Curated by Foreign Legion, Vera Sacchetti and Matylda Krzykowski.

Contemporary cultural constructs have us believe that not everyone can get a fair share of the cake, and that only a limited few can write history. In the case of female practitioners in design, architecture and the arts, their erasure from the history and the memory of their disciplines has been systematic; but in the first two decades of the 21st century, they have regained visibility. In this pivotal moment, female practitioners have the chance to usher in an important transformation for their disciplines.

We can – and need to – add to the existing cake: infinite layers for an expanded canon. Adding to museum collections and to historical accounts, adding to collective memory and to possible futures. Most importantly, we must realize that ‘adding’ doesn’t mean ‘taking away’, but that it enriches the existing context with multiple, varied voices and perspectives.

Add to the Cake is an exercise in enacting the kind of transformation that design, architecture and arts are about to experience. It develops over the course of an exhibition (preview: 27.04. – 23.06., exhibition: 06.07. – 03.11.2019), an active public program, and a series of performative moments over the course of six months.

The exhibition stems from the ‘A Woman’s Work’ symposium, which took place at the Japanisches Palais in Dresden in January 2019, in context of the ‘Against Invisibility’ exhibition, and gathered local and international perspectives on the present and the future of female practice.

In Add to the Cake, the exhibition collects and develops themes that were first discussed during that occasion, and frames them alongside other objects and ideas developed by female practitioners. Alongside it, an active public program presents a variety of formats, focusing on establishing permanent visibility for female practitioners.

Perspectives represented in the preview of the exhibition:
Danah Abdulla, Tulga Beyerle, Pinar Demirdag, Annika Frye, Thomas Geisler, Katrin Greiling, Christoph Knoth, Sarah Owens, Alice Rawsthorn, Antje Stahl and Libby Sellers.

With contributions from: Common Interest (Nina Paim, Corinne Gisel), Depatriarchise Design (Maya Glasel & Anja Neidhard), DAMn Magazine (Siegrid Demyttenaere, Bessaam El-Asmar, Emma Firmin, Gabrielle Kennedy), Kate Dooley, Amelie Klein, Kaja Kusztra, Alexandra Lange, Emma Lucek, Klara Nemeckova, Not a Muse (Silva Baum, Claudia Scheer, Lea Sievertsen), Sumitra Upham, Hagen Verleger.

Soundpiece by Julia E. Dyck, Visuals by AnnerPerrin and Raby-Florence Fofana, scenography by AnnerPerrin, Raby-Florence Fofana, Matylda Krzykowski, video room by Pinar Demirdag and Viola Renate from Pinar & Viola, produced by von Atilla Turker.