The Kunstmuseum Bonn will mark the centenary of GEDOK with ‘100 Years of GEDOK – Gifts to the Museum’, an exhibition presenting a selection of graphic works that have entered its collection through donations from the artists’ association since 1988. The presentation will run from 30 August to 25 October 2026 at the museum in Bonn, Germany.
Founded in Hamburg in 1926 by Ida Dehmel, GEDOK was the first association in the German-speaking world established to promote women artists, according to the Kunstmuseum Bonn. Its stated aims were to connect women working across artistic disciplines, improve their working conditions and strengthen their public visibility. The organisation’s centenary will also be marked by GEDOK exhibitions in Siegburg and other German cities.
The Bonn presentation traces one part of the association’s institutional relationship with the museum through works donated to the collection. The exhibition includes artists such as Birthe Blauth, Hilla Jablonsky, Susan Donath, Sandra Eades, Angela Fensch, Dorothea Frigo, Almut Glinin, Margrit Gloger, Irmgard Hofmann, Iris Hoppe, Susanne Krell, Rose Kretzschmar, Alexandra Kürtz, Christine Ludwigs, Astrid Meiners-Heithausen, Helene Moch, Barbara Noculak, Elianna Renner, Doris Scheuermann, Lisel Schubert, Rose Stach, Tina Wedel, Birgit Wenninghoff, Cesa Wendt and Viktoria Westmacott-Wrede.
Among the works highlighted by the museum is Birgit Wenninghoff’s ‘Coprinus Cornatus’ (2021), donated in connection with the 2022 Gabriele Vossebein Prize. The presentation also identifies Iris Hoppe’s ‘Exercise to stay in balance’ (2017) as a featured work. The selection reflects the continuing connection between GEDOK’s support structures and the museum’s holdings of graphic art.
That connection includes the prize formerly known as the Dr Theobald Simon Prize. From 1988 to 2019, Bonn patron Gabriele Vossebein established the award as a GEDOK art prize in memory of her father, Theobald Simon. After Vossebein’s death in 2019, her daughter Franziska Behrentin took over the foundation of the prize, which was subsequently renamed the Gabriele Vossebein Prize. The main prize carries an award of €5,000, while the associated graphic prize includes a donation worth €500 to the Kunstmuseum Bonn.
The exhibition will open on Sunday, 30 August, at 11:30 a.m. Admission to the exhibition will be free on the opening day, and no registration will be required. The Kunstmuseum Bonn is located on the Museumsmeile at Helmut-Kohl-Allee 2 and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Wednesday opening extended to 7 p.m.
