Eine Hinwendung

In the organizer's words:

Conversation with Yvette Kießling (artist, Leipzig) and Sebastian Möllers (Director of the Stade Museums)

The Leipzig painter Yvette Kießling seeks a direct view of nature for her paintings. In our current exhibition "How to look at..." (until August 10, 2025), she shows pictures that were either created in East African Tanzania or are based on experiences she has gathered on numerous trips to this country since 2016. However, her painterly impressions are by no means based on a longing for pristine nature, but rather intensive explorations of how humans shape nature. In Tanzania, Kießling repeatedly comes across traces of German colonialism.

In this context, Kießling was also involved in this year's exhibition "AMANI kukita | kung'oa (planted | uprooted)" in the museums of the Hanseatic city of Stade in northern Germany. This show provided information about a collection of around 600 Tanzanian cultural objects that a botanist acquired during his work in the former colony of German East Africa and has been stored in Stade for over 100 years. Last almost forgotten and rediscovered in 2014. In recent years, as part of a German-Tanzanian research project, their origins and development in the context of the colonial exploitation of people and flora have been researched.

The director of the museums, Sebastian Möllers, will report on this research during this event. Yvette Kießling will talk about her experiences as an artist in contemporary Tanzania. The two will discuss the past and present of this country, which is still characterized by the legacy and violence of German colonialism. At the same time, it has produced vibrant cultural landscapes that have been shaped by humans over the centuries, which are also reflected in Kiessling's work.

Price information:

6 €, reduced 3 €