2025 | Wroclaw

Our IKG meeting took place from October 2 to 5, 2025, in Wroclaw under the motto Ideas Transport.

Punctually at 10:30 a.m. on October 3, Aleksandra Zaczek, Head of the Department of International Relations and Public Relations, gave an insightful tour through both the new and old buildings of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design. Particularly interesting were the visits to the workshops, many of which could be viewed from the upper corridors of the modern new building. We are very grateful to Sofi Zezmer, who translated in a wonderfully relaxed manner.

In advance, we had handed over our suitcase works to Tomasz Opania, who, together with his team, arranged the hanging in the Academy’s exhibition hall. This year, for the first time, the exhibition will be on view for an extended period: from October 4 to 20. Afterwards, the works will be returned to the artists* in the self-addressed envelopes provided.

By 4 p.m., the highly successful exhibition was opened by Prof. Kazimierz Pawlak, Vice Director of the Academy, and Käthe Kruse, President of the IKG. The main topic of their speech concerned the Extended Board’s discussion on the title—ranging from Poland Transport to Idea Transport. Under the motto Friendship Transport, the opening was celebrated with a toast. Between discussions about art, there were again two very different performances this year.

After the opening, a bus was waiting to take us to Tomasz Opania’s studio in the countryside, about an hour away. We drove into a beautiful sunset and had a barbecue by the campfire under an orange evening sky. Tomasz introduced us to many of his installations—it was great fun and at the same time highly thought-provoking. There was plenty to eat and drink, and on this first very cold night of the year we were able to warm ourselves by the fireplace in his living room. Late in the evening, we returned to Wroclaw very satisfied.

Our annual assembly took place on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. in the auditorium of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design. Käthe Kruse opened the meeting and reported together with Angela Lubic on their work during the past year. This year, Käthe Kruse was re-elected as President for another two years. Likewise, An Seebach and Valerian Maly were confirmed as members of the board. The Extended Board was also elected for two years. In place of Michael Kurzwelly—whom the President thanked for his work—Claudia Chaseling now joins the familiar team.

Finally, An Seebach and Gisela Kleinlein presented ideas for our anniversary meeting in Cologne in 2026.

Afterwards, small groups visited the famous Jahrhunderthalle (Centennial Hall), a UNESCO World Heritage site and landmark that made Wroclaw a mecca of modernism. The reinforced concrete hall, designed by architects Max Berg and Günther Trauer, was hosting a trade fair at the time. Particularly impressive is the enormous roof with a span of 65 meters—larger and wider than that of the Pantheon in Rome.

The evening was left free, and members met in smaller groups for dinner.

To conclude our meeting, we visited the Four Domes Pavilion by Hans Poelzig on Sunday morning, which has also been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2006. We enjoyed an intensive two-hour guided tour through the collection of modern Polish art, again translated by Sofi Zezmer. Here, Angela Lubic and Käthe Kruse bid farewell to Tomasz Opania and thanked him warmly for organizing our annual meeting and for his generosity.

Performances:
Klara Schilliger & Valerian Maly and Noel de Buck

participating members:
Monika Bartholomé, Diana Mercedes Alonso, Claudia Beelitz, Ina Bierstedt, Maria Blondeel, Natascha Borowky, Noel de Buck, Claudia Busching, Claudia Chaseling, GUP-py, Anna Holzhauer, Patrick Huber, Gereon Inger, Gisela Kleinlein, Friederike Klotz, Julia Kröpelin, Käthe Kruse, Michael Kurzwelly, Zoltan Labas, Silke Leverkühne, Ute Lindner, Angela Lubic, Claudia-Maria Luenig, Valerian Maly, Nanne Meyer, Ulrike Mohr, Ulrike Mundt, Jürgen O. Olbrich, Tomasz Opania, Anna Rudolf, Klara Schilliger, Eva-Maria Schön, An Seebach, Heidi Sill, Christopher Smith, Petra Spielhagen, Nicola Staeglich, Nele Ströbel, Nanaé Suzuki, Anne Thurmann-Jajes, Petra Trenkel, Susanne Tunn, Nicholé Velasquez, Dagmar Varady, Elisabeth Wagner, Hans-Peter Webel, Albert Weis, Susanne Windelen, Hirai Yu, Andrea Zaumseil, Sofi Zezmer, Shanglie Zhou

guests:
Katja Brinkmann, Marc Haselbach, Christine Kriegerowsky, Florian Neufeld, Friederike Schäfer, Susanne Schouba, Stefanie Seidl, Sonja Webel, Doris Weinberger 

The following artists and curators have been elected as new members in Wroclaw:
Sławomir Brzoska, Anna Fiegen, Maija Helasvuo, Mika Karhu, Serafina Lenz, Anna Meszaros, Yoshinori Niwa, Dorothea Schöne (Kunsthistorikerin), Francis Zeischegg