11 May 2019
Akademie der Künste Spring General Assembly
The 53rd General Assembly of the Akademie der Künste took place on 10 and 11 May 2019 in Berlin. On the agenda were the meetings of the Art Sections, the election of new members and two plenary sessions. A total of seventeen new members were elected, ten of which are women. The names of the new members will be announced at a later date, after they have accepted their election.
Following an intensive plenary debate about the upcoming European elections on 26 May 2019, the Akademie der Künste calls on the public to "Vote for a democratic Europe that does not engage in a policy of division."
Pro-European statements from more than fifty Akademie members are currently on display on the façade of the Akademie building at Pariser Platz, including Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson, Ulrich Matthes, Michael Verhoeven, Achim Freyer, Klaus Staeck, Nele Hertling, Jürgen Flimm, Ulrike Ottinger, Kathrin Röggla, Matthias Sauerbruch, Margarethe von Trotta and Jeanine Meerapfel. The members' statements can also be found on the Akademie der Künste website and in the foyer at Pariser Platz.
The Akademie der Künste currently has 411 members in its six Sections. Its archive includes over 1,200 artists' bequests. Since 2015, filmmaker Jeanine Meerapfel has been President and writer Kathrin Röggla has been Vice-President of the society of artists.