Detail page - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Exactly one hundred years ago, the Staatliches Bauhaus moved from Weimar to Dessau. In Anhalt, the "Silicon Valley of the 1920s", the school entered its most dynamic and fruitful period, turning towards industry and repositioning itself under the motto "Art and technology - a new unity". On 4 December 1926, Walter Gropius' Bauhaus building opened with its striking curtain wall façade and became a built manifesto of a design and educational revolution. Today it is regarded as the symbol of "white modernism" par excellence.

The Bauhaus Dessau Foundation is celebrating the anniversary for sixteen months under the motto "To the substance". The focus is on materiality, i.e. the use and handling of old and new materials such as glass, concrete and metal in the history of construction, technology and culture as a legacy of the Bauhaus. At the same time, questions are asked about new potential in the construction industry against the background of current ecological challenges.

As part of the Federal Programme, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation will be making a guest appearance at the Neue Nationalgalerie on the weekend of 13 to 15 June 2025 to give a first taste of the programme. The architect of the "Temple of Western Modernism", Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, was the third and last director of the Bauhaus in Dessau and Berlin from 1930-1933, before emigrating to the United States in 1938.

Marion Ackermann, President-designate of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, says: "The Bauhaus building in Dessau is an icon of architecture - and will now be the guest of another icon for a weekend. The anniversary programme gets to the bottom of modernism and examines the use of materials, which was already a major theme for the historic Bauhaus. And even more so for us, not only when we are renovating buildings such as the Neue Nationalgalerie. We are delighted that the state of Saxony-Anhalt is once again visiting the SPK; we have some wonderful collaborations, especially with regard to Bauhaus history."

Minister of State Rainer Robra, Head of the State Chancellery and Minister of Culture of Saxony-Anhalt, says: "The Bauhaus was a place of experimentation and innovation, a place of artistic and social awakening. As a beacon of modernism, it not only left a lasting mark on Saxony-Anhalt. The Bauhaus owes its radiance not least to the idea of networking, which continues to have an impact 100 years after the move to Dessau. I am therefore delighted that the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation are jointly focussing on our architectural heritage and its materials in this anniversary year. These interrogations of the substance affect our past, present and future on many levels."

Over the two days, a showcase for the Bauhaus Dessau will be created in the Neue Nationalgalerie. "We are very happy that the start of our anniversary can take place in a building with which we have so much in common. This applies not only to the two iconic pieces of architecture, but also to the way the fabric of the building is treated under today's conditions. This concerns preservation, maintenance and utilisation in equal measure," says Barbara Steiner, Director of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation.

This weekend, a pop-up presentation by the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation on the subject of "An die Substanz. Bauhaus Dessau 100" can be seen for the first time. This will be travelling to other Bauhaus locations in Germany in the following months.

On Saturday afternoon from 3 to 7 pm, a free programme will be offered in the glass hall and sculpture garden of the Neue Nationalgalerie. The programme includes an interactive workshop, presentations and keynote speeches on dealing with modernism today using the example of architectural icons such as the Bauhaus building in Dessau and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. Questions about a new collaborative relationship between nature and architecture, for example through potentials at the material level such as wool construction or architectural botany, round off the programme.

Programme details coming soon here: https://www.smb.museum/museen-einrichtungen/neue-nationalgalerie/veranstaltungen/