Haegue Yang Appointed Chair of KW and Berlin Biennale
South Korean artist Haegue Yang has been appointed as the new chair of Kunst-Werke Berlin, taking over from Katharina Grosse, who completed a four-year tenure. Yang steps into the role amid significant funding cuts, with Berlin slashing its cultural budget by €130 million this year. This has resulted in a 10–12 percent reduction for KW, affecting staffing and various projects. Yang's leadership comes at a time when cultural issues in Germany, particularly concerning pro-Palestinian perspectives, are under scrutiny. Based in both Berlin and Seoul, she is also an educator at Staedelschule and was awarded the Wolfgang Hahn Prize in 2018.
Key facts
- Haegue Yang is the new chair of Kunst-Werke Berlin.
- She succeeds Katharina Grosse after a four-year tenure.
- Berlin cut culture spending by €130 million earlier this year.
- KW lost 10–12 percent of its budget and a staff position.
- KW mothballed parts of its mediation program and canceled partnerships.
- The role puts Yang in the middle of Germany's culture wars over Palestine.
- Martin Herbert criticized German art institutions for silence on Gaza.
- Yang teaches at Staedelschule and won the Wolfgang Hahn Prize in 2018.
Entities
Artists
- Haegue Yang
- Katharina Grosse
- Martin Herbert
Institutions
- Kunst-Werke Berlin
- KW Institute for Contemporary Art
- Berlin Biennale
- Staedelschule
- Ludwig Museum
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Seoul
- South Korea
- Cologne
- Gaza