Artists’ estates
The question of how to deal with artists’ estates has become a pressing issue. This topic is examined from different angles at numerous specialist conferences and symposia. There are numerous foundations and associations that take care of estates. The “Bundesverband Künstlernachlässe” was founded in 2017 to coordinate the interests of the various artists’ estates initiatives.
The BBK Saxony-Anhalt has also been working intensively on this problem for several years. To this end, our members founded a working group on artists’ estates in 2015. We focus on two aspects in particular. On the one hand, we document catalogs raisonnés and estates digitally in our“Saxony-Anhalt Fine Arts Database“, and on the other, we are committed to the establishment of a “Saxony-Anhalt Center for Artists’ Estates”. In its coalition agreement, the state government assures that it will support the BBK in establishing an archive of estates.
In spring 2025, the BBK Saxony-Anhalt is offering a new fee-based course for artists, heirs and estate administrators under the direction of art historian Katharina Lorenz M.A., which consists of three dates. The following documents must be submitted for the application: Letter of motivation, short biography, list of exhibitions, list of publications, digital image of […]
The Berufsverband Bildender Künstler Sachsen-Anhalt e.V. (BBK) published new works in its “Werkdatenbank Bildende Kunst Sachsen-Anhalt” at the beginning of February 2025. The focus is on the estate catalog of Magdeburg artist Walter Bischof (1919-1968) and the catalog raisonné of Halle artist Sabine Kunz (*1962). In addition, numerous artists have completed the catalogs they began […]
The Berufsverband Bildender Künstler Sachsen-Anhalt e.V. (BBK) published new works in its “Werkdatenbank Bildende Kunst Sachsen-Anhalt” at the beginning of February 2025. The focus is on the catalog raisonné of the Magdeburg artist Walter Bischof (1919-1968) and the catalog raisonné of the Halle artist Sabine Kunz (1962). In addition, numerous artists have completed the catalogs […]
From mid-September to mid-November 2024, the BBK Saxony-Anhalt conducted a survey on artists’ estates. Visual artists and estate holders (institutions and private individuals) were invited to take part. The response was great. The Museum and Archive Association, the Saxony-Anhalt Art Foundation and other partners forwarded our appeal, articles about the project appeared in the press […]
The Berufsverband Bildender Künstler Sachsen-Anhalt e.V. is calling on all visual artists and estate holders (institutions and private individuals) to take part in an anonymous survey. You have until November 15 to take part. The survey is the first part of a study that the BBK Saxony-Anhalt is conducting from summer 2024 to the end […]
Lecture and panel discussion “Preserving cultural heritage. Architectural glass art yesterday – today – tomorrow” on September 10, 2024, 6 to 8 p.m. In July 2024, the state capital of Magdeburg published “Painting with Light and Glass – Architectural Glass Art in and from Magdeburg”. The volume is the result of intensive research and is […]
The BBK Saxony-Anhalt has been observing the problems of dealing with artistic bequests and estates for many years. He is committed to keeping this topic in the political discourse and finding solutions. He will now examine whether a center for artists’ estates could be expedient. The state government also attaches great importance to this idea […]
The BBK Saxony-Anhalt has been operating the “Visual Arts Database Saxony-Anhalt” since 2017. It publishes catalogs raisonnés and lists of estates of female visual artists with a connection to Saxony-Anhalt. The work database informs the public – including curators and researchers, for example – about the life’s work of individual female artists and reflects the […]
In November 2023, the BBK Saxony-Anhalt published 6 new directories in the Saxony-Anhalt Visual Arts Database! Over the course of 2023, the participating artists took part in a three-part course run by Halle-based art historian Katharina Lorenz, who was commissioned by the BBK to introduce them to the use of the database.
In December 2022, the Berufsverband Bildender Künstler Sachsen-Anhalt published the directories of 4 visual artists from Halle (Saale) online. For the first time since the existence of the work database, members of the BBK Saxony-Anhalt created their own directories. They have provided information on their careers, exhibitions, awards and publications and have included photographs and […]