We are pleased to welcome Sebastian Stein as the new director of the Kunstverein!
Sebastian Stein will take up the position from June 2021 and is expected to present his exhibition program from autumn 2021 onwards. With his institutional and curatorial concept he convinced the jury and prevailed against 27 competitors. The jury consisted of the members of the board and the advisory board of the Kunstverein, supplemented by two external positions, namely Heinrich Dietz, director of Kunstverein Freiburg and Juliane Schickedanz, co-director, together with Anna Jehle, of Kunsthalle Osnabrück.
Sebastian Stein succeeds Noor Mertens, who is moving to Kunstmuseum Bochum. She has headed the Kunstverein since 2017 and has received both local and international attention for her innovative program.

As the new director of the Kunstverein, Sebastian Stein would like to address the question of what an art institution can be in the crisis-ridden present at the beginning of the 21st century. “The programm could focus on joint research, self-questioning, self-insecurity and trips. The whole thing rather in a group mode. And of course the question of what role art and aesthetic practice could play in this - and which one rather not, is part of my focus." He will pursue the successful education program of the Kunstverein, which he has helped shape since 2019.

A long time ago, Sebastian Stein (* 1977) studied ethnology, sociology and French. After stays in France and Belgium, he lived for some time in Munich, where he was part of the Lothringer13_Laden committee. Since then he has mainly been active in self-organized contexts in the art field, e.g. as part of NO FUTURE complex and together with Stephan Janitzky as editor of the biannual magazine MUSS STERBEN. In 2015/2016 he was the artistic director of the M.1 of the Arthur Boskamp Foundation in Hohenlockstedt near Hamburg. Since 2017 he has been running the ruine HQ in Hanover as a self-appointed assistant. Sebastian Stein has been working freelance for the Kunstverein Langenhagen since 2019, where he is responsible for the conception and implementation of the educational program.