The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector

Frederick III of Brandenburg Frederick I (german: Friedrich I.; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function ...

as the Brandenburg Academy of Arts, an

academic institution Academic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university. Types * Primary schools – (from French ''école primaire'') institutions where children ...

in which members could meet and discuss and share ideas. The current Academy was founded on 1 October 1993 as the re-unification of formerly separate

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under m ...

academies.

Membership

The Academy is an incorporated body of the public right under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. New members are nominated by secret ballot of the general assembly, and appointed by the president with membership never to exceed 500. The academy‘s recent presidents include: * Adolf Muschg – (2003–2006) * Klaus Staeck – (2006–2015) *

Jeanine Meerapfel Jeanine Meerapfel (born 14 June 1943) is a German-Argentine film director and screenwriter. She has directed twenty films since 1966. In 1984, she was a member of the jury at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival. She was born in 1943, i ...

– (2015– )

History

Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P049294, Berlin, Akademie der Künste

Beginning in the 1690s, the Prussian Academy of Arts, under various names, served as an arts council and

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ...

for the Prussian government. Founded by the

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

elector Frederick III ( King in Prussia from 1701), it was the third-oldest such academy in Europe. The institution was housed on No. 8

Unter den Linden Unter den Linden (, "under the Tilia, linden trees") is a boulevard in the central Mitte (locality), Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Running from the City Palace, Berlin, City Palace to Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the l ...

, until from 1902 the site was cleared and rebuilt as seat of the

Berlin State Library The Berlin State Library (german: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin; officially abbreviated as ''SBB'', colloquially ''Stabi'') is a universal library in Berlin, Germany and a property of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. It is one of the la ...

. The Academy then moved to Pariser Platz next to Hotel Adlon, where the Palais Arnim, former residence of Prime Minister Adolf Heinrich von Arnim-Boitzenburg, was refurbished according to plans designed by Ernst von Ihne. The Academy also served as a training school since its founding, and created a number of affiliated schools. The first was the

Bauakademie The Bauakademie (''Building Academy'') in Berlin, Germany, was a higher education school for the art of building to train master builders. It originated from the construction department of the Academy of Fine Arts and Mechanical Sciences (from ...

for architectural training, founded in 1799. The academic arm was fully separated in 1931 and developed into the present-day

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universit ...

(''Universität der Künste Berlin''). In 1938 the academy building was seized by Hitler's chief architect

Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of ...

to evolve his '' Welthauptstadt Germania'' plans; temporarily relocated to the

Kronprinzenpalais The Kronprinzenpalais (English: ''Crown Prince's Palace'') is a former Royal Prussian residence on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built in 1663 and renovated in 1857 according to plans by Heinrich Strack in ...

, the Prussian Academy ultimately ceased operations in 1945. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-34196-0001, Berlin, Akademie der Künste

In postwar divided Germany, two parallel organizations took its place. The western successor organization was called the ''Akademie der Künste'', founded in 1954 under President

Hans Scharoun Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun (20 September 1893 – 25 November 1972) was a German architect best known for designing the Berliner Philharmonie (home to the Berlin Philharmonic) and the Schminke House in Löbau, Saxony. He was an importa ...

, which resided in the rebuilt

Hansaviertel The Hansaviertel () is the smallest ''Ortsteil'' (district) of Berlin and is between Großer Tiergarten and the Spree River, within the central Mitte borough of Berlin. The district was almost completely destroyed during World War II but was ...

quarter of

. The eastern successor organization was founded on 24 March 1950 as the ''Deutsche Akademie der Künste'' in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...

which became the Akademie der Künste der DDR in 1972, then the ''Akademie der Künste zu Berlin'' in 1990. Its presidents included

Arnold Zweig Arnold Zweig (10 November 1887 – 26 November 1968) was a German writer, pacifist and socialist. He is best known for his six-part cycle on World War I. Life and work Zweig was born in Glogau, Prussian Silesia (now Głogów, Poland), the son ...

, Ludwig Renn, Johannes R. Becher, Otto Nagel, Willi Bredel, Konrad Wolf, Manfred Wekwerth and

Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postdr ...

. These two were merged on 1 October 1993 into the present-day academy, which took its seat in a new building at the former location on Pariser Platz

Awards and honours

* Berliner Kunstpreis *

Käthe Kollwitz Prize The Käthe Kollwitz Prize (german: Käthe-Kollwitz-Preis) is a German art award named after artist Käthe Kollwitz. Established in 1960 by the then-Academy of Arts of the German Democratic Republic (nowadays the Academy of Arts, Berlin), the p ...

Heinrich Mann Prize The Heinrich Mann Prize () is an essay prize that has been awarded since 1953, first by the East German Academy of Arts, then by the Academy of Arts, Berlin. The prize, which comes with a €10,000 purse, is given annually on 27 March, Heinrich ...

* Konrad Wolf Prize * * Alfred Döblin Prize *

Joana Maria Gorvin Prize The Joana Maria Gorvin Prize, given every five years by the Academy of the Arts, Berlin on behalf of the Joana Maria Gorvin Foundation, is intended to honor the outstanding performance of a female theater artist in German-speaking countries. The aw ...

Will Lammert Prize The Will Lammert Prize (german: Will-Lammert-Preis) was an East German art award named after the sculptor Will Lammert. Between 1962 and 1992, it was awarded at irregular intervals to young sculptors by the (East) German Academy of Arts. There ...

References

External links

*Akademie der Künste/Academy of Art
official website
*Akademie der Künst

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy of Arts, Berlin Art museums and galleries in Berlin Arts councils Academies of arts