The Hannes Meyer exhibition room  

The last room in the Bauhaus Museum Weimar is a very special one. In this room, we dare to take a leap to the present day. The starting point is the text „Die neue Welt” (The New World) by Hannes Meyer, the second director of the Bauhaus (1928-1930), originally published in the magazine „Das Werk” in 1926.

Each year our curators select a quote from the article which they reflect on and interpret in the exhibition room from a contemporary perspective using artistic and documentary media.

What do we need for living?

In his treatise Co-op Interieur, Hannes Meyer defined the bare necessities of community accommodations. For him, functionality was key. Meyer believed that reducing design to a minimum was the solution to the housing challenges of the New World at the start of the 20^th century.

But is functionality enough to provide a suitable living situation?

We asked residents of shared accommodations what they needed to feel comfortable and to live their best lives. A diverse group of individuals who live in a correctional facility, a retirement home and a socio-therapeutic residential unit shared personal insights with us about how they live and what they believe makes living worthwhile. We discovered that the functionality of one’s furnishings is less important than what one needs as a minimum for living.

Photos: Henry Sowinski, design: Larissa Lorenz

Concept: Valerie Stephani, Alexander Eckert

Realisation: Patrick Will

We are becoming citizens of the world

“We are becoming citizens of the world”, Meyer declared, laying out his vision of a global community of citizens in an increasingly mobile world with new and far-reaching technical possibilities. However, Meyer’s optimistic prediction has yet to come true.

That’s why we asked people from different walks of life about their perspective on global justice as the basis for a future worldwide community of equals.

Protagonists: Victor Clopotar, Steven Leeu, Rudolph Stokvis, Felix Brönner, Mario Goldstein

Production and editing: Blickinsfreie, René Eckert (Germany)

Camera and direction: Lebogang Rasethaba (South Africa), Mateusz Miszczynski (Poland), Harry Putz (Austria), Martin Wallmen (Romania)

“Are we becoming citizens of the world?”

A theatrical research project

Together with the junges theater stellwerk, young people participated in a theatrical research project on Hannes Meyer’s text “die neue welt” (The New World) in the 2020/21 season. They asked: Are we becoming citizens of the world? Or, have we already become them? What does it actually mean to be a citizen of the world? What does the term mean for our future?

Under the pandemic conditions, they physically and digitally explored museum and theatre spaces, Meyer’s conceptual world, their present and possible future worlds between technology and art, mobility and globalisation. They scrutinised the citizens of the 21st century and applied artistic methods to investigate the reciprocal relationship between the individual and the institution.

Developed by and with: Janek Deußing, Nils Durner and Julius Heckwolf
Artistic directors: Anne-Lena Fuchs and Stephan Mahn

In digital rehearsals and work meetings, the participants created an annotated text edition of the historic treatise by Hannes Meyer and individual artistic video commentaries. Using the artistic strategies of performance art, these supplementary materials offer new perspectives on Meyer, the museum and the future.

In the context of their living environments, our video portraits feature various individuals and their ideas about community.