ART IS NOT AN END IN ITSELF
In dialogue with the constructivist Asja Lācis

Curated by Konstanze Schmitt and Mimmi Woisnitza

Exhibition – Discourse – Performance

11.4.-28.6.2026 

Art is not an end in itself connects the avant-garde practices of Latvian theater maker, educator, and revolutionary Asja Lācis with contemporary artistic, scientific, and activist perspectives. A rich program of discoursive and performative events and workshops will bring the exhibition to life during its course.

Artistic positions in space Chto Delat, Cinéma Copains, Contra Filé, Alice Creischer, Zhenya Efros, Inga Gaile, Anton Kats, Kollektiv Lauratibor, Karlheinz Mund, Mirja Reuter & Florian Gass, Elske Rosenfeld & Olia Sosnovskaya, Konstanze Schmitt, Luise Schröder, Andreas Siekmann, Theater o.N.

Performances Anna Stiede mit Panzerkreuzer Rotkäppchen, Bühnen zu Baustellen | Baustellen zu Bühnen, Christian Filips & Margarita Breitkreiz, Lauratibor Kiezchor, Meckerchor

Lectures & workshops Inga Gaile, Federico Geller, Tatjana Hofmann, Susan Ingram, Ewa Majewska, Olga Martynova, Luise Meier, Simone Niehoff, Beata Paškevica, Florian Thamer & Tina Turnheimu.a.

Film program Krista Burāne, Payal Kapadia, Yulia Lokshina, Karlheinz Mund, Erwin Piscator, Marta Popivoda

Scenography Philine Rinnert Graphic design Studio Rada B.

The workshop explores the ways in which female authors, journalists, and artists reflect on their migratory movements in the Eastern (Central) European avant-garde, and also seeks out echoes of reception, lines of comparison, and questions in the present.

June 4, Thursday

2–5 p.m.  Workshop I
with contributions from Annelie Bachmaier, Anna Kipke, Iryna Kovalenko, Nadine Menzel, Beata Paškevica, Matthias Schwartz, Marina Sivak, Katharina Tschelidze, Ievgeniia Voloshuk, Mimmi Woisnitza (German) (Registration until June 3 at asjalacis@posteo.de)

6 p.m. The straitjacket of non-memory: Asja Lācis and the Latvian-Italian avant-garde
Lecture by Beata Paškevica (German)

June 5, Friday

10 a.m.–5 p.m. Workshop II (German)
Continuation of Workshop I – open to all

6 p.m. The Knowledge of Poetry
Reading with Olga Martynova and Tatjana Hofmann (German)

7 p.m. Transit Space Translation
Discussion with Nicolas Auzanneau, Margherita Carbonaro, and Lil Reif (German/English)