7 February, 5 to 7 pm
8 February, 11 am to 6 pm
German and English, students of the Conference Interpreting master’s programme at Leipzig University offer simultaneous interpretation
Participation is free of charge. If you would like to participate, please register under welcome@gfzk.de with “Symposium“ as the subject line.
On the occasion of the exhibition Maria Pinińska-Bereś, a two-day symposium with lectures and artistic contributions will be held at the GfZK. The focus will be on the work of Maria Pinińska-Bereś and feminist art in Poland in the 20th century, including aspects such as the significance of performance, the influence of political reality on artistic work in the People’s Republic of Poland and parallels with the situation of women artists in the GDR. Additionally, the symposium will provide insights into the history of reproductive rights, feminist struggles and the queer movement in Poland today and the visual culture associated with it.
The GfZK presents Germany’s first comprehensive solo exhibition of Maria Pinińska-Bereś (1931-1999) curated by Heike Munder and Jarosław Suchan. Pinińska-Bereś created a unique body of work including sculptures, objects, installations and performances. A central element of her poetic and political art is the exploration of femininity and the societal constraints associated with it. Along with colleagues such as Natalia LL or Ewa Partum, Pinińska-Bereś is seen as a pioneer of feminist art in Poland. She positioned herself against the structural violence of both the State and the Church, and critically questioned the art industry from this perspective. The symposium accompanies the exhibition, which can be seen at the GfZK until February 23, 2025.
7 February
5 pm
Welcome & Introduction
5:15 pm
Impulse Iwona Dorota Bigos: On the situation of women artists and feminist art in the People’s Republic of Poland
Iwona Dorota Bigos is an art historian and director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is part of the National Museum in Wrocław. The Maria Pinińska-Bereś exhibition was on display there before it came to Leipzig. In her impulse, she presents selected examples to provide insights into the situation of artists in the People’s Republic of Poland before the political change in 1989. (German with translation into English)
5:45 pm
Susanne Altmann and Gabriele Stötzer: … hab ich euch nicht blendend amüsiert? [… didn’t I amuse you brilliantly?] A conversation about feminist art and working as a female artist in the GDR
Gabriele Stötzer is one of the most important German artists in the field of feminist art. Her performances, Super 8 films and photographs – especially those created in the 1980s together with the Erfurt artists’ group in the GDR – have been shown in numerous exhibitions and contextualized in recent publications. Her artistic work was strongly influenced by her experience as a woman and as a victim of political persecution in a repressive, patriarchal system. Susanne Altmann is a researcher and curator. The focus of her research is on the artistic production of women in the former GDR within an Eastern European frame of reference. In her work, she challenges the persistent practice of viewing artistic positions from the perspective of Western art history. (German with translation into English)
Following the discussion, the Super 8 films signale (1989, 28’34”) and … hab ich euch nicht blendend amüsiert? (1989, 6′) will be shown
8 February
11 am
Welcome and introduction
11:20 am
Lecture Agata Jakubowska: Exhibiting Maria Pinińska-Bereś in 1970 and 1980 and the discourse on women’s art in State-Socialist Poland
In this lecture, art historian Agata Jakubowska speaks about two exhibitions – a 1970 solo show by Pinińska-Bereś, and the Women’s Art Festival in which she participated in 1980. Jakubowska shows how the artist’s work and position evolved over this decade, and how the discourse surrounding women’s and feminist art developed in Poland during the same period. (Online, English)
11:50 am
Lecture Dorothé Orczyk: Performance art as female resistance. On the performances of Maria Pinińska-Bereś
For her PhD project on performance art as resistance, Dorothé Orczyk looks into the artistic practice of four female Polish performance artists whose work revolves around the position of women: Natalia LL (1937-2022), Zofia Kulik (1947), Ewa Partum (1945) and Maria Pinińska-Bereś (1931-1999). In this lecture, scholar Dorothé Orczyk provides insights into her current research with a focus on Maria Pinińska-Bereś. (English)
12:20 noon
Dialogic tour of the exhibition Maria Pinińska-Bereś with Heike Munder and Jarosław Suchan
Heike Munder and Jarosław Suchan are the curators of the solo exhibition currently on view at the GfZK, with important sculptures, objects and performance documentations by Maria Pinińska-Bereś. In this tour, they discuss the theses and questions that arose from lectures and discussions on the artworks presented. (English)
1:30 pm
Joint lunch at the GfZK Café
2:30 pm
Talk & reading with Magda Wlostowska, Verena Triesethau and Katharina Zimmerhackl from outside the box: Queer and feminist struggles in Poland
outside the box – Zeitschrift für feministische Gesellschaftskritik is a magazine collective founded in Leipzig at the end of 2008. It has published eight issues to date, combining art, theory and practice. The most recent issue, #8, was published in 2023, on the topic of “Struggles”. Together with political scientist Magda Wlostowska, editors Katharina Zimmerhackl and Verena Triesethau explore queer and feminist struggles in Poland. Among other things, they examine the history of reproductive rights and the feminist struggles that surround them, providing insights into the queer movement and the current situation in Poland. From this perspective, they also examine the growth of regressive tendencies worldwide, accompanied by increased struggles for sexual self-determination. They also read and discuss articles from recent issues. (German with translation into English)
3:45 pm
Lecture Karolina Rosiejka: Visual Resistance. The Aesthetic Landscape of Poland’s Black Protests and Women’s Strikes
In this presentation, art historian Karolina Rosiejka examines the visual culture associated with the Black Protests and Women’s Strikes in Poland, movements that have persisted since 2016 in response to legislation restricting women’s abortion rights. The analysis will encompass artistic works, artifacts and visual practices linked to activist efforts. These elements share a common purpose: to critique the condition of Polish women under increasingly restrictive abortion policies, to articulate opposition to this reality and to envision an alternative future beyond the constraints of the prevailing socio-political order. (English)
From 16:30 pm
Performance and get-together with Alexandra Ivanciu and Jolanta Nowaczyk: About Flowers and Choice
The aim of the performance About Flowers and Choice is to initiate a discussion on access to abortion, bridging the gap between former healers and witches and contemporary activists through storytelling and shared experience. The donations gathered during the performance are used to buy morning-after pills, which are donated to collectives and distributed to individuals in countries where access to emergency contraception is restricted. The project represents a call for solidarity and an invitation to take action, providing a hospitable and welcoming space for existing ideas and actions related to reproductive justice. For more information on access to abortion in Central Eastern Europe, visit the Library of Collective Disobedience.
The GfZK Auditorium is located on the first floor of the villa and can be reached via stairs and an elevator. The toilets are located in the basement and can be reached via the staircase and an elevator. One toilet is equipped with plenty of space for a wheelchair and support elements.
