GAK Gesellschaft für aktuelle Kunst

The Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst was founded on 30 July 1980 in Bremen as a non-profit art association (Kunstverein). At the same time, renovation of the spaces in the Weserburg began so that the first exhibition could take place in February 1981. Since then, the GAK has shown over 200 exhibitions and is one of the most important art institutions in Northern Germany. It is member of the ADKV, Germany’s umbrella organization for art associations.

Awards
2013, nominated for the “ART COLOGNE-ADKV Prize”
2012, nominated for the “ART COLOGNE-ADKV Prize”, Special appreciation of the jury
2012, “The Walters Prize 2012” for Kate Newbys exhibition „Crawl Out Your Window“, GAK 2010
2001, “Adam Elsheimer Prize” of the ART FRANKFURT

Profile
From the very beginning, the GAK’s declared aim has been to exhibit contemporary art. What was understood by this changed. In the still young history of the Kunstverein, only a few striking aspects should be mentioned: the initial strong orientation toward the Bremen art scene; the exhibition “Roxy’s” by Edward Kienholz, which has since become, in a sense, a cornerstone of the collection at the Neues Museum Weserburg; the sound installations that determined the program as an important focus in the 1980s; then, in the 1990s, the slow but clear transition from more formal-media, space-oriented exhibitions of installation, photography, and painting to a reflection of the intensified artistic engagement with autobiography, identity, culture, and politics. The following twenty years were characterized by an increasing focus on art in public space, internationalization, institutional professionalization and enhanced cooperation with universities and art academies. At the same time, its exposed location on the Weser Island – in the same building complex with the Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst and the Center for Artists’ Publications – was subject of an important cultural-political debate on the location of the “Teerhof” areal.