Halle für Kunst Lüneburg

Founded in 1995 by a group of Leuphana University students, the Halle für Kunst Lüneburg e.V. has contributed significantly to the discourse on contemporary art in Germany through a programme of solo and group exhibitions, events and publications. The Kunstverein has occupied various spaces in the city of Lüneburg over the course of its inception, being housed in a former industrial site on Reichenbachstraße since 2003.

In a 1999 conference organised by the founding directors, the state of so-called “Kunstvereine”, and questions regarding “exhibition policy, the location of contemporary discourses,” and “an art […] that includes the social and civic context”[1] were raised, queries which continue to determine the trajectory of the institution. Thus, the current programme of the Halle für Kunst is not only dedicated to the conditions and circumstances of the production of contemporary art, but also refers to social, living and working conditions as they relate to contemporary culture.

As a Kunstverein, the Halle für Kunst e.V. is maintained by its members, whose support facilitates the independence of the institution and its programme, which aim to create a place for an experience and understanding of art as a form of critique and mediation.

The Halle für Kunst Lüneburg e.V. has been nominated for the ADKV/Art Cologne Prize for Art Associations on many occasions—in the years 2010 to 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2020, when it was awarded the prize for its “first-rate program of solo and group exhibitions.” In 1999, the Halle für Kunst was awarded the Jürgen Ponto Prize for its “committed and courageous exhibition programme.”

[1] Heike Munder, Bernd Milla, „Einführung“, in: Heike Munder, Bernd Milla (Ed.), Tatort Kunstverein – Eine kritische Überprüfung eines Vermittlungsmodells, Nürnberg: Verlag für moderne Kunst Nürnberg, 2001, S. 7.