The converted hall
A gymnasium turned exhibition space.
Raimond Spekking — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rijksmuseum — CC0 · Rijksmuseum — CC0 · Rijksmuseum — CC0
They are civic art societies run by subscription-paying members, which arose in the nineteenth century when the state did not fund contemporary art. Their purpose is to show living art rather than collect it, which makes them faster and bolder than museums because they carry no permanent collection. Germany has over three hundred today, and many are young artists' route to public exhibition.
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The Kölnischer Kunstverein is among Germany's oldest contemporary art institutions, founded in 1839 on the initiative of citizens rather than the state — and this Kunstverein model, the civic art society, is an old German tradition built on members paying subscriptions to support the showing of living art. The society holds no permanent collection and does not seek one: its purpose is to show what is new and unproven, and many artists who later became international names were shown here early in their careers. The programme changes several times a year and leans more experimental than the city's major museums. Since 2005 it has occupied Die Brücke — a 1950s building that was a British forces sports club during the occupation, its gymnasium converted into an exhibition hall. The ticket is very cheap and the building holds a small cinema and a cafe. This is a destination for anyone who follows contemporary art, not for a general visitor seeking familiar names.
A gymnasium turned exhibition space.
Artists shown before they became names.
Hahnenstrasse 6, 50667 Cologne