Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln

The Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln (German Dance Archive Cologne) is an internationally affiliated centre for information, documentation and research in the field of dance and, with its unique holdings, has a place among the world’s most important archives on the art of dancing. Its outstanding photography collection gathers together original prints by renowned artists such as Hugo Erfurth, Germaine Krull, Albert Renger-Patzsch or Umbo. In addition, it houses extensive archives of famed dance and ballet photographers. The holding is complemented by subsidiary archives arranged into themes and special holdings – along with an impressive collection of around 3,000 historical photo postcards. More than 600 bequests and collections also comprise numerous photographs that bring to life the history of dance and its visual interpretation through the medium of photography.

Usually, exhibitions are only experienced in their finished form – visitors rarely get an insight into the creative production process. The Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln intends to change this with an unusual format: as part of Artist Meets Archive #5 the archive is opening its exhibition space in the form of an “open lab”. In this context, for Photoszene Festival 2027, an exhibition’s developmental process is to be turned into a publicly visible and tangible experience. The conclusion of this open experiment will be formed by the exhibition’s opening, which will take place simultaneously with the Festival’s finissage. Subsequently, the exhibition will be on show in the Dance Museum of the Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln for a duration of ten months.

We would like to invite an artists’ collective to devise this format and the process – bringing along curiosity, creativity and a passion for the archive’s holdings and working together with the team of the Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln.

For more information on holdings, premises and planning details, the team of the Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln is gladly availably by e-mail (tanzarchiv@sk-kultur.de). We’ll be delighted to receive your queries!

Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln
Im Mediapark 7
50670 Köln
Website