HfG GRADUATES 21/22 & Munitions Factory

Last Thursday, two exciting exhibitions opened at the HfG Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design: HfG GRADUATES 21/22 (02.06.–19.06.22) & Munitions Factory—exhibition on the history of a monstrous space (02.06.-12.09.22) on occasion of the 30th anniversary of the HfG.

Titled HfG GRADUATES 21/22 – All we as – the exhibition gathers diplomas, master theses and PHDs in the university’s atriums. 34 graduates were finally able to present their final projects from the years 2021 and 2022 to the public in a very beautifully designed exhibition. The exhibition catalog published for this purpose provides detailed information on the individual works on display.

The accompanying program has been developed in close collaboration with alumni and includes guided tours, workshops, screenings, performances, as well as panel discussions with our guests.

This year we’re together again.
(irl and beyond)
All we as leaves
clouds
moss
waves
light
All we as membranes
All we as futurists
All we, a mountain range
All we in hands
All we, crafting things
All we in a show

Opening Hours
Tue–Sun, 11–18

Address
Staatliche Hochschule
für Gestaltung Karlsruhe
Lorenzstr. 15
76135 Karlsruhe
Germany

The exhibition Munitions Factory, curated by Thomas Rustemeyer, examines the history of what was once the “largest weapons factory in the world.” It illuminates the transformations and ruptures of this “monstrous space” and questions the development of the area of the former weapons factory up to the present day.

It is a very nice idea to open the exhibition at the same time on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the HfG, after all, the students form a unit with the building.

Hallenbau A—which today houses the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG), the Zentrum für Kunst und Medien (ZKM), and the Städtische Galerie-was built during and for World War I by “Blitz architect” Philipp Jakob Manz as a production hall for the Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabrik in Karlsruhe. With 30,000 factory workers, this factory was as large as a small town during World War II. During the Nazi era, female forced laborers from all over Europe had to work here under inhumane conditions. Because of the munitions and weapons that were produced here, the place is involved with various wars and conflicts in the world. After the decline of industrial production, the vacant premises served as working and presentation space for Karlsruhe artists from 1981 to 1989. The creative potential recognized there subsequently led to the institutions ZKM, HfG and the Städtische Galerie moving in.

Research materials from various archives, such as the Karlsruhe City Archive, the Karlsruhe General State Archive, and various picture archives, trace the history of this “tremendous space.” Artistic and documentary projects by students, alumni and (former) professors of the University of Arts and Design represent critical examinations of the site and its heterogeneous and controversial history. The exhibition is created in the context of the 30th anniversary of the HfG. The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication in the series Munitionsfabrik.

Both exhibitions are absolutely worth seeing!

Photos from the archives: © Evi Künstle