Last summer we started the new series of HfG WRITING WORKSHOPS, in which we invite authors from the fields of literature, journalism, art, theater and film to an evening lecture and short workshop. This winter semester we continue the series with three German-speaking authors from the fields of art journalism and theater.

How to write about art? Workshop with art critic Saskia Trebing (Monopol Magazine)

It's complicated: On the one hand, the art business produces more text than ever before. Artworks come with page-long "instructions for use" and curators' texts often shimmer between philosophy seminar and bullshit bingo. Every major gallery has its own magazine and provides the intellectual context to its offerings right away. On the other hand, it has become more difficult to write about art, because behind exhibitions and works there are often political attitudes and identities that cannot be "criticized" in the classical sense. Moreover, in our media public sphere, critics:inside no longer have a separate position for their views, which can be both a loss and a gain for art. So what can "good art criticism" look like today and why do we need it?

The journalist and "Monopol editor" Saskia Trebing will deal with this topic in her evening lecture on Thursday, December 7, starting at 7 pm. On December 8, she offers an excursion to the exhibition "Anna Uddenberg" at the Kunsthalle Mannheim. Afterwards, the participants can write their own exhibition review, for which criteria will be worked out together beforehand.

When? December 7, 2023 / 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Where? HfG, Room 112

In German / Organized by Katharina Weinstock, Department of Art Studies & Media Philosophy.

Saskia Trebing (geb. 1987) ist Kunsthistorikerin und Journalistin und hat an der Humboldt Universität in Berlin und der Universität Potsdam studiert. Derzeit arbeitet sie als Redakteurin beim Berliner Kunstmagazin Monopol. Zu ihren Schwerpunktthemen gehören die Documenta in Kassel und die Verschränkung von Politik und Kunst.