Talk with Krist Gruijthuijsen, director of KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin – Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art

The KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin has been operating for over 25 years. From its beginning it was assumed that this progressive institution would pay close attention to contemporary art in its extreme manifestations. Throughout the time of its activity it not only shaped the Berlin and, more broadly, the German artistic scene, but also - by active participation in the Berlin Biennale - it significantly influenced visual arts on the international scale. It is one of the most important contemporary art establishments in Europe. As from 2016, since the appointment of Krist Gruijthuijsen as the director of the Institute, participatory strategies have become the core theme of its program. The institution has created the space for critical diagnoses of the contemporary times, not only in the field of visual arts, but also concerning the issues going beyond the area of aesthetics and art. In the context of the history of this Berlin institution and its new functions, within the framework of the {Curating Institution} project prepared by Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, there is posed the question of the responsibility of contemporary art institutions in regards of global political, social and economic changes. The answer to this question will be offered in a lecture by Krist Gruijthuijsen, director of KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin.