Grafic lettering saying Die ganze Welt ein Bauhaus

Keyvisual of exhibition „The Whole World a Bauhaus“; © Hit

The Whole World a Bauhaus

26 Oct 2019

Opening: 25 October 2019 | 19.00 – 22.00

16 Feb 2020

Zentrum für Kunst und Medien
Lorenzstraße 19
76135 Karlsruhe

The effect of the Bauhaus 100 years ago was global, and the Bauhaus still radiates its attraction today. In addition to objects and products from the years 1919 to 1933, international contributions with regional focuses expand the exhibition. The reception history of the Bauhaus in the USA and its repercussions in Europe make it clear that the Bauhaus was not an exclusive club, but was rather seen worldwide as the engine of a new social, cultural and political development.

The first part of the exhibition focuses on an internal perspective on the Bauhaus in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin: the study of weightlessness, material and spatial research on objects, the synthesis of all the arts, of art and science, of art and everyday objects, and finally the Bauhaus’s world view, its workshops, and the structure of its teaching programme.

The second part focuses on the Bauhaus from a global perspective: artists from Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Mexico City, Moscow, Santiago de Chile and the USA re-produced ideas of the Bauhaus in different circumstances - against a political-national background in Santiago de Chile, in response to the rapid industrialization in Mexico City, and in post-colonial terms in Casablanca. The exhibition title ‘The Whole World a Bauhaus’ goes back to a remark from 1928 of the Bauhaus student and later Bauhaus teacher Fritz Kuhr.

Curator Tour

Boris Friedewald

Curators Regional focuses

Enrique X. de Anda Alanís, Mexiko-City
Silvia Fernández, Buenos Aires
Margret Kentgens-Craig, USA
Alexander Klee, Stuttgart
Salma Lahlou, Casablanca
David Maulen, Santiago de Chile
Christiane Post, Moscow

Curator ZKM | Karlsruhe

Peter Weibel

Exhibitions worldwide

With over 20 touring exhibitions currently travelling across the globe and with its diverse event programmes on contemporary art, the ifa links the German art scene with internationally active cultural creators and forms cooperations and networks. The projects, many of which were developed in co-creation with local partners, cover the various disciplines of modern and contemporary fine arts – from current themes in architecture, photography and design to Bauhaus and monographic exhibitions such as Rosemarie Trockel or Wolfgang Tillmans. These projects generate local meeting platforms and allow international perspectives on topics of global relevance. The ifa also provides loan exhibits to interested museums.

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