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

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. 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 h ...

as the Brandenburg Academy of Arts, an academic institution 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 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 mi ...

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 – (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 discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

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 King ''in'' Prussia (German: ''König in Preußen'') was a title used by the Prussian kings (also in personal union Electors of Brandenburg) from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently, they used the title King ''of'' Prussia (''König von Preußen''). Th ...

from 1701), it was the third-oldest such academy in Europe. The institution was housed on No. 8 Unter den Linden, until from 1902 the site was cleared and rebuilt as seat of the Berlin State Library. The Academy then moved to Pariser Platz next to

Hotel Adlon The Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin is a luxury hotel in Berlin, Germany. It is on Unter den Linden, the main boulevard in the central Mitte district, at the corner with Pariser Platz, directly opposite the Brandenburg Gate. The original Hotel Adlon ...

, where the Palais Arnim, former residence of Prime Minister

Adolf Heinrich von Arnim-Boitzenburg Adolf Heinrich Graf von Arnim-Boitzenburg (10 April 1803 – 8 January 1868) was a German statesman. He served as the first Minister-President of Prussia for ten days during the Revolution of 1848. Biography Arnim was born in the Prussian cap ...

, 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 universiti ...

(''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 Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...

to evolve his ''

Welthauptstadt Germania Welthauptstadt Germania () or World Capital Germania was the projected renewal of the German capital Berlin during the Nazi period, part of Adolf Hitler's vision for the future of Nazi Germany after the planned victory in World War II. It wa ...

'' 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 Ne ...

, 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, which resided in the rebuilt Hansaviertel 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 Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

which became the

Akademie der Künste der DDR The Akademie der Künste der DDR was the central art academy of the German Democratic Republic (DDR). It existed under different names from 1950 to 1993. Then it merged with the "Akademie der Künste Berlin (West)" to become the Academy of Arts, ...

in 1972, then the ''Akademie der Künste zu Berlin'' in 1990. Its presidents included Arnold Zweig,

Ludwig Renn Ludwig Renn (born Arnold Friedrich Vieth von Golßenau; 22 April 1889 – 21 July 1979) was a German author. Born a Saxon nobleman, he later became a committed communist and lived in East Berlin.''Oxford Companion to German Literature'', ed. Henr ...

Johannes R. Becher Johannes Robert Becher (, 22 May 1891 – 11 October 1958) was a German politician, novelist, and poet. He was affiliated with the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) before World War II. At one time, he was part of the literary avant-garde, writin ...

Otto Nagel Otto Nagel (27 September 1894 – 12 July 1967) was a German painter, graphic designer and long-time head of the Berlin Academy of Arts who was one of the most prolific artists of East Germany. Life Born at Berlin-Wedding, Nagel was the son ...

, 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 pri ...

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 Ma ...

Konrad Wolf Prize The Konrad Wolf Prize (german: Konrad-Wolf-Preis) is a German performing arts, new media art and film award given since 1986 by the Academy of Arts, Berlin (formerly the East German Academy of Arts). It is named after the East German film director a ...

* * 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