Der große Schwof - Neubrandenburg

Celebrating, Dancing, Drinking: "Schwofen" – a colloquial German term for partying – has always been a welcome outlet for pent-up energy. People come together, spontaneously or in organized fashion, at private or unofficial venues, often in places created especially for this purpose. Every country, every society brings its own recognizable traits to this culture. This is true even – or especially – under restrictive conditions such as those in the GDR.

Far from the clichés of a grey and dreary East, this exhibition reveals a surprising slice of everyday culture – vibrant, colorful, and wonderfully diverse.

But this exhibition is more than a museum-based act of remembrance. It brings together photographers who were among the most renowned and skilled in the GDR. The quality of their work deserves attention, preservation, and dissemination across borders – it represents a significant and often underestimated part of our shared cultural heritage. And that is exactly what we’re here to celebrate.
(Petra Göllnitz, Curator)

After stops at Kunsthalle Jena (exhibition organization), the Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art, and Kunsthalle Rostock, the exhibition is now also on view at the Kunstsammlung Neubrandenburg.