Why we are talking about Katt Both: After a year of intensive study of her life and work, we have discovered themes that are highly relevant to both contemporary history and the present day. Katt Both was one of the extraordinary so-called "New Women" whose life and work stand for the dawn of a new era at the beginning of the 20th century. Born in Waldkappel in 1905 and died in Kassel in 1985, Katt Both was instrumental in the development of key "Neues Bauen" projects of the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Marie von Boschan Aschrott retirement home and the Rothenbergsiedlung in Kassel. Today, however, she is forgotten - a fate she shares with many avant-gardists and committed women of her time.
Katt? Who was the woman behind this enigmatic name? What biographical stages shaped her life? How are they reflected in her works, which were committed to "New Building", living and design and which were always connected to the city of Kassel? To mark the 120th anniversary of Katt Both's birth, this project is dedicated to the life and work of the architect, photographer and furniture designer. It was developed with students from the Department of Design and Building Studies at the University of Kassel under the direction of Prof. Marie-Therese Harnoncourt-Fuchs and Dr. Ute Maasberg.
A curatorial concept was developed and implemented based on original photos, plans and documents from the estate. The exhibition is organized as a reference field of different perspectives and possible interpretations. The enthusiastic and radical development and creative phase of Katt Both in the areas of "education and self-discovery 1923-27" and "working on the pulse of the times 1928-33+" is told in a space-filling manner. The topics addressed include questions of self-expression, the use-oriented and at the same time atmospheric design of floor plans for different living models, the relationship to nature and the question: How do you carry an idea? Inscribed in Katt Both's development and creative phase are the areas of "the new woman and the new building in a socio-political context", in which the gradual ideologization of architecture, culture and society in 1933 with the seizure of power by the National Socialists is made visible. Contemporary documents make this change visible and audible.
Experimental exhibition formats, young artistic positions and the contemporary art positions curated by Sabine Kienzer unfold subtle dialogs between past and present. A supporting program continues the contemporary discourse on the exhibition themes in a discursive space.
The exhibition invites visitors to rediscover Katt Both in her radicalism and ambivalence. Her questions about socially just, affordable and high-quality living space are just as relevant today as the socio-political issues that have significantly shaped her life, career and work. To this day, these issues remain unresolved and - one hundred years later - are once again calling the stability of our democracy into question.
Curatorial concept:
Jonas Baumann, Laura Baumbach, Frederike Tonia Bücker, Aylin Cetinyol, Lara Maxime Emde, Jonas Gärtner, Kim Ibelshäuser, Aurora Viola Lude and Aysen Rüya Toy
Exhibition design:
Fatima Alizadeh, Burak Akman, Tiba Al-Jumalili, Mohamad Karam Alwawi, Tasnima Amirkhadzhieva, Frederike Tonia Bücker, Halim Bülgen, Nils Büscher, Bernadett Bartakovics, Timur Bell, Jonas Döhne, Erik Frank, Emira Hadzipasic, Maxi Nina Heilig, Hanieh Masoumi, Jasmin Mayka, Michelle Miekley, Sara Fee Panzer, Nele Rautenberg, Suelle Sahan, Enesa Selmani, Valentina Sierra Chala, Adelina Stapel, Merle Strauch, Gesa von Ahsen, Evelin Walker, Felizitas Worm, Thi Thuy Tien Nguyen
Experimental exhibition format Archizine:
Frederike Tonia Bücker, Aylin Cetinyol, Erik Frank, Emira Hadzipasic, Joanna Anke Gerda Edith Hagen, Anika Kirchner, Korina Maric, Rico Pfleger, Aysen Rüya Toy
Experimental exhibition format Vr/Ar:
Frederike Tonia Bücker, Michelle Miekley, Felizitas Worm, Maxi Heilig, Evelin Walker, Thi Thuy Tien Nguyen
Class for Intermedia Photography in the artistic field:
Prof. Peggy Buth, Artistic works: Christina Gradke, Leonard Volkmer
Department of Landscape Aesthetics in Design:
Guest Prof. Fanny Brandauer, Sound Installations: Dennis Maksuti and Tarik Bauer, Mareike Isabel Günther and Tatiana Korotkova
Curation of contemporary art positions:
Sabine Kienzer, independent curator, with works by: Brigitte Kowanz, Jakob Lena Knebl, Maria Lassnig, Lena Kienzer, Isa Rosenberger and Michaela Schwentner
Exhibition hall team:
Coordination and installation: Defne Kizilöz, Gernot Mählmann
Graphics, poster and postcard: Lena Preuß and Olivia Völlnagel
Assistance with set-up, technical support:
Nils Büscher, Tom Kohrs, Harun Faizi, Thomas Hofer
Audio and sounds:
Henne
Supporting program under: www.uni-kassel.de
Katt Both. Bauhaus-Architektin aus Kassel. Die Ausstellung.
radikal – diskursiv – zeitaktuell
11.02.–08.03.26
Opening: 10.02.26, 6 p.m.
With introductory words by the Lord Mayor of the City of Kassel, Dr. Sven Schoeller, and the President of the University of Kassel, Prof. Dr. Ute Clement. Greeting by the Rector of the Kunsthochschule Kassel, Prof. Dr. Martin Schmidl. Prof. Marie-Therese Harnoncourt-Fuchs and Dr. Ute Maasberg will speak about the exhibition.
Duration and opening hours
11.02.-08.03.26
Thu. to Sun., 11-18 h
Location
Exhibition hall, Kunsthochschule Kassel
Menzelstr. 13, 34121 Kassel
Project of the University of Kassel, Department of Design and Building Theory
Prof. Marie-Therese Harnoncourt-Fuchs and Dr. Ute Maasberg with: Class for Intermedia Photography in the Artistic Field (Prof. Peggy Buth), Department of Landscape Aesthetics in Design (guest Prof. Fanny Brandauer), freelance curator Sabine Kienzer, TRACES Transdisciplinary Research Center for Exhibition Studies
With the support of the Kasseler Sparkasse, the Pfeiffer-Stiftung für Architektur, the University of Kassel, the GWG Gemeinnützige Wohnungsbaugesellschaft der Stadt Kassel, the Amt für Gleichstellung der Stadt Kassel and the Verein Freunde des Stadtmuseums Kassel e.V.