G2 Kunsthalle
The G2 Kunsthalle, founded in March 2015, is a private non-profit institution supporting contemporary visual art located in the city centre of Leipzig (Germany). Selected artworks from the Hildebrand Collection are permanently displayed in frequently changing installations, accompanied by temporary exhibitions in close collaboration with younger and emerging artists. With its more than 1,000 square meters exhibition space the G2 offers ideal conditions for contemporary art exhibitions. From the G2’s transparent lounge all visitors enjoy a great view over the city of Leipzig from a unique position in front of the famous church of St. Thomas. The G2 Kunsthalle is conceived as a forum of exchange between people. Our public guided tours offer the possibility to get in contact and to discuss own ideas and associations with our tour staff and other artlovers.
According to its mission, the G2 is active in the promotion of emerging artists. Our special exhibitions survey the dialogue between artistic positions from the Hildebrand Collection with other national and international artists. In 2017 and in collaboration with the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig (HGB) we established the G2 Kunsthalle Art Prize (Meisterschülerpreis der G2 Kunsthalle). The prize, donated by the G2 Kunsthalle, comprises 10,000 Euro and a studio space for 12 months and will be awarded every year among all postgraduates of the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig (Absolventen des Meisterschülerstudiums).
The G2 Kunsthalle contributes importantly to the exhibition scene of Leipzig. From its location close to the Kunsthalle of the Sparkasse, our gallery is just a short walk away from the Museum of Fine Arts (MdbK) and the Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst (GfZK). To visit the G2 Kunsthalle and our current exhibition please check our opening hours and/or make your reservation online for a guided tour.
Architecture & History
The G2 Kunsthalle and its 1.000 square meters exhibition gallery are located in the third floor of a late 1980s building in the heart of the German city Leipzig (Saxony). The structure faces the famous Thomaskirche and was planned as a data processing centre for the GDR. Because of the political change in 1989/90 the data centre never started the activities it was planned for and the structure was partly abandoned while some offices and floors were used for various smaller businesses and as storage space.
Twenty five years after its construction, the building has been completely restored and its third floor has been transformed into four large galleries with ideal conditions for the exhibition activities of the artspace.
The new use of the architecture as an exposition hall emphasizes the historical importance of the venue. In 1848 the so-called Central-Halle was built on the same site. At this time gardens and promenades dominated this part of Leipzig. With the construction of the Central-Halle on the property of the notorious Lurgenstein´s Garden the citizenry established a place in Leipzig dedicated to public exhibitions and events. The Central-Halle offered various spaces of different sizes for art shows, concerts, readings, Christmas bazars and industrial expositions. The largest of all rooms – the magnificent Unionssaal – hosted important festivities as splendid masked balls or, in 1863, the banquet organized on occasion of the 50th anniversary of the battle of Leipzig.
In 1898 – fifty years after its construction – the Central-Halle was demolished during the renewal of the Promenadenring and replaced by a representative new building for the military administration, the so-called Commandatur. The building was destroyed by air raids between 1943 and 1944 together with a large part of the adjacent district Kolonnadenviertel.
After the war and for more than thirty years following, the architectonical “gap” was used as a parking place. And with the construction of the data processing centre the tradition of the place and its history seemed to be completely forgotten and lost.
The G2 today creates a link between the actual architectonical structure and the historical relevance of the site. An integral part of cultural history and civic engagement in the city of Leipzig is to be continued.
To visit the G2 Kunsthalle and our current exhibition please check our opening hours and/or make your reservation online for a guided tour.
Reviews and press articles about the G2 (selection)
ArtMapp Das Kunstmagazin für Entdecker, July-October 2018 (pdf)
KubaParis – Zeitschrift für Junge Kunst, 9 July 2018 (link to external source)
Leipziger Volkszeitung, 5 July 2018 (link to external source)
kunst:art, no. 62, July/August 2018 (pdf)
KubaParis – Zeitschrift für Junge Kunst, 26 June 2018 (link to external source)
Leipziger Volkszeitung, 12 June 2018 (pdf)
Independent Collectors, 23 April 2018 (link to external source)
Parnass, no. 4/2017 (pdf)
mdr KULTUR, 6 December 2017 (link to external source)
BUNTE, November 2017, No 45 (pdf)
Tagesspiegel, 28 October 2017 (pdf)
The Leipzig Glocal, 18 October 2017 (link to external source)
ArtMapp Blog, 12. Oktober 2017 (link to external source)
Merian, October 2017 (Sachsen) (pdf)
Tagesspiegel, 21 August 2017 (link to external source)
Independent Collectors, 2 August 2017 (link to external source)
Leipziger Volkszeitung, 21 June 2017 (pdf)
NZZ, 12 June 2017 (pdf)
Artsy, 6 June 2017 (link to external source)
ArtMapp Blog, 25 May 2017 (link to external source)
Mephisto 97.6, 16 May 2017 (link to external source)
FAZ Magazin, 13 May 2017 (pdf)
Il Sole 24 Ore, 28 April 2017 (link to external source)
ArtMapp Blog, 22 March 2017 (link to external source)
BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors, 22 March 2017 (link to external source)
Independent Collectors, 9 March 2017 (link to external source)
kunst:art, no. 54, March/April 2017 (pdf)
Leipziger Volkszeitung, 4/5 February 2017, S. 10 (pdf)
The Leipzig Glocal, 1 February 2017 (link to external source)
Art Viewer, 5 December 2016 (link to external source)
kunst:art, no. 52, November/December 2016 (pdf)
Daily Lazy, 1 November 2016 (link to external source)
Artsy, 24 October 2016 (link to external source)
Leipziger Volkszeitung, 21 September 2016 (pdf)
Independent Collectors, 19 September 2016 (link to external source)
The Leipzig Glocal, 16 September 2016 (link to external source)
Sunday Times, 29 May 2016 (pdf)
MDR Kultur, 26 July 2016, radio review, 3:33 min (link to external source)
The Leipzig Glocal, 13 July 2016 (link to external source)
Leipziger Zeitung, 10 June 2016, No. 32, p. 18 (pdf)
kunst:art, May/June 2016, p. 20 (pdf)
Leipziger Volkszeitung, 17 March 2016, p. 10 (pdf)
Amrei’s Artblog für Entdecker, in: Artmapp March-June 2016, p. 157 (pdf)
kunst:art, issue March/April 2016, p. 14 (pdf)
Kunstzeitung, February 2016, p. 4 (pdf)
ARTSY Collections, October 2015 (link to external source)
Personalities, Hatje Cantz: Ostfildern 2015 (pdf)
BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors, week 32 2015 (link to external source)
kunnst, Autumn 2015, pp. 28-35 (pdf)
Places of Spirit, Special: Art, August/September 2014, pp. 6-7 (pdf)
ART. Das Kunstmagazin, No. 4, April 2015, p. 144 (pdf)
ART. Das Kunstmagazin, Online-Magazine, 19 March 2015 (link to external source)
ArtMapp Magazin, March-June 2015, No. 8, Anno IV, pp. 30-31 (link to external source)
kunst:art, May/June 2015, No. 43, p. 11 (pdf)
Sächsische Zeitung, category: Culture, 24 March 2015, p. 8 (pdf)
mdr Kultur, 11 March 2015 (pdf)
NeuroTransmitter, No. 6, June 2015, pp. 64-67 (pdf)
Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, 5 August 2015, p. 26 (pdf)
MEPHISTO 976 Radio, 17 August 2015 (link to external source)
Thüringische Landeszeitung, Samstag, 4 July 2015, p. 2 (pdf)