Curator's Opening Night Lecture

Olaf Peters, Exhibition Curator

A century ago, the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) exhibition opened at the Kunsthalle Mannheim in Germany. At the time, the exhibition aimed to provide an overview of the latest developments in German painting after the "end of Expressionism" around 1920 and is therefore now recognized as one of the most significant and influential art events between the two World Wars. However, the exhibition's concept was not without competition. In his lecture, curator Olaf Peters examines the context, origins, and ideas behind the exhibition, as well as the various approaches and ideas that helped shape what would soon become a key term and a powerful symbol of modernity during the Weimar Republic.