17 September 2022 until 29 January 2023
For Gelsenkirchen, the period between 1950 and 1975 marked a time of new beginnings, but also of major changes. Parallels can also be found in the development of the municipal art collection: In 1950, the city of Gelsenkirchen decided to systematically build up its own municipal art collection. With the exhibition ‘From Nothing’, the Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen looks back on these beginnings and the changes over time. The exhibition tells very different and diverse stories: That of the municipal art collection and the museum, that of an industrial city with its upheavals and its decline. The history of an avant-garde art scene and ultimately the stories of citizens and protagonists. In an analogue and digital presentation, visitors are given the opportunity to (re)experience this time in addition to the contemporary works of art through various media, such as interviews with contemporary witnesses and archive material. City films, interviews with contemporary witnesses and contemporary newspaper reports enable visitors to take a very special journey through time.
Curator: Annika Becker, Research Volunteer at the Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen (2020-2022)
17 September 2022 to 29 January 2023
Gelsenkirchen and the municipal art collection as reflected in the art scene from 1950 to 1975
