MUNICH.- Haus der Kunst announces the inauguration of a new permanent gallery dedicated to the presentation of its historical archive containing documents on the building's architecture and history. The new gallery is open to the public free of charge.

By establishing the permanent Archive Gallery, Haus der Kunst continues the process of introducing new formats for presenting its holdings of historical material and making them available to a wider audience. Following the succesful presentation of "Histories in Conflict: Haus der Kunst and the Ideological Uses of Art, 1937-1955", a major exhibition on the history of Haus der Kunst on the occasion of its seventy fifth anniversary in 2012, the new Archive Gallery will successively make the static quality commonly associated with the term "archive" more open and dynamic. By occassionally inviting artists, historians, curators, and researchers, changing presentations of material are planned to reflect on or intervene into the museum's holdings. A first intervention was realized in 2012 by Swiss conceptual artist Christian Philipp Müller for the exhibition "Histories in Conflict".

As the visible memory of the museum's turbulent history, a permanent exhibition space created for the Archive Gallery is situated along the publicly accessible Middle Hall. For this space, the artist and cultural theorist Martin Schmidl has created an ensemble of furnishings and museum displays. The basis for this exhibition and information platform is Haus der Kunst's Historical Archive, which has been overseen by Sabine Brantl since 2004. The historian selected documents from the museum's holdings that provide information about the building's origins and uses, as well as about how the structure was dealt with in the postwar period. The selection's thematic focus thus introduces the building's imminent restoration, which is accompanied by a reflexive exploration of its history. The presentation includes:

• a list of corporate donations for the construction of the "House of German Art", which opened in 1937;

• a historical plaque - which hung in the museum's foyer until 1945 - with a list of the founders, each of whom donated 100,000 Reichsmark, thereby providing the basic financing for the structure;

• a hand-colored floor plan from 1938;

• an undated drawing comparing the ceiling height of museums in Austria, England, Germany, and the Netherlands, by architect Paul Ludwig Troost's studio;

• studies for ceiling lights, furniture, and signage;

• accounting books for the "Great German Art Exhibitions", including a list of the submitted works from 1941 and the "Depotbuch für Bilder" (Depot Book of Paintings), which lists the purchases of paintings and graphic works by Adolf Hitler; compiled between 1941 and 1944, it contains purchases made as early as 1938;

• the book "Hauspasse" (building pass) from 1950;

• drawings created for the 1956 competition for a new design for the foyer and Middle Hall.

Displayed here for the first time, the "Hauspasse" is the only surviving document that attests the access authorization of employees to the building. It dates from the time of the American military government, which used a part of the building as an officer's club from 1945 to 1955. The Hauspasse provides information on contemporary parallels and yet very different uses of the building. In addition to departments, such as Management, Division of Budget & Finance, Exhibition Management, and the Department of Justice, the museum housed the editorial offices of the newspapers "Stars and Stripes" and "Heute", lounges for the "Bands of Officer's Club", and a hairdresser. It is remarkable that the book was meticulously maintained, as were lists of works submitted, exhibited and sold, which were compiled between 1937 and 1944.

Following the departure of the American military government in 1955, the Bavarian Ministry of Culture organized an architectural competition in January 1956, whose goal was to redesign the foyer and the central hall into multi-purpose areas. The proportions and quality of the rooms were to be concealed and - although this was not explicitly stated - the memory of the building's use for Nazi propaganda purposes eradicated. The proposal by Munich architect Josef Wiedemann was realized: The deep red marble cladding was covered with white paint, walls were added with wooden lagging and hung ceilings installed, thus creating less monumental dimensions. In 2004, these elements were removed as part of the so-called "Critical Reconstruction" of the building. The Critical Reconstruction will be continued in the complex restoration process, the planning for which was entrusted in 2013 to internationally renowned architect David Chipperfield Architects, whose design will completely restore the legibility of the building's burdened history.

The way of dealing with the building's architecture and history received a new dynamic approach when Okwui Enwezor became director of Haus der Kunst in 2011. He initiated the process of introducing new formats for the presentation of historical material, making them available to a wider audience, and of continually expanding the range of interactive options to this end.

The Archive Gallery's location along the Middle Hall and in close proximity to the site of DER ÖFFENTLICHKEIT - VON DEN FREUNDEN HAUS DER KUNST, an annual commissioned exhibition created by an international artist, emphasizes the institution's approach of bringing visitors into contact with the building through encounters with contemporary art. The artistic explorations that have taken place in and on the building, including those by Lawrence Weiner (2007/14), Ai Weiwei (2009/10) and Mel Bochner (since 2013), are also regarded in this context.

The Archive Gallery is curated by Sabine Brantl and Ulrich Wilmes.