黑料不打烊

The group show "Backstage 鈥� Topology of Contemporary Art" was the first exhibition organized by former Kunstverein in Hamburg director Stephan Schmidt-Wulffen and curator Barbara Steiner in the recently renovated market halls on Klosterwall.

This show was an initial spark towards future work that would be oriented around a dialogue between art and observation and what a Kunstverein can and should accomplish. Backstage provided a glimpse into the institution鈥檚 backrooms and artistic production, focusing on the transformation of the goals, rolls, and even what exhibition practices took for granted at the time. The show was staged in every room of the new Kunstverein, certain parts of which were still under construction. This produced inquiries into the location鈥檚 architecture as well as contemporary cultural activities in general.

Initial discussions with the artists made it clear that Backstage could not have any set concept. The show was not intended to be perceived as a mere illustration of contemporary questions about art and institutions. The ongoing inclusion of the artists鈥� evolving contributions and the continuous collaborative dialogues and thematic exchanges up until the opening between the artists and curators developed into an exhibition that exerted a significant influence on the debate over contemporary institutional criticism in the German-speaking world.