February 2024

Museums as public institutions play an important role in the presenting, conserving, and shaping of cultural narratives. In today’s politically charged times, it is not easy for museums to navigate the political discourses that are quickly and constantly changing. At the same time, due to a focus on transparent provenance, research and educational programs, museums still enjoy a great deal of public trust today according to a recent study by the American Alliance of Museums. During her Fellowship, Sunhild Kleingärtner, an archaeologist with museum-based expertise, conducted interviews with experts in the USA and Germany, exploring political issues pertinent to the question of museums as trusted institutions. Is it even possible to think of museums as inherently nonpolitical? What are key factors that foster trust in museums?

On February 1, Kleingärtner will visit Los Angeles again to present and discuss the results of her project, followed by a conversation with colleagues and students at the Thomas Mann House.

By Invitation Only.

With the rise of rightwing populism in Western democracies, the question of efficient and sustainable forms of protest is more relevant than ever. What kind of instruments, methods and structures are useful for which specific struggle? In an attempt to bring protest theory and practice in conversation and to bring about to new ideas and synergies, our fellow Friedemann Karig and environmental activist Nalleli Cobo will talk about protest cultures not as a sudden emotional outburst, but as a cool-headed political strategy. What are differences between the U.S. and Germany when it comes to protest movements and how they influence political discourse via civil disobedience? What are the important protest groups in the years to come? What can we learn from successful protests in Germany and the U.S. over the past years and what makes a protest actually successful?

After two short presentations from a German and an U.S. perspective, Friedemann will engage in a conversation with Nalleli Cobo, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

During his fellowship, Friedemann Karig will examine protest cultures in the United States. Through the lens of Henry David Thoreau’s term “civil disobedience,” he will explore movements such as the Civil Rights Movement, Black Lives Matter, and others.

The event will take place at the Thomas Mann House on February 15.

In the last decade of the East German regime, artists wove dynamic networks to exchange art and ideas. They built alternative communication channels through artists’ books and magazines that together are a remarkable memory of the spirit of the time. Most of these publications (called samizdat for “self-published” in Russian) are collaborative projects of artists’ groups or collectives who produced small editions to circumvent censorship, while also to celebrate mutual friendship and solidarity in a playful atmosphere of experimentation.

On the fifth anniversary of Edition Augenweide, Jörg Kowalski wrote that it was not so much political ambitions that inspired the making of the first book, but rather the longing for that atmosphere of openness and trust that is necessary for art to flourish. This group’s aim was to draw on book art traditions of the twenties while finding an innovative synthesis between literary content and art design. These artistic and literary projects provided a forum outside of the official discourse of the GDR and developed a new literary and visual language that would defy artistic dogmas.

These rare editions, combining a variety of original graphic media on paper and vintage photographs with poetry and prose, offer an opportunity for interdisciplinary dialogue on a period of transformation and reform that ended with a peaceful revolution and the fall of the Berlin wall in November 1989.

As part of the Thomas Mann House annual topic "Democracy & Vulnerability," it is crucial to revisit and reconsider these artists. The independent artistic and cultural networks resonate with the debates of writers and artists in the Thomas Mann House who sought creative spaces while in exile and means of creating art outside of censorship. Los Angeles hosted the innovative exhibition “Art of Two Germanys ” organized by LACMA in 2009 and is home to the Wende Museum, which focuses on Cold War history. These resources provide an opportunity for dialogue on the past and the present about the artistic and existential debates that contributed to and shaped a period of historical reform and transformation. They can shed new light on East Germany’s forgotten (or ignored) history.

Join acclaimed curators and art historians Stephanie Barron, Constanze Fritzsch, and Isotta Poggi for a conversation on how these materials are vibrant witnesses of a generation who made art to find a voice.

This event is a collaboration between the Getty Research Institute and Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House.

Join the Wende Museum, the Thomas Mann House, and dublab radio for the second program in the series on the current state of democracies. How should a democracy deal with its own vulnerabilities? How do democracies need to evolve to deal successfully with increasing global levels of ecological crisis, geopolitical tensions, economic disparities, and culture wars? How much vulnerability can a democracy endure? The Student Council consists of a team of highly engaged, talented, and diverse undergraduate and graduate students who invite prominent guest speakers to discuss topics relating to society, politics, culture, and art. In conversation with academics, journalists, politicians, and artists, the students will explore the various threats to democratic institutions and principles worldwide, as well as strategies to potentially overcome these threats.

Watch our January interview with Thomas Mann Fellow, curator, and media studies scholar Sophie-Charlotte Opitz!

You can watch previous episodes on YouTube, listen to the recordings on dublab radio, or read our students' recap on the Thomas Mann House blog.

Sara Abrahamsson is a fourth-year student at UCLA studying Art History and French. As a culmination of her artistic and academic interest in political graphics, Sara is currently writing her senior thesis paper on the internationalist poster art of post-revolutionary Cuba. Upon graduating, she plans to continue working in museums before pursuing graduate studies in Art History or Art Conservation.

Amy Cabrales is a First-Generation fourth-year undergraduate student at UCLA, studying Sociology and the Russian Language. She is a Mexican-American, Los Angeles native born in Lynwood, California. Her career interests include cross-cultural education via museum work or language instruction and immigrant resettlement, while her academic interests include immigrant integration and self-identity across immigrant generations. She is anticipating returning to Almaty, Kazakhstan for the 2024-25 academic year to inform these interests and advance her Russian proficiency.

Elsa Coony is a fourth-year student at the University of California, Los Angeles double majoring in Global Studies and German. She has previously worked at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as both a docent and translator and is excited to join this year's council. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in international development.

Biruke Dix is currently a 2nd year student at UCLA studying Applied Mathematics. He joined the Wende Student Council in 2024 and is deeply invested in the ever-changing properties of art as well as social habits. He hopes that he can create language and conversation that promotes the spread of cultural shifts and social justice.

Matthew Jones is a third-year PhD student in Claremont Graduate University’s Cultural Studies and Museum Studies program. His research currently explores how sites connected to authoritarian regimes function as pilgrimage destinations and what strategies states and institutions employ to reduce extremist attachment at these sites. He is thrilled to continue his training with the Wende Museum through this collaboration with the Thomas Mann House.

Emma Larson is a master's student at Columbia University's Harriman Institute of Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies. There, she focuses on the gender, social, and political history of Central Asia. Before starting at Columbia, Emma taught English in Kazakhstan with the Fulbright Program. She graduated from Williams College with degrees in History and Russian in 2021.

Zora Nelson is a current undergraduate student at New York University,  where she is studying Harp Performance and Media, Culture, and Communication.  As an east coaster born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she discovered the Wende Museum in the summer of 2022 and is honored to be a part of the council. With a passion for writing, Zora sees a future in storytelling to promote social justice.

Lexi Tooley is a current sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in Political Science and Art History, minoring in Chinese Language and Culture. She is originally from Los Angeles, California, and attended the Archer School for Girls. Lexi has been working with the Wende Museum for the past 2 years. She looks forward to continuing the search for truth and examining the vulnerability of democracy through this program!

The event series is a collaboration with the Wende Museum Culver City, dublab and the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles.

"Even more do I owe thanks to the Republic of Czechoslovakia, which most generously made a gift of its citizenship to me who was robbed of my German nationality. Especially at this moment, when the heavens of central Europe are darkening so threateningly, it is a heartfelt necessity to give expression to my faithful loyalty to this courageous and lovable democratic republic,“ wrote Thomas Mann in his lecture The Coming Victory of Democracy in 1938, publicly expressing his gratitude to Czechoslovakia. But also beyond Mann’s personal friendship with former Czechoslovakian President Edvard Beneš, many refugees from Czechoslovakia were an integral part of the émigré community of German-speaking exiles in 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles. Jaroslav Olša, Jr., Consul General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles, will present on the recent publication and exhibition Czech Painters of California and excavate artworks and interwoven histories. After the presentation there will be time for a conversation and a light reception. With opening remarks by the Thomas Mann House.

This event is a collaboration between the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles & the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles.