Kunsthalle Rostock

In the location's words:

The Kunsthalle Rostock was a prestige project of GDR cultural policy. Conceived in 1964 and opened five years later, it was planned for foreign and cultural policy reasons in order to create a socialist counterweight to the existing Kiel Kunsthalle, which was seen in the GDR as a supporter of West German revanchist ideas.

Originally, the Kunsthalle was to serve as an exhibition pavilion for the Biennale of the Baltic Sea Countries, Norway and Iceland, which was held every two years from 1969 to coincide with Rostock Baltic Sea Week. However, the first director, Dr. Horst Zimmermann, began to build up his own collection as early as 1964 in order to turn the Kunsthalle into a fully-fledged art museum. Then as now, the central tasks of the Kunsthalle included collecting, preserving, researching and communicating.

In addition to the Biennale, three scientific and six cabinet exhibitions were planned each year. Particularly noteworthy was the comparatively uncensored presentation of art from non-socialist countries during the international art exhibition of the Baltic Sea countries, which reflected Rostock as the GDR's "gateway to the world". Apart from the Biennale, the Kunsthalle showed numerous thematically diverse exhibitions with a focus on East German modern art, Scandinavian art and works by regional artists. Graphics, sculptures, design and paintings were shown. Occasionally there were international collaborations, for example with institutions and artists from Japan, Mexico or France. The Kunsthalle was firmly integrated into Rostock's social life and offered guided tours for school classes and company brigades, among others. Between 1969 and 1990, the Kunsthalle recorded an average of 110,000 visitors per year, peaking in 1974 with 182,696 visitors.

The Kunsthalle's collection grew until 1990, mainly through the acquisition and donation of prints, sculptures and paintings. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Horst Zimmermann, by this time the collection comprised around 500 paintings, 200 sculptures and 7,000 prints. The focus was on works of East German modernism, regional art and works from the countries bordering the Baltic Sea. These include prints by Otto Dix, Max Liebermann, Ernst Barlach and Käthe Kollwitz as well as sculptures by artists such as Joachim Jastram, Fritz Cremer and Werner Stötzer. The painting collection is dominated by self-portraits, landscapes and depictions of working-class life, with works by artists such as Oskar Manigk, Kate Diehn-Bitt and Carl Lohse.

With German reunification in 1990, the Kunsthalle went through a difficult phase. Changing directors, financial bottlenecks and a decline in visitor numbers led to uncertainty about the future and the museum's raison d'être.

Since 2009, the Kunsthalle has been run by a private association under the direction of Dr. Jörg-Uwe Neumann. Since then, numerous national and international artists such as Arno Rink, Gerhard Richter and Georg Baselitz have exhibited in the tradition-steeped building. In addition to established artists, there is also a strong focus on young talents and art from Scandinavia and the Baltic states.

The Kunsthalle Rostock has been a non-profit limited company since 2024.