Kestner Gesellschaft

This year the Kestner Gesellschaft celebrates 100 years of the exhibition from the very first institutional solo show of the Russian artist El Lissitzky. with the exhibition The New Man, The Announcer, The Constructor. El Lissitzky: The Self-Portrait as the Kestner Gesellschaft
(July 8 – Oct. 1, 2023)

The Kestner Gesellschaft in Hanover is one of the largest art associations in Germany. The renowned exhibition house has been showing internationally relevant contemporary art since 1916. The interdisciplinary and participatory program of the director Adam Budak stands for a “living museum,” in the spirit of the visionary art historian Alexander Dorner (1892–1957), who headed the Kestner Gesellschaft in 1923 and 1924. Dorner saw the museum as a power station, a place that produces energy. As early as the late 1920s, he formulated various forms of exhibition making in which viewers take an active role: they should feel, think and act. This vision of an organic museum that is in constant exchange is revolutionary. Dorner’s legacy is more relevant today than ever, the continuation of his idea—to build a living museum that is open to change, as part of modern life—is our goal. The transformation of the house can be seen on different levels, including the use of the architecturally extremely interesting facade as an exhibition area, which is used by various international artists. Various projects in the Nikolai Chapel opposite the Kestner Gesellschaft act as a place for art experience in the outdoor space, with the exciting potential of the neighborhood. The freely accessible project room “Shifting Present” reacts flexibly to current issues and underlines the hospitality of the house.