At the intersection of art, history and politics, pupils explore the close connection between locality, time and artistic output in the life of the artist Käthe Kollwitz, who lived at present-day Kollwitzplatz from 1891 to 1943. Public space is understood in this context as an analogue and tactile learning environment within a historical framework that can be artistically engaged with.

The two artworks created between the wars serve as the thematic framework: ‘Never Again War’ and ‘Seeds Shall Not Be Ground’, which Käthe Kollwitz described as her testament and through which the connection between her personal fate and contemporary history can be traced directly on site.

The pupils visit three stations in the urban space that are linked both thematically and geographically: they use historical maps, research inscriptions and information panels, and capture key design principles through drawing and sketching.

The programme is rounded off with a DIY workshop in the Museum Pankow, which bridges the gap to the present day: Using design examples from around the world, participants reflect on art as a form of protest.

Using the technique of stencil printing, pupils actively develop their own logos and text messages and print fanzines or posters. The aim is to explore a possible path to involvement and participation in democratic processes and to strengthen the self-efficacy of the participants, because: Every opinion counts!

 

Please note! The school project day will take place in Prenzlauer Berg.

Meeting point: Kollwitz Monument at Kollwitzplatz

Please ensure you wear weather-appropriate clothing.

Stops:

1. Kollwitzplatz, Käthe Kollwitz Monument / Place of remembrance
2. Kollwitzstr. 56a / Site of the former Kollwitz family’s home and studio, destroyed during the Second World War.
3. Prenzlauer Allee 227-228, Sculpture: “Mother with Two Children” by Käthe Kollwitz at the courtyard of the Museum Pankow, Sebastian Haffner Cultural and Educational Centre
4. Prenzlauer Allee 227-228, Museum Pankow, Room 111 / DIY workshop

on the exhibition “Käthe Kollwitz – And yet it is art”

Käthe Kollwitz was a great drawer, graphic artist and sculptor. She developed a socially critical view of society and expressed herself artistically on the grievances of her time. In her prints, she addressed themes such as social injustice and created committed works on the subject of war in the technique of woodcutting.

The pupils discover the diverse art prints and the artist’s themes in the museum. They learn about the technique and history of the artistic printing processes – relief, intaglio and planographic printing. Materiality and technical-craftsmanship aspects, as well as processes of artistic creation, will be examined.

Alternating between individual and collective processes, the pupils from grade 5 onwards carve and print together a large-format linocut based on a motif by Käthe Kollwitz. Pupils from grades 1-4 experiment with polyblock printing plates. The resulting prints can of course be taken home.

 

Please remember to wear clothes suitable for the workshop.

A talented draftswoman who enjoyed experimenting, Kollwitz’s main concern was to create an artistically sophisticated work. Working slowly, numerous attempts to find motifs and the constant change of printing techniques characterize Kollwitz’s path to the finished work.

The cabinets of the new collection presentation in the theater building are thematically structured and also follow the chronology of Kollwitz’s life. Together, the students discover what was arguably Berlin’s most important artist after 1900 through conversation and viewing the artworks. In addition to biographical and artistic issues, we address topics such as the situation of children or the opportunities for a woman in the Weimar Republic or the sad topicality of the poster “Never again war!” and compare differences in artistic modes of expression.

Hunger, poverty, war and social injustice – Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) depicted people in their existential distress with dignity and sensitive accuracy. The artist observed how the residential city of Berlin became a huge metropolis and made the social consequences, which particularly affected the working-class neighborhoods, visible in her works. With her posters, she created an enormous impact at the time.

In small groups, participants will examine Kollwitz’s works for socio-political messages. Theme, composition, and impact are examined and presented to each other in short tours. Which of Kollwitz’s themes are still relevant and what other issues are we concerned with today in Berlin? Instead of posters on advertising columns, we will then look for contemporary forms of expression and our own messages in response to the question “What do you stand for?”