Underestimated. Female artists in Leipzig around 1900

Group exhibition

Morten Bjerre, Melina Brass, Leila Brinkmann, Julia Gerke, Markus Heller, Brigita Kasperaitė, Kevin Koen, Nora Langen, Merlin Maximilian Meister, Sophie Constanze Polheim, Kay Lotte Pommer und Yashar Shirdel

Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig, Germany
12/05/2022 – 03/10/2022

Photography Alexander Schmidt / PUNCTUM

Underestimated. Female artists in Leipzig around 1900
„If you (still) need me, I‘m in the basement“

In 1897, the Saxon-Thuringian Industrial and Trade Exhibition – known as STIGA – took place in the trade city of Leipzig. The focus was on industry and commerce, but there was also a dedicated hall for contemporary art. On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of STIGA, the MdbK is giving new attention to the artists who were featured back then and are now nearly forgotten. In addition to the precarious training situation of the female artists and their role at STIGA, the exhibition also sheds light on the female self-representation and self-perception of that time. In parallel to the displayed drawings and paintings, some artists from the Installation and Space class at the Academy of Graphic and Book Art are presenting an intervention that addresses the ongoing structural discrimination against female and non-binary artists.

The Saxon-Thuringian Industrial and Trade Exhibition (STIGA) in 1897 featured 864 works by 362 artists. 9.4% of them were female. While the MdbK examines the representation of female artists at STIGA (1897), we look at the art museum itself. What has changed over all this time, leading up to this moment, the present? Who is represented there today? We questioned the visibility of FLINTA* artists and the background of the exhibited artists and asked ourselves: How do we want to use our position to climb the career ladder through research, learning, and exchange? Or will we remain stuck in the basement? Time for a manifesto!