The Akademie der Künste supports the research and development of art works with the INITIAL Special Grant. The purpose of the grants is to safeguard and facilitate art production and to provide the basis and incentive for long-term artistic projects whose preparation and development have been hampered during the pandemic. Applications can be submitted from 15 June to 15 July 2021.

Cultural memory is the basis of humanity’s future, and the arts and cultural institutions have a decisive role to play in this. The exhibition illuminates different aspects of the culture of memory with featuring 13 commissioned works by contemporary artists and 15 exemplary selected exhibits from the Akademe der Künste’s archives. Opening days: 17 Jun, 2 pm – 7 pm; 18 — 20 Jun, 11 am – 7 pm.

Every year, the Visual Arts Section presents the work of one of its members at the Kurt Tucholsky Literaturmuseum. This year's exhibition is dedicated to Richard Deacon and focuses on his new ceramic works. The sculptor, known for his experiments with materials, is interested in the interplay of control and chance in the creation of the coloured glazes as surfaces.

Ulrike Draesner, Ingo Schulze,  Meena Kandasamy and Mohamed Mbougar Sarr read and talk about personal and collective memories in relation to colonial past and authoritarian memory cultures of the present, gaps in the archive and the writing of counter narratives. Moderated by Daniela Dröscher. In German and English. Live stream on 22 June 2021, 7 pm.

In her talk, the visual artist Candice Breitz presents her new installation “Digest” for the „Arbeit am Gedächtnis – Transforming Archives“ exhibition, which addresses questions on gender, power and proto-feminist survival strategies. In English. At Pariser Platz and as live stream on 29 June 2021, 7 pm.

The Akademie der Künste and its Archives are a place of artistic memory work. On the occasion of its 325th anniversary, the Akademie is engaging in a new process of reflecting on its own institution as memory storage. The extensive main programme revolves around a number of event series and a central exhibition with 13 commissioned works by contemporary artists.

Berlin architect, urban planner and long-time Akademie President Werner Düttmann (1921-1983) was born 100 years ago, on 6 March 1921. As part of the Düttmann exhibition of the Brücke Museum, a presentation on his special relationship to the Akademie der Künste – to the building as well as to the institution – will be shown in the foyer.

A digital showcase affords an insight into the extensive holdings of the Archives of the Akademie der Künste. digital.adk.de. encompasses all art forms and archives of outstanding artists in the German-speaking world and makes them accessible. A new collection presents the ownership histories of selected paintings and sculptures from the Art Collection.

The Akademie der Künste is an international community of artists that currently totals 403 members in its six Sections (Visual Arts, Architecture, Music, Literature, Performing Arts, Film and Media Arts). It is an exhibition and event location. A key component of the Akademie are its archives, which collectively form one of the most important interdisciplinary archives on 20th century art.