With the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Modernism in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin as its point of departure, the Triennial of Modernism brings modernist architecture into the public eye with special actions every three years. In the long term, we are establishing an international network of World Heritage-listed modernist buildings. Wolfgang Holler, Director General of Museums for the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, is responsible for coordination of the Triennial in the forthcoming year: “This third ‘Triennial of Modernism’ was part of the screenplay for the great Bauhaus centenary year 2019 from the very beginning”, says Holler. The diversity of events is, in his opinion, an ideal opportunity to rediscover the three historic Bauhaus sites: “In Weimar alone, fifteen different event formats are taking place – from exhibitions, readings, open-air cinemas and concerts to specialist conferences.” In the centenary year, the Bauhaus Cooperation and other partners dedicated to modernism’s legacy are working closely together with the World Heritage Sites of Modernism located in Tel Aviv’s White City. Jeremy Issacharoff, the Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Federal Republic of Germany, is honorary patron of the project.
The exhibition “Transferumbau”, for example, will be shown in collaboration with the Liebling Haus - The White City Center. At the heart of the show is the Ha’avara (Transfer) Agreement that was made between Zionists and the German Reich, and which was in effect from 1933 until the beginning of the Second World War. Under the agreement, 50,000 Jews migrated from Germany to Israel, along with goods worth many millions of German Reichsmarks. Material transfer to Palestine triggered a building boom in the 1930s that led, among other developments, to the White City of Tel Aviv. “Transferumbau” is the result of a critical artistic and political research project that sheds light on the historic agreement from the points of view of materials research and humanity. To this end, four artists joined forces to approach the subject through varied means that include photography, sculpture, theatre and performance.
The show offers insights into the history of Tel Aviv’s world-famous modernist architecture and its materials. In 2019 it will be on view simultaneously at the Liebling Haus - The White City Center and in Germany, where the planned venues are the new synagogue in Munich and the Bauhaus in Dessau. Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff sums up the historical context in which the Bauhaus reached Israel thus: “The Bauhaus movement did much more than simply influence the arts and crafts – it also expanded human prospects. That quality was a circumstance that the Nazis couldn’t tolerate and which forced the first generation of Bauhausler to flee Germany. This persecution led not only to Tel Aviv having the largest number of Bauhaus buildings, but also to the Bauhaus idea having a strong influence on Israel during all the years of its existence”.
