The MK&G and GEDOK is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the largest German-Austrian association of women artists, with the exhibition “Arts · Women · Network – 100 Years of GEDOK”. From 30 January to 29 March 2026, 15 selected artists working in the fine and applied arts will be showcased as a way of illustrating the wide-ranging forms of artistic expression within the association. A film about the arts patron and women’s rights activist Ida Dehmel, who founded GEDOK in Hamburg in 1926, will accompany the group exhibition. With her visionary idea of promoting women artists and improving their working conditions, she laid the foundations for a community of women artists that is still active and significant throughout Europe today.

The contemporary women artists and designers featured in the exhibition work in various media and thus represent the diversity of design disciplines represented in GEDOK – from painting to graphics, video, ceramics, textiles and jewellery. Those selected exemplify the artistic strategies employed by today’s generation of interdisciplinary creative talents, with works focusing on key themes such as sustainability, body images and the social debate. Pieces crafted from filigree materials that carry a social message propose new ways of looking at ephemerality and strength, installations create immersive sensory experiences, and a subtle visual language explores relationships between humans, animals and nature, prompting deep reflection on the environment.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Henrike Altes, Corinna Bernshaus, Renata Brink, Karin Camara, Claudia A. Cruz, Ekaterina Ezhkova, Carola Faller-Barris, Simone Fezer, Iris Hoppe, Eugenia Jäger, Nina Annabell Märkl, Ingrid Mohr, Simone ten Hompel, Astrid Weichelt, Soomee Yu

Under the patronage of Karin Prien, Federal Minister for Education, Family, Older People, Women and Youth.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Behörde für Kultur und Medien Hamburg, the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, the Stiftung Voss-Andreae, the Elsbeth Weichmann Gesellschaft e.V., the Claussen-Simon-Stiftung and the Karin und Uwe Hollweg Stiftung.