[spectre] Call for entries: Art Award, Kurt Eisner Kulturstiftung, Munich (Germany)

[Ander]

Call for entries: Art Award 2008, Kurt Eisner Kulturstiftung (Cultural  
Foundation), Munich
________________________________________________________________________ 
_

The artist as an artist must be an anarchist. (Kurt Eisner)
________________________________________________________________________ 
_

In 2008, the Kurt Eisner Kulturstiftung (Cultural Foundation) will once  
again be presenting an award for the creation of an artistic work.  
Marking the 90th anniversary of Kurt Eisner’s proclamation of the “Free  
State” of Bavaria, this award will support artworks and projects that  
take a poli­tical stand in the sense of the ideals of freedom espoused  
by Eisner and the “Council of Intellectual Workers”, and at the same  
time demonstrate and reflect the con­temporary relevance of issues  
raised during the period of the Bavarian soviet republic.

http://www.kurt-eisner-kulturstiftung.de
________________________________________________________________________ 
_

On 7 November 1918, Kurt Eisner proclaimed the “Free State” of Bavaria  
in Munich, which thus marked the end of the First World War and the  
monarchist system. It was also the start of the first democratic  
experiment in Germany based on the principles of peace, social justice,  
human rights and the sover­eignty of the people. The majority of the  
population welcomed this new beginning. Many artists, writers and  
philosophers became actively involved in this new develop­ment,  
including Paul Klee, Hans Richter, Rainer Maria Rilke, Heinrich Mann,  
Oskar Maria Graf, Erich Mühsam, Ernst Toller and Gustav Landauer. The  
aim of the artists and the “Council of Intellectual Workers” was to  
promote open dialogue and integrate art and politics into the public  
life of society. Six months later, this experiment in democracy had  
been cut short by military and nationalist forces: Kurt Eisner had been  
shot dead (21 February 1919), Gustav Landauer beaten to death (2 May  
1919) and around 800 other people were also murdered. This was the  
preliminary stage of the criminal activities of the National Socialist  
regime that ignited and spread the global conflagration of the Second  
World War and led to the murder of millions of people. The consequences  
continue to this day, yet the level of his­torical awareness of these  
issues remains low.

In 1988 Wolfram Kastner and Gerhard Koitschew, along with 19 other  
artists, founded the Kurt Eisner Kulturstiftung with the aim of keeping  
the liberal and democratic values of the first German democracy alive  
and of preserving these for the future. Since its foundation, the Kurt  
Eisner Kulturstiftung has supported publicly and politically engaged  
art.

In 2008, the Kurt Eisner Kulturstiftung (Cultural Foundation) will once  
again be pre­senting an award for the creation of an artistic work.  
Marking the 90th anniversary of Kurt Eisner’s proclamation, this award  
will support artworks and projects that take a political stand in the  
sense of the ideals of
freedom espoused by Eisner and the “Council of Intellectual Workers”,  
and at the same time reflect the contemporary relevance of issues  
raised during the period of the Bavarian soviet republic – social  
justice, pacifism, anti-militarism, the promotion of public dialogue  
between politicians and artists as the basis of a liberal and peaceful  
social policy. This can involve a specific focus on an individual  
aspect or an examination of issues relating to society as a whole. The  
project proposals submitted should explore and visually express the  
chosen theme, and should also seek to address a public beyond the  
relatively small circle of those interested in art. The pro­­posed  
artworks may be situated in the public realm or in an in­stitu­tio­nal  
context.
________________________________________________________________________ 
_

Guidelines:

The award is open to artists working in any visual art or  
com­munication medium, including photography, performance,  
installation, conceptual art and video art. Professional artists from  
all over the world are invited to submit proposals for projects on the  
subject. The realisation in November 2008 coincides with the  
anniversary of Eisner’s proclamation in 1918.
A total funding amount of EUR 8.000 is available to support the  
realisation of at least one artistic project. Selection will be made by  
the board of the Kurt Eisner Kulturstiftung.
________________________________________________________________________ 
_

Required information:

• personal details (name, address, telephone/fax, e-mail)
• brief artistic biography
• project description: maximum of 1 page of text + 3 images
• project budget
• schedule for the realisation of the project

All documentation must be submitted in A4 format. No original artworks,  
CDs, DVDs or other storage media. Applications by e-mail will not be  
accepted. Please note that application materials will not be returned.  
Applications that do not meet these requirements will not be  
considered.
________________________________________________________________________ 
_

Closing date for applications: Saturday, 24 May 2008 (date of postage)

The decision of the jury will be announced on the website of the  
Cultural Foundation (www.kurt-eisner-kulturstiftung.de) in late  
June/early July 2008. Please note that only the award recipient(s) will  
be notified personally.
________________________________________________________________________ 
_

Applications should be sent to:

Kurt Eisner Kulturstiftung
c/o RA Michael Sack
Schwanthalerstr. 12
80336 München | Munich, Germany
________________________________________________________________________ 
_

Selected reading matter:

- Appelle einer Revolution, Dokumente aus Bayern zum Jahr 1918/1919,  
compiled and introduced by Karl Ludwig Ay, Munich: Süddeutscher Verlag,  
1968.
- Tankred Dorst, Die Münchner Räterepublik, Frankfurt/Main: Edition  
Suhrkamp, 1966.
- Freya Eisner, Kurt Eisner – Die Politik des libertären Sozialismus,  
Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp, 1979.
- Kurt Eisner, „Die Stellung der revolutionären Regierung zur Kunst und  
zu den Künstlern“ in Kurt Eisner, Sozialismus als Aktion, Aufsätze und  
Reden, Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp, 1973.
- Leonhard M. Fiedler/Renate Heuer/Annemarie Taeger-Altenhofer (eds.),  
Gustav Landauer (1870–1919). Eine Bestandsaufnahme zur Rezeption seines  
Werkes, Frankfurt/Main and New York: Campus Verlag, 1995.
- Günther Gerstenberg (ed.), Erich Mühsam – Wir geben nicht auf,  
München: Buch & Media/Allitera Verlag, 2002.
- Bernhard Grau, Kurt Eisner – eine Biografie, München: C. H. Beck  
Verlag, 2001.
- Emil Julius Gumbel, Vier Jahre Politischer Mord, Berlin: Verlag der  
neuen Gesellschaft, 1922.
- Herbert Kapfer/Carl-Ludwig Reichert (eds.), Umsturz in München.  
Schriftsteller erzählen die Räterepublik, München: Weismann, 1988.
- Gustav Landauer, „Vom Wahn und vom Staat“, in: Sozialist (1910).
- Erich Mühsam, Unpolitische Erinnerungen, Hamburg: Edition Nautilus,  
2000.
- Ernst Toller, Eine Jugend in Deutschland (1933), Reinbek: Rowohlt  
Taschenbuch Verlag, 1963.

-----
Kurt Eisner Kulturstiftung
c/o RA Michael Sack
Schwanthalerstr. 12
80336 München
http://www.kurt-eisner-kulturstiftung.de