Productive Unrest

As in many places, the 1980s in Dresden were a turbulent and restless period, full of contradictions, conflicts and new beginnings. Which forms of artistic expression gained a foothold, and of which quality were the new relationships which emerged between the arts and their audience, both within and beyond state control? The exhibition Productive Unrest takes a closer look at selected works of art, photography and alternative culture from this period, which seem to resonate the emerging social changes. The 9th and 10th Art Exhibitions form the point of departure, the largest and most visited representative exhibitions of Art in the GDR, in which the immense diversity of artistic activity at the time was already reflected. The exhibit also features selected alternative practices in art and culture, which were at the time already establishing their own paths beyond state-controlled channels.

Developed by Kunsthaus Dresden and ifa –Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, the exhibition offers insights to this unique period, drawing primarily on the inventory of the graphic art collections of the Zentrum für Kunstausstellungen der DDR (Centre for Art Exhibitions of the GDR, in short ZfK), which were transferred to the ifa in 1991 after its closing down. In the same year also Kunsthaus Dresden, the city’s gallery for contemporary art, was established as the successor institution to the former Dresden branch of the ZfK.

A number of new artistic productions – some of which engage with the artists’ own family histories – are part of the dialogue between generations in this exhibition, which features works and loans from a total of more than 50 artists. Furthermore, a reflection of the audience of that era, its interactions with art back then and today, and selected historical documents interweave perspectives of the present and the past, building a bridge to the people and the atmosphere of the 1980s in a country in unrest.

Productive Unrest in the robotron canteen marks the start of the ifa exhibition series Making Public: On the Work and Legacy of the Centre for Art Exhibitions of the GDR in 2026. The project takes place in Dresden as well at five different exhibition venues in Berlin: ifa-Galerie Berlin, Schloss Biesdorf, KVOST – Kunstverein Ost, Prater Galerie and Galerie im Turm.

The works shown here represent a selection from the exhibition; the actual range of works and artists on display is considerably broader. New contemporary works by Anna Bromley, Olaf Holzapfel, Sylvie Kürsten, Luise Schröder, Suse Weber and Olav Westphalen offer fresh perspectives on the collection and its current exhibition setting.

Opening: Wednesday 20 May, 8 pm
Exhibition: 21 May — 26 July

An exhibition by Kunsthaus Dresden and ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, in cooperation with the Wüstenrot Foundation.

With works by Karl-Heinz Adler, Walter Arnold, Bernd Bankroth, Falko Behrendt, Sibylle Bergemann, Christian Borchert, Anna Bromley, Klaus Dennhardt, Reinhard Dietrich, Michael Freudenberg, Freunde der italienischen Oper, Manuel Frolik, Manuel Frolik, Hubertus Giebe, Hermann Glöckner, Dieter Goltzsche, Eberhard Göschel, Hans-Hendrik Grimmling, Herta Günther, Angela Hampel, Andreas Hegewald, Christian Heinze, Christine Heitmann, Ernst Hirsch / Gartenfest Heinz Wittig, Olaf Holzapfel, Wilhelm Klotzek, Friedrich Kracht, Sylvie Kürsten, Gerda Lepke, Werner Lieberknecht, Peter Makolies, Martin Maleschka, Yana Milev, Henrike Naumann, Helga Paris, A. R. Penck, Johannes Peschel, David Polzin, Núria Quevedo, Günther Rechn, Gerhard Rommel, Jürgen Schieferdecker, Hanns Schimansky, Werner Schinko, Luise Schröder, Klaus Schwabe, Sabine Slatosch, Wolfgang Smy, Erika Stürmer-Alex, Ulrich Tarlatt, Alfred Thiele, Max Uhlig, Norbert Wagenbrett, Suse Weber, Claus Weidensdorfer, Horst Weisse, Olav Westphalen, Leoni Wirth, Karla Woisnitza, Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt, Willy Wolff, Ulrich Wüst, Fotis Zaprasis

With an artistic contemporary witness project by Sylvie Kürsten featuring Susanne Altmann, Michael Freudenberg, Hubertus Giebe, Prof. Dr. Bernd Lindner, Yana Milev, Peter Segor, Sabine Slatosch

Curated by Susanne Weiß and Christiane Mennicke-Schwarz, with contributions by Sylvie Kürsten, Robert Thiele, Julianne Csapo, Lars Hiller, Laura Schulze

With thanks for valuable input and collaboration to: Silke Wagler, Prof. Dr. Bernd Lindner, Olaf Holzapfel, Luise Schröder

Archival work: Janine Wagler, Dr Swantje Greve

Exhibition design: lfm2 Leipzig

Among the additional partners are the Kunstfonds / Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and Art in Networks – a research project of the Chair of Visual Studies and Art History at the TU Dresden.

The six-part exhibition series Making Public in 2026 is presented by the ifa - Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen in cooperation with the Wüstenrot Foundation. The exhibition Productive Unrest, in cooperation with the Kunsthaus Dresden  / robotron Kantine is supported by the Kunstfonds Bonn, the Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen, the Stiftung Kunst und Musik and the Volker Hohmann Stiftung.