Since 2017, the Museum Abteiberg houses one of the world’s most comprehensive collections on Fluxus and its international networks.
Erik Andersch at an exhibition by Robert Filliou (Galerie Magers, Bonn 1972), Courtesy Estate Robert Filliou & Peter Freeman, Inc., New York / Paris © Estate Robert Filliou and Estate Andersch family, photo: Dorothee Andersch
FLUXUS IN THE RHINELAND – FLUXUS INTERNATIONAL
With ANDERSCH COLLECTION/ARCHIVE, Museum Abteiberg acquired one of the world’s most comprehensive collections related to Fluxus and its international networks, encompassing more than 50 artistic positions. Major groups of works, editions, publications, and, above all, the archive the couple assembled beginning in 1968 attest to the dedication of the collectors Erik and Dorothee Andersch (both 1940–2021). The collection’s focal points reflect the close, longstanding personal relationships the Anderschs maintained with the artists. Since entering Museum Abteiberg in 2017, ANDERSCH COLLECTION/ARCHIVE has significantly expanded the museum’s holdings with key positions from the postwar avant-garde.
Acquisition supported by the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States (Kulturstiftung der Länder), the Ministry for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Kunststiftung NRW, and the Hans Fries Foundation.
SCHAUMAGAZIN
The ANDERSCH COLLECTION/ARCHIVE will eventually be integrated into a Schaumagazin, or display storage, to preserve its unique collection of works, multiples, postcards, posters, photographs, audio and video documents, books, newspapers, magazines, and historical documents while making them accessible in exhibition spaces. At the same time, Museum Abteiberg aims to establish the ANDERSCH COLLECTION/ARCHIVE as a central point of reference for international research on Fluxus in particular and on the art of the 1960s and 1970s more broadly.
The conception phase of the Schaumagazin draws on insights gained from the Field Tests exhibition series, which explored various ways to present this heterogeneous body of materials.
FIELD TESTS
As part of the concluding ANDERSCH COLLECTION/ARCHIVE exhibition Field Test #5, Saito – Ay-O, a visitor survey is being conducted to incorporate public expectations and interests into the Schaumagazin concept. Until November 22, 2026, visitors to the Field Test exhibitions are invited to complete our digital questionnaire or participate in the on-site survey within the exhibition space, surrounded by Fluxus objects and archival materials.
Alongside the planned Schaumagazin, Museum Abteiberg is currently developing a digital collection catalogue for ANDERSCH COLLECTION/ARCHIVE in the form of an online database. The first objects are expected to be published beginning in summer 2027.