Manya Gutman embarks on a search for Jewish women artists in the “age of extremes.” Many know Sonja Delaunay, Meret Oppenheim or Gisèle Freund. But what about Dora Bromberger, who studied with Hans Hofmann in Munich, was a member of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Künstlerinnen und Kunstfreunde (GEDOK) in Bremen from 1928 and was murdered at the Maly Trostinez extermination camp in 1942? Or Malva Schalek, who recorded everyday life in the camp in Theresienstadt in more than 100 drawings and watercolors? The project comprises over 100 drawn portraits and short biographies.

‍

The artistic work of Marian Ruzamski almost vanished from collective memory in the catastrophe of the 20th century, but is now experiencing a remarkable comeback. A century after his last appearance in Krakow, the artist is once again being honored at the Palace of Art. More than 130 artworks from all phases of Ruzamski's career are on display here, following their initial presentation in Solingen: from his earliest drawings from his art studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, through works created during his captivity in the First World War, works from the interwar period, to the harrowing portraits Ruzamski created in the camp infirmary of the Auschwitz concentration camp – the so-called "Auschwitz Portfolio."

Anti-bourgeois, anarchist, and pacifist, Dada, with its sharp eye and biting satire, offered social criticism, questioning prevailing values ​​as well as political and social conditions and dynamics, especially those that had led to the catastrophe of the First World War. To mark its 110th anniversary, “Open your minds at last!” celebrates the Dada art movement and demonstrates the continued relevance of its political engagement.

‍

In the summer of 2025, Ukrainian photo artist Hanna Melnykova emigrated from Germany to Ukraine and documented her “performative walk” photographically. The exhibition shows her engagement with migration, resilience, and cultural ties in the current geopolitical landscape. The symbolic meaning of this walk: It represents life itself. The route set for the project illustrates the borders between nations and embodies the gap between past and future as well as personal and collective transformation.

‍