, its publics, and its artists. The publication takes stock of the past and provides insights into the association’s activities. These are developed in response to the incompleteness of the archive and the subsequent need to constantly review and rethink it.

The anniversary publication of the Kunstverein, founded in 1823, is not a framework for spinning a singular narrative, but rather a container that can hold a multitude of stories. It isn’t just important to fill the historical gaps, but also to change the structures that production, documentation, and archiving take place in so that more permeable narratives can emerge. On the one hand, the publication thus sheds light on various aspects of the association’s polyphonic and antagonistic history, including its role under National Socialism, the role of women, and class relations. On the other hand, it aims to sketch a possible future for the Kunstverein from today’s perspective.

In addition to contributions by Andrea Fraser, Christian Fuhrmeister, Quinn Latimer, Doreen Mende, and Philip Ursprung, among others, the publication brings together a multitude of visual material from 200 years of the Kunstverein München, a comprehensive timeline of all exhibitions and events, a detailed list of all artists, and other documents that retrace the institution’s artistic, but also bureaucratic and political, activities.