3 Grazien

Three people in costumes and headpieces, posing in front of a red brick wall.

Künstlerinnengruppe Erfurt, Die Drei Grazien, 1991, Still, Super-8-Film © Archiv Gabriele Stötzer, Courtesy: Künstlerinnengruppe Erfurt

Drawing on literary texts written by Gabriele Stötzer in the 1980s, the performance takes place on the main staircase in the foyer of Gropius Bau. Running in parallel is Die Drei Grazien (1991), a film by the Künstlerinnengruppe Erfurt (today Exterra XX), which is translated into an action combining sound, text and movement. In Greek and Roman mythology, the Three Graces embody grace, beauty and joy – this evening, they rap their way into the present and are embodied by Sara Neidorf, Gabriele Stötzer and Christine Wolf.

Sara Neidorf lives and works in Berlin as a film curator and drummer. Born in Philadelphia, Neidorf is a co-founder and co-director of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival, which showcases horror films by women directors and non-binary filmmakers. Neidorf plays drums in genre-expansive heavy bands including Mellowdeath, Sarattma, Mad Kate | The Tide and Pavone Cristallo. They are also active in theatre, dance and other interdisciplinary contexts, including live scores for horror and experimental films.

Gabriele Stötzer has been exploring questions of justice, gender and self-determination for more than five decades. Until the fall of the GDR, she was a prominent figure in the East German art and underground scene and co-founded Exterra XX (formerly known as Künstlerinnengruppe Erfurt). Stötzer was also among the initiators of the citizens’ movement “Frauen für Veränderung” and participated in the occupation of the Erfurt Stasi headquarters during the period of political transformation. Her artistic and civic engagement has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Pauli Prize of Kunsthalle Bremen. Today, she lives and works in Erfurt.

Christine Wolf is a Berlin-based artist, filmmaker and perfumer.

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