Research, creation, design | Bauhaus-Universität Weimar celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus
Dear Alumni and friends of Bauhaus-Universität Weimar,
Our university will be celebrating the Bauhaus centennial with an ambitious and varied programme, which is currently being prepared in detail with the involvement from all four of the University’s faculties and many of its members. The core of the activities is the first ever proclaimed Bauhaus.Semester, which is to begin in October 2018.
One hundred years ago, Walter Gropius paved the way for the Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar, which was subsequently opened in Weimar in April 1919. The birthplace of this influential school of art and design in Weimar still plays host to design, teaching, research and study.
For the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, »100 years of Bauhaus« is an encouragement to engage in shared learning and activities and is also an invitation to seek and provide answers to contemporary questions via research, art, teaching and studies. Moreover, it also provides momentum for constant new beginnings, and stepping out into the unknown – just like at the Bauhaus in 1919. Our anniversary will, therefore, highlight all that sets us apart: curiosity, creativity and experimentation, research, creation and design.
We cordially invite you to visit us in Weimar during the jubilee and celebrate the anniversary together with us.
Prof. Dr. Winfried Speitkamp
President
The Bauhaus.Semester | On 1 October 2018, the University is declaring its first Bauhaus.Semester to provide vital freedom for experimentation and creativity. Transdisciplinary and inter-faculty studies will form the heart of the semester. Both teachers and students are currently preparing courses and lecture series bringing multiple disciplines together through projects and enabling content, methods and working methods to be intertwined. Just as the historic Bauhaus pushed boundaries in unconventional form, the Bauhaus.Semester will open up new perspectives for future studies. The semester begins on 17 October 2018 with a celebration, and the first results will be presented in February 2019. Presentations, lecture series, workshops and projects are all in the pipeline. www.uni-weimar.de/bauhaussemester.
The Bauhaus visiting professorship | To mark the Bauhaus.Semester, the University is establishing a Bauhaus visiting professorship expected to attract some outstanding individuals. In the future, it will be offered once a year for a semester, and it should help to further reflect upon and critically renew Bauhaus thought. It will reflect the Staatliches Bauhaus of 1919 in that it seizes upon the pressing social issues of the time and provides new, creative, and even unexpected answers. Last but not least, it aims to combine science, technology, art, and design. The Bauhaus visiting professors will give public lectures, workshops, and other classes for university members.
The 2019 anniversary programme | The University’s Bauhaus anniversary programme is also interdisciplinary and will be substantially supported and shaped by the University’s members alongside many partner universities and institutions. Two years ago, the University initiated a fund for projects tackling the idea, history, and development of Bauhaus. The projects submitted have shaped the anniversary programme in many ways, and some have already begun. International exhibitions, workshop results, concerts, and performances will be available to see and experience, scientific conferences will be organised and publications produced. An overview can be found at bauhaus100.uni-weimar.de/en/projects/.
Information projects | Teaching itself has also long been giving rise to various forms of media that offer a contemporary picture of Bauhaus in Weimar. In 2019, visitors will be able to explore unusual parts of Bauhaus with an audio tour in Weimar, or relax in Bauhaus oases in urban areas. A series of artistic audio pieces will accompany the Bauhaus.Semester activities and the 2019 anniversary year, and will be issued as a podcast. They can be found on the website and will also be regularly played on the Bauhaus.fm radio station.
The Weimar Universities Bauhaus Festival | Bauhaus’ actual founding date of 12 April is being celebrated with a major event organised by Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar. This themed festival will show how Bauhaus’ former programme was organised and what the experience was like for masters and students. On the evening of 12 April 2019, the multimedia spectacle entitled »Republic of Spirits – Republik der Geister« will combine architecture with music, sound, art, stages and performances. Students from both institutions will make up interdisciplinary teams to orchestrate twenty spaces in their main buildings. In addition to the Fürstenhaus and Henry de Veldes buildings, the Tempelherrenhaus and Weimar’s Park an der Ilm will also feature light and sound installations.
The Bauhaus colloquium | From 10 April to 12 April 2019, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar will host one of the oldest and most renowned theory of architecture conferences – the International Bauhaus Colloquium. Conference participants will tackle questions on the theory and history of architecture and will take an in-depth look at the history of Bauhaus in its homes of Weimar, Dessau and Berlin as well as its international reception and migration: www.bauhaus-kolloquium.de
The anniversary publication | A scientific anniversary publication will be produced in 2019. In this volume, professors, students, and alumni will offer up their thoughts on current research topics at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and their discernible Bauhaus links in around 40 essays. The focus will be on the question of how the relationship between humans, environment, nature, and technology can be shaped today so as to enable a liveable environment and a dignified life and to ensure social cohesion. The wide range of research approaches, essays, and visual contributions reflects the University and its diversity as a whole.
The Bauhaus100 website | A scientific anniversary publication will be produced in 2019. In this volume, professors, students, and alumni will offer up their thoughts on current research topics at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and their discernible Bauhaus links in around 40 essays. The focus will be on the question of how the relationship between humans, environment, nature, and technology can be shaped today so as to enable a liveable environment and a dignified life and to ensure social cohesion. The wide range of research approaches, essays, and visual contributions reflects the University and its diversity as a whole. www.bauhaus100.uni-weimar.de/en/