Organisation

The Archives of the Akademie der Künste unite all three memory institutions – the archives, the library and the museum – under one roof. This offers ideal conditions for conducting research into modernist art and culture, while ensuring that the diverse collections are professionally cared for. The archives, collections and artworks are overseen by over 80 staff members, who are responsible for making them available to the public.

The Archives are run by the Archives Director’s Office, whose ambit of responsibility covers acquisitions, the events programme and research projects. Artists’ archives are preserved, in accordance with the membership structure, in the archival departments representing each section: Visual Arts, Architecture, Music, Literature, Performing Arts and Film and Media Arts. In addition, there are the Media Archives, which house audiovisual collections. The literary archives of Walter Benjamin and Bertolt Brecht have become increasingly independent over time. The Historical Archives, with their collection of administrative documents, memorialise the society of artists that gave rise to the Akademie. The specialist arts library has areas devoted to special collections, estate libraries and calligraphy. The Art Collection began as a teaching and model collection used for training artists; it is responsible for works acquired as gifts and specimen copies supplied by members or together with artists’ archives. The Brecht-Weigel Museum and the Anna Seghers Museum, two institutions operated by the Archives, are housed in the artists’ former homes. The Conservation Department handles conservation and restoration work required to maintain the diverse collection, while the Loans Department is responsible for the lending and transport of artworks for external and in-house exhibitions.