During our public Sunday tour, our art educators will guide you through the exhibition „Unlock your heads at last!“ Dada as Political Art Between the World Wars.

Anti-bourgeois, anarchist, and pacifist, Dada offered sharp social criticism and biting satire, questioning prevailing values ​​as well as political and social conditions and dynamics, especially those that had led to the catastrophe of the First World War. Founded in 1916 during the war, the movement's end is generally placed in the early 1920s, but artists like George Grosz, Hannah Höch, and John Heartfield later used art to fight against the rise of National Socialism. The National Socialists considered Dada "degenerated."

The art of the Dadaists is colorful, loud – and by no means uniform. They employed a wide variety of styles and produced literature, poetry, plays, paintings, prints, collages, and photographs. Yet, the political is a central common denominator, a thread running through the movement's work and expressing itself in diverse and unexpected ways. On its 110th anniversary, “Unlock your heads at last!” celebrates the Dada art movement and demonstrates the continued relevance of its political engagement.

‍„Dada is exciting, innovative art, but also a call to action. The pacifist Dadaists already questioned the purpose of the First World War. Unemployment and poverty characterized the new Weimar Republic, and the bourgeoisie was sluggish in thought and action. Power structures from the German Empire remained in place, and a select few lined their own pockets. Dada denounced these injustices and challenged the public to look, reflect, and understand.“ – Dr. Katharina Günther, curator of the Center for Persecuted Arts

It is not necessary to book in advance for public tours. The tours start at 15:00 in the museum foyer near the ticket office. The guided tour is already included in the museum entrance fee.