The Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, a foundation based in Leipzig, is an exhibition space for contemporary art and a museum for art post 1945. GfZK promotes and imparts international artistic positions on its own premises and in public spaces, it initiates cooperations and carries out research-based artistic projects. The fine art collections mirror the interest in the natural integration of diverse forms of expression, of different artistic positions and generations.
Since the inception of GfZK, addressing local themes in connection with global developments is a focus. Migration and transcultural phenomena offer important starting points, also for reflecting the GfZK’s modes of action. The possibility of participation and the social agency of art are of particular importance. In this sense, the work of the GfZK focuses less on defining a canon of values than on exploring the potentials of artistic and curatorial work and of art mediation. In the presentations of the collection, new artistic productions, and research projects, what is concerned is facilitating manifold perspectives and developing new working methods.
The GfZK has gradually established itself internationally as a place where the reciprocal relationship between art and architecture and between art and design is addressed and the relationship between presentation, the construction of meaning and the ascription of value is questioned. In this, the educational mandate of public institutions plays just as important a role as the exploration of the economic conditions for the production of contemporary art. How can these conditions be addressed, jointly designed, and circumvented? What spaces for actions can be opened up for artists and visitors?
