In the autumn of 2020, amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic, a transformative project titled “Conditions of A Necessity” emerged, dedicated to students from art schools and theater classes. This initiative served as a vital platform for creative expression during a time of uncertainty, focusing on experimental formats that encouraged innovation and collaboration. Aiming to connect arts and theater, the project comprised a series of discussions, rehearsals, workshops, live and digital meetings, productions, public performances, etc. allowing participants to explore new artistic boundaries and mediums in a socially distanced environment.

With careful measures followed up by the team, there has been no COVID case proving the idea of keeping art environments and institutions in these times. These interactions fostered a rich exchange of ideas and practices, culminating in a dynamic exhibition at Kunsthalle Baden Baden in the Winter of 2021 bringing us fresh concepts such as institutional distancing, commons and commonalities, collective authorship, and a space of time out of time among others. “Conditions of A Necessity” not only showcased the resilience of young artists but also highlighted the importance of community and creativity in navigating unprecedented circumstances. This project exemplified how art can adapt and thrive even in the most challenging of times, serving as a beacon of hope and inspiration.

Long story short, Conditions of a Necessity originated as an assembly in September 2020, bringing together six visual arts and two theatre classes throughout Germany, under the invitation to produce the works and projects, which were pending within the Kunsthalle premises. These include Lensbased Class (University of the Arts Berlin), Temporary Spaces (University of the Arts Bremen), Time-based Media (University of the Arts Hamburg), the collective Dynamic Acoustic Research (DAF), Body, Theory and Poetics of the Performative (Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design), and Expanded Cinema (Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig). Responding to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cancellation of in-class facilities as well as graduation shows, the Assembly initiated a studio-like gathering in both digital and physical iterations for two weeks. More than a year later, Conditions of a Necessity is brought back to Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden as the culmination of evolved projects in an exhibition curated by two artists with an interest in institutional critique, art education, and digital learning. Now, we are celebrating an online form of documentation as a publication to reflect, remember, and forget bits and pieces of those days, we stayed together.

We are proud of starting our tenure as such a strong, unique and passionate statement.