The first Hamburg Art Week: the start of a tradition
Germany’s second-largest city is capitalising on the wide range of activities available in the area: museums, galleries, artists’ studios and non-profit venues
Hamburg, despite being Germany’s second-largest city by population and boasting a tradition of art collecting rooted in economic prosperity, has until now remained on the fringes of the German contemporary art scene. The first Hamburg Art Week, held from 3 to 6 September, offered a wider public the chance to discover the city’s many activities and initiatives, ranging from artists’ studios to galleries, from self-managed spaces to museums and private collections. The choice of the title ‘Crossing Currents’ refers to the city’s privileged position as a port, a hub for the exchange of goods and cultures, but also to the convergence of diverse communities operating within the city. The organisation’s dynamic, all-female team – comprising Anna Nowak (director of the Kunsthaus Hamburg) and Luise Nagel as co-conceptualisers and co-initiators, Jessica Nupen and Fanny Roy as co-directors, and Pia Pospischil and Anne Simone Kiesiel responsible for curating and developing the programme – emphasises that the art week emerged from a ‘grassroots’ approach involving over 100 organisations, including galleries, artists and curators, as well as political and cultural institutions, which also provided the necessary funding, two-thirds of which comes from private sources.
The strength of institutions
The organisers’ appeal has found a receptive audience amongst the institutions, starting with the most important one, the Hamburger Kunsthalle, which boasts a highly respected collection spanning the period from when the city was a member of the Hanseatic League to the present day, including the best-known and most significant works by Caspar David Friedrich. The museum has presented to the public a new exhibition featuring three sections of the collection: sculptures, 20th-century avant-garde art, and contemporary art. One of the galleries in the new building dedicated to contemporary art, which features major figures in German art, is temporarily dedicated to the Photography Triennial, running until 22 September – an event that also takes place at the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, which, together with the Kunsthaus and Kunstverein, form the ‘museum mile’ around the central station. Even the symbol of the city’s destruction and rebirth in the wake of the war, the ruins of the St. Nikolai Memorial – a symbol of the city’s destruction and rebirth following the war – also host a programme of public art. In addition to the art institutions in the historic centre, even the more remote Planetarium, in its unusual post-industrial setting, is hosting a temporary exhibition drawing on the iconographic research of Abi Warburg in the 1920s on the theme of the stars, straddling the worlds of astrology and astronomy.
Shopping centres
The central district of Fleetinsel is home to the main art galleries; the historic building at number 71 on the street of the same name houses around ten galleries, a figure that has risen to 11 with the opening of the brand-new Galeri 71. Galerie 71 is the result of a collaboration between the curatorial space known as the Chess Club, which promotes young artists, and the archive of the gallery owner Jurgen Becker , managed by his daughter Maria. The current exhibition brings together industrial photographs and two sculptural works by the Albanian-born artist Sem Lala, priced between 1,800 and 3,500 euros, alongside a 1991 video by Andrea Fraser owned by the archive. As a testament to the calibre of Hamburg’s art collecting scene, the Becker family has also made their private collection accessible; this includes historic works by German artists such as Sigmar Polke and North American artists such as Jeff Wall, Ed Ruscha, Baldessarri, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, tastefully juxtaposed with examples of Cycladic and ancient Roman art, as well as engravings by Rembrandt, Goya and Picasso. The young Kauffman gallery is presenting a solo exhibition by Able Franklin, a thirty-year-old Berlin-based artist, whose ‘Falling Sea’ series focuses on environmental issues and the protection of coral reefs. The works are created using objects and shells found by the sea and produced using 3D printing techniques, with prices ranging from 2,500 to 21,400 euros, the majority between 4,000 and 5,000 euros. The Holger Priess Galerie takes a different approach, with a group exhibition featuring sculptures by Balkenhol, paintings in acid tones by Caroline von Grone priced up to 11,500 euros, and paintings by Peter Rosel, notably ‘Fata Morgana’ at 3,800 euros and landscapes inspired by his native Namibia. The international Galerie Sfeir-Semler is presenting, across its two exhibition spaces, a solo exhibition by Mounira Al Solh, a Lebanese artist (who represented her country at the 2024 Venice Biennale), who explores themes of female identity, sexuality and violence by reinterpreting Phoenician myths (such as those linked to the murex, the shell from which the deep red colour in her textile works was derived) and Greco-Roman myths, particularly those of Europa. Her paintings, with their strong, acid-hued colours, are priced between 17,000 and 70,000 euros, whilst the textile works presented as tapestries are priced at 10,000–20,000 euros, and finally the ceramic sculptures featuring a series of ‘tragic’ masks are priced at 20,000–40,000 euros.
Artists’ studios and collectives
Fleetinsel 71 is also home to several artist-run and collectively managed spaces, which are not primarily commercial in nature. One of these spaces is home to Hoda Tawakol, an artist of Egyptian origin who creates works in fabric and ceramics that reveal an inspiration drawn from Louise Bourgeois and Hans Bellmer, with a strongly feminist slant. The artist is represented by Galerie Isabelle in Dubai, with prices ranging from around 5,000 to 15,000 euros and watercolours at around 1,500 euros.
There are also a number of alternative spaces in the Gängeviertel area, which, with its murals and industrial buildings, reveals a more politicised and self-managed spirit. Among these, Galerie Gruppe Motto stands out for its professionalism and quality; founded in 2023, it is run by eight members comprising academics, curators and artists. The group exhibition ‘Zeit’, dedicated to the artistic interpretation of time, saw 350 artists apply via the ‘open call’ – also available online – including around twenty from Italia. The works of the 18 selected artists, which encompass every kind of medium, are on sale at prices up to 5,000 euros, except for those by ‘guest stars’ such as Alfredo Jaar, who are supporting the initiative. In the same area, the MOM Art Space is presenting works by Roza El-Hassan, a Hungarian-Syrian artist who tackles the difficult themes of conflict and civil society in the Middle East.
Even the most popular area of St. Pauli offers interesting insights, particularly thanks to two venues that, by their very nature, defy the typical characterisation of art spaces: these are a greengrocer’s shop hosting artworks by local artists, and an ‘art caravan’ showcasing publications – an initiative run by a couple who, for over 20 years, have been offering a unique ‘food truck’ service for those hungry for art.
The richness of Hamburg’s Art Week lies precisely in its ability to bring together very different worlds, ranging from historical and modern art to contemporary art, and from major museums to commercial galleries and creative and alternative venues.
