In
Past events
An open seminar/gathering with Katy Deepwell.
What is the relationship between feminism (an umbrella term for multiple and different kinds of politics regarding women) and the writing of art criticism about contemporary art (ostensibly an aesthetic practice, within an institutional framework of publishing, exhibition and education)?1 What concerns does feminist art criticism have which other forms of art criticism don’t? Are there principles or preoccupations which have marked the difference that feminist art criticism represents in recent decades? For example, is it about new subjects, new criteria, new sensibilities or approaches to writing art criticism or has it become a label attached to reading certain kinds of art practice – namely those artists already identified as feminist/queer feminist/black feminist/postcolonial feminist in their aesthetics/politics? The seminar will explore the tension between “doing” feminism as opposed to “being” a feminist, and consider what this distinction contributes to identifying standpoint/location and/or essentialist/anti-essentialist positions about women’s art production?
To make this discussion more concrete, short examples of different forms of feminist art criticism will be presented and read by participants as the basis for discussion. Participants are welcome to bring a short example of what for them constitutes a “feminist reading” in contemporary art?
Seminar will be in English. No preparatory reading required. This seminar follows Katy Deepwells lecture on Feb 2nd as advertised in gdc programme.
Date: 3 February, 2026, 10:00-12:30 (with coffee)
Please register here until 29 January 2026.
3 February, Reflexions on feminist art criticism
An open seminar/gathering with Katy Deepwell.
What is the relationship between feminism (an umbrella term for multiple and different kinds of politics regarding women) and the writing of art criticism about contemporary art (ostensibly an aesthetic practice, within an institutional framework of publishing, exhibition and education)?1 What concerns does feminist art criticism have which other forms of art criticism don’t? Are there principles or preoccupations which have marked the difference that feminist art criticism represents in recent decades? For example, is it about new subjects, new criteria, new sensibilities or approaches to writing art criticism or has it become a label attached to reading certain kinds of art practice – namely those artists already identified as feminist/queer feminist/black feminist/postcolonial feminist in their aesthetics/politics? The seminar will explore the tension between “doing” feminism as opposed to “being” a feminist, and consider what this distinction contributes to identifying standpoint/location and/or essentialist/anti-essentialist positions about women’s art production?
To make this discussion more concrete, short examples of different forms of feminist art criticism will be presented and read by participants as the basis for discussion. Participants are welcome to bring a short example of what for them constitutes a “feminist reading” in contemporary art?
Seminar will be in English. No preparatory reading required. This seminar follows Katy Deepwells lecture on Feb 2nd as advertised in gdc programme.
Date: 3 February, 2026, 10:00-12:30 (with coffee)
Please register here until 29 January 2026.
- See: Deepwell, Katy. 2023. "The Politics and Aesthetic Choices of Feminist Art Criticism" Arts 12, no. 2: 63. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12020063
27 November 2025
We are pleased to invite you to a special screening of the documentary 
On January 28 at 5:00 pm, we will screen the documentary madeinchina-517.jpg)
In the last few years, restitution has become an urgent topic for museums, politics, and academia. In disciplines like ethnography, art history, and history, the legacy of looting and, more generally, colonial injustice violence, has finally led to a sensitivity for the inequalities between nations and the necessities of repair. While the debate is mostly concerned with material artefacts like statues, paintings, historical sources and documents, the specificities of audiovisual media have not been at the center of attention.
In a workshop with Nikolaus Perneczky (London), we hope to open up an interdisciplinary discussion about the contexts, stakes, and perspectives of the restitution debate when it is approached from the particular requirements of audiovisual media. Responding to the premise that «rethinking restitution through the medium-specific affordances and operations of the moving image compels a reconceptualization of that paradigm» (Perneczky and Valenti), current fellows of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Global dis:connect are invited to share their experiences, questions and propositions.
Reading: Film/Restitution: Rethinking Displacement, Enclosure, and Relations of Care in Global Audiovisual Archiving (Nikolaus Perneczky and Cecilia Valenti)
Inputs, Responses, and Contributions: Nikolaus Perneczky, Hadeel Abdelhameed, Sarah Smith, Toby Yuen-Gen Liang, Katy Deepwell, Fabienne Liptay, Burcu Dogramaci
The event starts at 9:30am, registration takes place at 9:15am at Käte Hamburger Research Centre global dis:connect (gdc), Maria-Theresia-Strasse 21, 81675 Munich.
You can find the programme 
The workshop "New research on the (global) history of the South Caucasus and networking meeting" is a cooperation between the Chair of Russian-Asian Studies at LMU, the Max Weber Network Eastern Europe and gd:c.
The workshop will take place in German.
Dates: 20-21 November, 2025
Venue: Käte Hamburger Research Centre global dis:connect, Maria-Theresia-Str. 21, 81675 Munich
Convened by Helena Holzberger (LMU) and Moritz Florin (Max Weber Network Eastern Europe)
You can find the programme 
On November 19, we open our film series “Dis:connection: Cinema and Globalization” with the impressive documentary 
An interprofessional workshop for doctors, social workers, researchers, activists and anyone else who would like to participate.
Where: Käte Hamburger Research Centre global dis:connect, Maria-Theresia-Straße 21, 81675 Munich
When: 13 November 2025, 9:15–17:00
What’s it about?
Preventing sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted parenthood is part of everyday life for many. Nevertheless, challenges in contraception and counselling remain, particularly regarding contraceptive responsibility and involvement of men*. Researchers, doctors, social workers and activists cooperate to improve care and awareness. However, the reasons why certain contraceptive methods are offered to the exclusion of others, as well as to whom and when they are recommended, are seldom discussed in depth.
This conference marks the beginning of global dis:connect’s second funding phase. It explores the promises and challenges of the concept of dis:connectivity from an interdisciplinary perspective. Serving as a bridge between the past four years of research—during which we sought to unpack and define the concept—and the years ahead, the event will focus on advancing its empirical applicability across both spatial and temporal dimensions. Bringing together current and former fellows, gd:c staff, and partner institutions, the conference fosters dialogue and knowledge exchange across funding phases.
You can find the programme