One hundred years ago, the Bauhaus was founded in Weimar. The eventful history of the avant-garde school and, with it, that of Modernism unfolded across several sites. Were one to chart the Bauhaus and its global network, Stuttgart would be one of the places that left its mark on the Bauhaus and that was, in turn, marked by its influence.

As an institution committed to active knowledge production, the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart has invited Dani Gal, Michaela Melián, Martin Schmidl and Boris Sieverts to produce site-specific works that investigate and exemplify not only the people, ideas, impact and reception of the Bauhaus and Modernism in Stuttgart but also the Modernist impulses emanating from Stuttgart. How can we build on the ambitions of the Bauhaus and the universalist aspirations of Modernism and what lessons can we learn from legitimate criticism?

A key historic event for this project is the exhibition »Die Wohnung« (»The Dwelling«) of 1927 with the construction of the Weissenhof Estate under the aegis of Mies van der Rohe. The event was closely linked to the Bauhaus and was globally recognised as a milestone in the history of the Neues Bauen movement (New Building).

Another starting point for the exhibition »Weissenhof City« is the collection of the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart with its important holdings of works and archival material by Oskar Schlemmer and other Bauhaus artists. Also preserved at the museum are the writings on art theory of Schlemmer’s teacher Adolf Hölzel, whose ideas and aesthetic theories had a formative influence on the Bauhaus.

Looking at the past through the prism of the present, Dani Gal, Michaela Melián, Martin Schmidl and Boris Sieverts investigate sites and buildings, documents and archives, history, stories and myths. Their works range from videos and installations to walking tours through Stuttgart. Satellite sites of their presentation are the Weissenhof Museum in the Le Corbusier house and the Hölzel Foundation in Stuttgart Degerloch. Furthermore, the exhibition is accompanied by a rich programme of events centred on collective reflection.