Introduction to Bauhaus
The Bauhaus was probably the most influential art, architecture, and design movement in the world and celebrated a century in 2025 since it moved from Weimar to the city of Dessau. Before it started the Centennial event "to the core". Bauhaus Dessau 100 ", the legendary modernist institution already made headlines.
Controversy Surrounding Bauhaus
In October 2024, the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) warned of the upcoming centennial of "glorification" of the art and design school. The party complained that Bauhaus had promoted a "globalistic uniformity" and submitted an application in which the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt conducts a critical re-evaluation of the artistic movement. The extreme right-wing national socialist party also condemned the Bauhaus and described its work as "degenerated art" and "cosmopolitan", before it closed the facility in 1933 after Adolf Hitler came to power.
Response to Criticism
The director of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, told that the AfD application was "lifted". However, that was not the end of the matter. "No day goes by without I gave an interview somewhere about the AfD," she said. Nevertheless, the Centennial show, which begins on September 5, will continue with exhibitions and events that focus on the development and use of modern materials in contemporary architecture and design.
What Makes Bauhaus Dessau Special
The architect Walter Gropius founded Bauhaus in 1919 in the city of Weimar in the German state of Thuringia. He imagined a school that would bring art, design, and architecture together. It would have multidisciplinary courses in which the students could experiment with materials in furniture, architecture, art, or design. In 1925 Bauhaus moved to the city of Dessau in the state of Saxony-Anhalt after reducing the financing. In fact, the conservative political parties that ruled Thuringia had forced the institution.
Bauhaus Style and Influence
A year later, Gropius was able to realize his dream of a committed building for his school. The striking glass facade, which was divided by vertical steel struts, has become a landmark that has been recognized all over the world. The Bauhaus style contained clean, minimalist lines and shapes that preferred the function of decoration. Many well-known artists and architects such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Oskar Schlemmer, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Lyonel Feiner, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee taught in the Bauhaus.
Ideas to Redesign the World
The philosophy of simple and functional architecture soon found global exponents and the Bauhaus in turn has ideas from other continents – such as Africa, by copying the design of structures that remain cool at hot temperatures. "In the historic Bauhaus, the idea was not only to design the world," said art historian. The aim was to find solutions for a world full of challenges such as industrialization and to close cooperation with industries that could offer modern building materials such as steel, concrete, and glass.
The Way to Ethical and Sustainable Materials
The title of the Centennial "to the core" is intentionally ambiguous. On the one hand, it refers to building materials such as glass, stone, and wood with which the students worked for the first time as Bauhaus, and the objects created from them. On the other hand, it also refers to a social core; On the feeling of community that is present in Bauhaus. Nowadays, Bauhaus students take a closer look at the origins of raw materials and products. The students examine where the materials for the Bauhaus artists were manufactured and processed and what negative effects such as pollution and exploitation were associated with them.
Bauhaus Celebrates Centennial with Multidisciplinary Show
The centennial celebrations will continue until 2026. Bauhaus buildings such as the houses of the masters – modern modern apartments developed for the teachers of the institution – will organize various exhibitions all year round. "The buildings are our biggest exhibits," she said. The traditional Bauhaus festival takes place in the park of the city zoo with the hosting events of Anhaltinian Theater Dessau, such as: The dancers’ costumes are formed geometrically made of metal, fabric, and other materials.
Does the Bauhaus Have to Close Again
"I think this AfD campaign – and it was not just one, but a number of campaigns that always target modernity – brought us a lot of attention and support," she said. At the same time, it is afraid of what will happen if the AfD wins an absolute majority in the state parliament of Saxony in the next elections, since the state minister of culture is also chairman of the board of trustees. Bauhaus is already forming alliances with other cultural institutions in order to ward off compression campaigns and other attacks by the right-wing extremist party that deals with cultural wars on numerous fronts. "Bauhaus would have to close again," she said out of fear of an AfD victory.
