ABOUT
Tatjana Schaefer is a curator and writer for contemporary art. She explores artistic practices from the 1960s-today in the fields of collective memory, trauma, social engagement and feminist activism.
Since 2018, she is working as assistant curator at Pinakothek der Moderne. In this role, she has contributed to exhibitions and publications on Postwar artists such as Georg Baselitz, Astrid Klein and John Baldessari. In 2021, she curated an art parcours across the city of Munich comprising 7 public sites and 10 works of art by Joseph Beuys.
As independent curator and researcher, Tatjana’s major focus lies on the feminist art scene of the 1960-80s in New York City, in which she is developing her PhD.
Tatjana graduated from Goldsmiths University of London and currently lives and works in Munich, Germany
︎︎︎Email ︎︎︎Instagram
tatjanaschaefer.art(a)gmail.com
TATJANA SCHAEFER
CURATOR / WRITER
Tatjana Schaefer is a curator and writer for contemporary art. She explores artistic practices from the 1960s-today in the fields of collective memory, trauma, social engagement and feminist activism.
Since 2018, she is working as assistant curator at Pinakothek der Moderne. In this role, she has contributed to exhibitions and publications on Postwar artists such as Georg Baselitz, Astrid Klein or John Baldessari. In 2021, she curated an art parcours across the city of Munich comprising 7 public sites and 10 works of art by Joseph Beuys.
As independent curator and researcher, Tatjana’s major focus lies on the feminist art scene of the 1960-80s in New York City, in which she is developing her PhD.
Tatjana graduated from Goldsmiths University of London and currently lives and works in Munich, Germany
︎︎︎ Email ︎︎︎ Instagram
MAY 2022-SEP 2024
LINKING ART WORLDS. TRAVELLING RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
PRAGUE, BUDAPEST, BERLIN/LEIPZIG, NEW YORK, GIVERNY
junior fellow
The fellowship Linking Art Worlds. American Art and Eastern Europe from the Cold War to the Present is funded by
the Getty Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. The program looks at parallel developments and artistic exchanges taking place across art spheres divided by the Iron Curtain. An international cohort of 14 junior fellows and 3 faculty members travels to five cities over the period of 2 years to research on-site, exchange methodologies and expertise, and to publish mutual findings.
visit the fellowship website
LINKING ART WORLDS. TRAVELLING RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
PRAGUE, BUDAPEST, BERLIN/LEIPZIG, NEW YORK, GIVERNY
junior fellow
The fellowship Linking Art Worlds. American Art and Eastern Europe from the Cold War to the Present is funded by
the Getty Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. The program looks at parallel developments and artistic exchanges taking place across art spheres divided by the Iron Curtain. An international cohort of 14 junior fellows and 3 faculty members travels to five cities over the period of 2 years to research on-site, exchange methodologies and expertise, and to publish mutual findings.
visit the fellowship website
MAY-NOV 2022
SHAPES OF SHELTER
PLATFORM, Munich
co-curator
This show was curated from two female curators’ perspectives on the crumbling of psychological and physical shelters in the 21st century. Questioning how emerging contemporary art reflects traumatizing experiences of war, conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic, we invited seven international positions to exhibit in the Munich-based off-space PLATFORM.
Artists: The Berg, Isabella Fürnkäs, Pavlo Grazhdanskij, Jenna Kaës, Smirna Kulenović, Øleg&Kaśka, Bogdan Shirokov
The exhibition was gifted a grant by the City Council of Munich, and the Baumgart-Foundation, Vienna.
visit the exhibition website
watch the exhibition film
SHAPES OF SHELTER
PLATFORM, Munich
co-curator
This show was curated from two female curators’ perspectives on the crumbling of psychological and physical shelters in the 21st century. Questioning how emerging contemporary art reflects traumatizing experiences of war, conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic, we invited seven international positions to exhibit in the Munich-based off-space PLATFORM.
Artists: The Berg, Isabella Fürnkäs, Pavlo Grazhdanskij, Jenna Kaës, Smirna Kulenović, Øleg&Kaśka, Bogdan Shirokov
The exhibition was gifted a grant by the City Council of Munich, and the Baumgart-Foundation, Vienna.
visit the exhibition website
watch the exhibition film
MAY 2021-SEP 2022
MIX & MATCH
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE, Munich
co-curator
The new collection curation MIX & MATCH brings together works of art from 120 years of international art history in a 3000 sqm encompassing display. Six curators from different career stages replaced the chronological narrative with a curatorial concept favoring shifting juxtapositions across disciplines, movements and eras. Each curator contributed a specific research focus, mine was to integrate so far overlooked female and feminist positions from the Pinakothek’s collection storage.
visit the exhibition website
watch the exhibition video on one of the new sections called Bodies and Space
MIX & MATCH
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE, Munich
co-curator
The new collection curation MIX & MATCH brings together works of art from 120 years of international art history in a 3000 sqm encompassing display. Six curators from different career stages replaced the chronological narrative with a curatorial concept favoring shifting juxtapositions across disciplines, movements and eras. Each curator contributed a specific research focus, mine was to integrate so far overlooked female and feminist positions from the Pinakothek’s collection storage.
visit the exhibition website
watch the exhibition video on one of the new sections called Bodies and Space
FEB-APR 2022
MINIMAL ART
BUCERIUS KUNST FORUM, Hamburg
essay author
The essay “Between Proximity and Clash: A Comparison of Minimal Art and Lifestyle fuses an art-historical approach with a socio-cultural viewpoint. It questions our attraction towards promises and principles inherent in both Minimal art and lifestyle.
view the essay
visit the exhibition website
MINIMAL ART
BUCERIUS KUNST FORUM, Hamburg
essay author
The essay “Between Proximity and Clash: A Comparison of Minimal Art and Lifestyle fuses an art-historical approach with a socio-cultural viewpoint. It questions our attraction towards promises and principles inherent in both Minimal art and lifestyle.
view the essay
visit the exhibition website
OCT 2021-FEB 2022
TEAMWORK/TEAMPLAY...
artists’ collectives from
1960s-today
ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, Munich
guest lecturer
My lecture focused on alternating dynamics in collective artistic practices, ranging from planned corporation to playful, accidental experiments. We looked at historic examples across geographies and contemporary case studies, such as the Munich based collective “broke today”.
TEAMWORK/TEAMPLAY...
artists’ collectives from
1960s-today
ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, Munich
guest lecturer
My lecture focused on alternating dynamics in collective artistic practices, ranging from planned corporation to playful, accidental experiments. We looked at historic examples across geographies and contemporary case studies, such as the Munich based collective “broke today”.
JUNE-OCT 2021
I TRANSMIT.
100 YEARS OF JOSEPH BEUYS
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE
AND 7 PUBLIC SITES, Munich
curator
This exhibition served as a curatorial investigation into Beuys’ artistic legacy in a contemporary social context. By placing 10 multiples across 7 public sites, such as community centers, courtrooms, office lobbies etc., the works allowed for unexpected encounters amongst new audiences. Instead of reinforcing the museum narrative of Joseph Beuys as genius, this show paid tribute to the artist’s achievement of situating art amidst the everyday.
view the booklet (German/English)
visit the exhibition website
read the curatorial reflection
I TRANSMIT.
100 YEARS OF JOSEPH BEUYS
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE
AND 7 PUBLIC SITES, Munich
curator
This exhibition served as a curatorial investigation into Beuys’ artistic legacy in a contemporary social context. By placing 10 multiples across 7 public sites, such as community centers, courtrooms, office lobbies etc., the works allowed for unexpected encounters amongst new audiences. Instead of reinforcing the museum narrative of Joseph Beuys as genius, this show paid tribute to the artist’s achievement of situating art amidst the everyday.
view the booklet (German/English)
visit the exhibition website
read the curatorial reflection
SEPTEMBER 2021
ARTIST TALK WITH LILLY LULAY
GALERIE KLUESER II, Munich
guest speaker
An artist talk hosted on the occasion of Lilly Lulay’s solo exhibition at Galerie Klueser II. The conversation focuses on Lilly Lulay’s artistic research, dealing with image consumption in the digital age, algorithmic use of image data and the growing obsolescence of photography as memory store.
watch on youtube
ARTIST TALK WITH LILLY LULAY
GALERIE KLUESER II, Munich
guest speaker
An artist talk hosted on the occasion of Lilly Lulay’s solo exhibition at Galerie Klueser II. The conversation focuses on Lilly Lulay’s artistic research, dealing with image consumption in the digital age, algorithmic use of image data and the growing obsolescence of photography as memory store.
watch on youtube
MAY 2021
UMUT YASAT. DER STAPEL
GNYP GALLERY, Berlin
essay contributor
This first extensive publication on Umut Yasat’s work includes essays by three international curators and functions as a catalogue raisonée of the Berlin-based artist’s first seven years of practice.
order the catalogue through
GNYP Gallery
see Umut Yasat at GNYP Gallery
UMUT YASAT. DER STAPEL
GNYP GALLERY, Berlin
essay contributor
This first extensive publication on Umut Yasat’s work includes essays by three international curators and functions as a catalogue raisonée of the Berlin-based artist’s first seven years of practice.
order the catalogue through
GNYP Gallery
see Umut Yasat at GNYP Gallery
SEP-NOV 2020
UNIDEE RESIDENCY: EMBEDDED ARTS PRACTICES IN A POST-PANDEMIC FUTURE
CITTADELLARTE FONDAZIONE MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO, Italy
curatorial resident
The residency allowed to discuss and research embedded arts practices in times of physical restrictions on site at Cittadellarte in Italy, as well as through an online series of lectures and discussions. Tatjana’s research resulted in an essay published by Cultural Policy Lab. The essay reflects on the nature and persistence of relational art through periods of social distancing.
read the essay published online
at culturalpolicylab.com
UNIDEE RESIDENCY: EMBEDDED ARTS PRACTICES IN A POST-PANDEMIC FUTURE
CITTADELLARTE FONDAZIONE MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO, Italy
curatorial resident
The residency allowed to discuss and research embedded arts practices in times of physical restrictions on site at Cittadellarte in Italy, as well as through an online series of lectures and discussions. Tatjana’s research resulted in an essay published by Cultural Policy Lab. The essay reflects on the nature and persistence of relational art through periods of social distancing.
read the essay published online
at culturalpolicylab.com
JULY 2020-FEB 2021
ASTRID KLEIN. THAT PERFECT LOVE DRIVES OUT FEAR.
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE, Munich
assistant curator
The exhibition explored two fundamental themes in the 50 years spanning career of German artist Astrid Klein: the psychology of perception and the perpetuation of gender stereotypes. A multi-generational panel on feminism’s role in society was held as part of the programming, and the exhibition was further highlighted by being promoted through a cross-institutional campaign entitled #femaleheritage.
read exhibition text
go to exhibition website
find out more about the #femaleheritage campaign
ASTRID KLEIN. THAT PERFECT LOVE DRIVES OUT FEAR.
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE, Munich
assistant curator
The exhibition explored two fundamental themes in the 50 years spanning career of German artist Astrid Klein: the psychology of perception and the perpetuation of gender stereotypes. A multi-generational panel on feminism’s role in society was held as part of the programming, and the exhibition was further highlighted by being promoted through a cross-institutional campaign entitled #femaleheritage.
read exhibition text
go to exhibition website
find out more about the #femaleheritage campaign
JAN-JUL 2020
A BRIEF COLLECTION DISPLAY
OF JOHN BALDESSARI
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE, Munich
assistant curator
In this exhibition four of Baldessari’s early, experimental video works were brought together with his signature style dot-works from the 1980s-1990s. The purposefully asymmetrical exhibition architecture playfully mirrored Baldessari’s way of tilting and bending forms.
Read published exhibition text
(in GERMAN)
go to exhibition website
A BRIEF COLLECTION DISPLAY
OF JOHN BALDESSARI
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE, Munich
assistant curator
In this exhibition four of Baldessari’s early, experimental video works were brought together with his signature style dot-works from the 1980s-1990s. The purposefully asymmetrical exhibition architecture playfully mirrored Baldessari’s way of tilting and bending forms.
Read published exhibition text
(in GERMAN)
go to exhibition website
SEP 2019
AMBIENT FOR A SILENT FOREST.
A SOUND INSTALLATION IN RESONANCE TO JOSEPH BEUYS
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE, Munich
curator
This project was an encounter between the emerging sound artist Kalas Liebfried (*1988) and Joseph Beuys (1921-86), who - since no longer alive - was represented by one his most prominent large-scale installations entitled The End of the 20th Century (1984). As sound met sculpture, an atmospheric dialogue unfolded between the present and the past.
Learn more about the project on Kalas Liebfried’s website
AMBIENT FOR A SILENT FOREST.
A SOUND INSTALLATION IN RESONANCE TO JOSEPH BEUYS
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE, Munich
curator
This project was an encounter between the emerging sound artist Kalas Liebfried (*1988) and Joseph Beuys (1921-86), who - since no longer alive - was represented by one his most prominent large-scale installations entitled The End of the 20th Century (1984). As sound met sculpture, an atmospheric dialogue unfolded between the present and the past.
Learn more about the project on Kalas Liebfried’s website
JUL 2019 - DEC 2021
GEORG BASELITZ. THE DONATION.
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE, Munich
assistant curator &
exhibition catalogue editor
The exhibition centers on 7 recent works of art gifted by the artist to the Pinakothek der Moderne. The works allow insigt into the artist’s personal vulnerability and existential fear, as he deals with the aging body and the prospect of his own artistic legacy.
The show was accompanied by an extensive publication, giving insight into how Baselitz’s recent works complement the museum’s holdings of his earlier paintings.
go to exhibition website
look inside the publication
GEORG BASELITZ. THE DONATION.
PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE, Munich
assistant curator &
exhibition catalogue editor
The exhibition centers on 7 recent works of art gifted by the artist to the Pinakothek der Moderne. The works allow insigt into the artist’s personal vulnerability and existential fear, as he deals with the aging body and the prospect of his own artistic legacy.
The show was accompanied by an extensive publication, giving insight into how Baselitz’s recent works complement the museum’s holdings of his earlier paintings.
go to exhibition website
look inside the publication
MAY-OCT 2019
KOENIGSKLASSE IV
CONTEMPORARY ART AT
HERRENCHIEMSEE PALACE, Chiemgau
assistant curator &
exhibition catalogue editor
Each summer collection highlights from the Pinakothek der Moderne travel to the unconventional site of an unfinished neo-baroque palace in Bavaria. Called Koenigsklasse, which translates into king’s class, the exhibition is a tribute to King Ludwig’s II. creative force, and at the same time a celebration of contemporary arts’ versatility.
The exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue, highlighting the aesthetic clash between the historic site and contemporary arts.
go to exhibition website
KOENIGSKLASSE IV
CONTEMPORARY ART AT
HERRENCHIEMSEE PALACE, Chiemgau
assistant curator &
exhibition catalogue editor
Each summer collection highlights from the Pinakothek der Moderne travel to the unconventional site of an unfinished neo-baroque palace in Bavaria. Called Koenigsklasse, which translates into king’s class, the exhibition is a tribute to King Ludwig’s II. creative force, and at the same time a celebration of contemporary arts’ versatility.
The exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue, highlighting the aesthetic clash between the historic site and contemporary arts.
go to exhibition website
APR-MAY 2018
UNFOLLOW ME
NIR ALTMAN GALLERY, Munich
curator
The group show “unfollow me” brought together six artistic positions that define intimate space as a mental construct within digital age. Varying in techniques from digital to traditional painting, sculpture to photography, the works shared a common demeanor in adressing psychological realms of comfort and their increasing invasion.
go to exhibition website
UNFOLLOW ME
NIR ALTMAN GALLERY, Munich
curator
The group show “unfollow me” brought together six artistic positions that define intimate space as a mental construct within digital age. Varying in techniques from digital to traditional painting, sculpture to photography, the works shared a common demeanor in adressing psychological realms of comfort and their increasing invasion.
go to exhibition website