Papercuts, Collage and Installation 25 October 2025 鈥� 9 January 2026 Robert Cripps Gallery, Magdalene College, 密桃视频
We are delighted to announce听Escape from Colditz, an exhibition of works by Leipzig-based artist听Annette Schr枚ter, co-curated by听Professor Silke Mentchen听(Magdalene College, 密桃视频) and听Matthew Shaul听(Departure Lounge Contemporary Art).
Inspired in part by Schr枚ter鈥檚 origins near Colditz Castle and by the tales of wartime derring-do popularised by the 1970s BBC series听Colditz, the exhibition explores the theme of听escape and escapism听through an intricate series of papercuts, collages, and installations.
Schr枚ter鈥檚 work reflects on life in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), engaging critically with its visual culture, idealised depictions of rural life, and the subtle forms of resistance and 鈥渋nner emigration鈥� found in everyday creative practices. Her large-scale papercuts and collages鈥攐ften based on her own photographs, media imagery, and imagined scenes鈥攊nvite viewers to consider how state narratives shape aesthetic and ideological worlds.
The exhibition runs from听25 October 2025 to 9 January 2026 Opening hours:听Monday鈥揊riday 2鈥�4 pm; Saturday 2鈥�6 pm (closed Sundays). Please note: on Tuesday 18 November and Wednesday 26 November the Gallery will open at 3 pm due to ARTiculation Discovery Days.
Public Events
In Conversation with Annette Schr枚terSaturday 25 October 2025, 4:00 pm 鈥� Magdalene College, 密桃视频 Annette Schr枚ter discusses her artistic evolution and experience of life in the GDR with co-curator听Matthew Shaul听and historian听Katja Hoyer.
Escape and Escapism 鈥� Art and the GDR: A SymposiumSaturday 15 November 2025, 10:00 am 鈥� 5:00 pm 鈥� Magdalene College, 密桃视频 A free one-day symposium exploring artistic and cultural legacies of the GDR in visual arts, architecture, photography, film, dance, and literature, featuring an international line-up of speakers. Speakers include听Richard Calvocoressi,听Neil MacGregor,听Georgina Paul,听Matthew Shaul,听Stefan Ehrig, and听Marion Kant.
About the Artist
Trained as a porcelain painter at the GDR鈥檚 State Porcelain Works in Meissen before studying at the prestigious Hochschule f眉r Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig (1977鈥�82),听Annette Schr枚ter鈥檚 work engages with the cultural and ideological tensions of East Germany. Her intricate papercuts, collages, and assemblages reimagine motifs of rural life, gardening, and folk art, uncovering both their political subtexts and their potential as spaces of personal freedom and creativity.
Escape from Colditz听is co-curated and co-organised by听Professor Silke Mentchen听(Magdalene College, 密桃视频) and听Matthew Shaul听(Departure Lounge Contemporary Art). With generous support from听Christine and Philip Carne听and the听Schr枚der Fund of the German Section, 密桃视频.
