University of Stuttgart plays host to the Congress of German Art Historians 2022

March 1, 2022

The Congress is due to be held in Stuttgart for the first time in nearly 40 years
[Picture: Willi Baumeister (Typografie), Katalog der Werkbund-Ausstellung „Die Form“, 1924. Copyright: CC 3.0 Lizenz / Willi Baumeister Stiftung]

Hundreds of art historians from Germany and abroad are expected to come together in Stuttgart between March 23-27, 2022. The motto of the Congress, which is being held under the patronage of the Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann, is “FORM FRAGEN” (“Questioning Form”). This motto connects the event to the programmatic exhibition “Die Form” ("The Form"), which the German Association of Craftsmen held in Stuttgart nearly 100 years ago. Back then the aim was to define “good form”, and many hoped that technology and art could be reconciled with good design. Today, however, the role of form in art history is being critically examined.

“We want to use the theme of the conference “FORM FRAGEN” to start a debate about how we should talk about form today, especially at a time when form and technology need to be harmonized again”, says Prof. Daniela Bohde, Head of the Institute for Art History at the University of Stuttgart, describing the idea of the organization team behind the Congress.

Rector Prof. Wolfram Ressel is happy that the University of Stuttgart is hosting the Congress of German Art Historians 2022, and underlines the tradition and meaning that the Institute for Art History has for the more technically oriented University of Stuttgart. “Our Institute for Art History is one of the oldest institutes of its kind in Germany. By bringing in new staff and restructuring our approach, we have made sure over the last few years that art history research at our university makes a visible and successful contribution towards integrating engineering, natural science, humanities and social sciences in the spirit of the Stuttgarter Weg (Stuttgart Way)”, says Rector Ressel.

The 36th Congress of German Art Historians in Stuttgart is being organized by the University of Stuttgart in cooperation with the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart and together with the Verband Deutscher Kunsthistoriker e.V. (Association of German Art Historians). The schedule of events includes 2 plenary sessions, 11 sections, 5 workshops, 4 working groups, 2 taskforces, numerous specialist forums and excursions as well as a digital bar camp. In addition to this, evening events will also be held in the Staatsgalerie, the Württemberg State Museum and the Stuttgart Art Museum.

The Congress, which is held at a different university every two years, was first held in Stuttgart in 1984 to mark the opening of the extension to the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart art museum designed by James Stirling.

Contact

Gitte Lindmaier, Tel.: +49 711 685-84 533, E-Mail

Expert Contact:

Prof. Daniela Bohde, Leiterin Institut für Kunstgeschichte der Universität Stuttgart, Telefon +49 711 685 83599, E-Mail

The schedule of the Congress of German Art Historians is available online at https://kunsthistorikertag.de/programm/. The ticket shop is open.

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