• On a grey background: An iPad shows cover of e-book publication, "THINGS THAT WERE ARE THINGS AGAIN" featuring large white lettering on an abstract background in yellow and pink.
  • On a grey background: An iPad shows white page with title of e-book publication, "THINGS THAT WERE ARE THINGS AGAIN" in large blue abstract lettering.
  • On a grey background: An iPad shows a page with text from an e-book on a white and pale pink ombre background.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows two photographs side-by-side. Pictured on the left is a white wall with large white abstract lettering reading, "THINGS THAT WERE ARE THINGS AGAIN" and next to it a triangular shaped placard hangs from a slanted beam. Pictured on the right is a large white exhibition placard in front of large windows that look outside; below there is neon green plastic plants.
  • On a grey background: A hand holds the left side of an iPad, picturing a page from an e-book with two photographs between small black text. On the left, is a tall aluminum sculpture in a museum. On the right, a hand reaches into an aluminum fruit bowl with apples and cherries.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows a photograph of two music speakers on either side of a large photograph mounted to a grey wall. The photograph shows a person djing outside with pink text over the image that reads, "To me, it's an ideal stimulation I need for my hyperactive nature. It's regenerative, and calms me down".
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows a photograph of an exhibition space with white walls and a metal grated floor where pieces of fabric hang from the ceiling or lay on the floor.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows two close-up photographs of a white table with various items in petri dishes and small labels with text beneath them.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows a photograph from an exhibition of eight artworks, lined up in two rows of four, made up of collages or picturing various items on bright red rectangular backgrounds.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows a photograph of green conical structure with an opening where a child with a blue winter hat pokes their head through and are turned away.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows four photographs. In the top left, two women are pictured sorting through plastic boxes. In the top right, an assortment of items and materials are pictured on a white background. In the bottom left, a workspace is pictured with shelves and crafting materials. In the bottom right, a women is pictured pulling a large format book from a shelf.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows an example page from an e-book with small blue text on a white page.
  • On a grey background: An iPad shows cover of e-book publication, "THINGS THAT WERE ARE THINGS AGAIN" featuring large white lettering on an abstract background in yellow and pink.
  • On a grey background: An iPad shows white page with title of e-book publication, "THINGS THAT WERE ARE THINGS AGAIN" in large blue abstract lettering.
  • On a grey background: An iPad shows a page with text from an e-book on a white and pale pink ombre background.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows two photographs side-by-side. Pictured on the left is a white wall with large white abstract lettering reading, "THINGS THAT WERE ARE THINGS AGAIN" and next to it a triangular shaped placard hangs from a slanted beam. Pictured on the right is a large white exhibition placard in front of large windows that look outside; below there is neon green plastic plants.
  • On a grey background: A hand holds the left side of an iPad, picturing a page from an e-book with two photographs between small black text. On the left, is a tall aluminum sculpture in a museum. On the right, a hand reaches into an aluminum fruit bowl with apples and cherries.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows a photograph of two music speakers on either side of a large photograph mounted to a grey wall. The photograph shows a person djing outside with pink text over the image that reads, "To me, it's an ideal stimulation I need for my hyperactive nature. It's regenerative, and calms me down".
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows a photograph of an exhibition space with white walls and a metal grated floor where pieces of fabric hang from the ceiling or lay on the floor.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows two close-up photographs of a white table with various items in petri dishes and small labels with text beneath them.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows a photograph from an exhibition of eight artworks, lined up in two rows of four, made up of collages or picturing various items on bright red rectangular backgrounds.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows a photograph of green conical structure with an opening where a child with a blue winter hat pokes their head through and are turned away.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows four photographs. In the top left, two women are pictured sorting through plastic boxes. In the top right, an assortment of items and materials are pictured on a white background. In the bottom left, a workspace is pictured with shelves and crafting materials. In the bottom right, a women is pictured pulling a large format book from a shelf.
  • On a grey background: an iPad shows an example page from an e-book with small blue text on a white page.

Things That Were Are Things Again

Franciska Zólyom, Julia Eckert

Do art museums need to radically transform the way they work? Perspectives on how to approach art in times of climate change, on the example of the collection of the GfZK – Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig

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What do art museums have to do with climate change? Do they need to radically transform the way they work? The publication Things That Were Are Things Again accompanies the collection exhibition of the same name at the GfZK – Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig. This was the museum’s first attempt to produce a climate-neutral exhibition. The curators and designers of the exhibition reflect on the two-year working process, during which they tried out resource-saving and climate-friendly strategies and dealt with climate change from various perspectives. 24 artistic positions, mainly works from the museum’s collection, but also several new productions, examined technological, political, economic and cultural aspects of climate change. How sustainable can plastic be? Have the ‘tropics’ always been the future? Can the principles of permaculture be applied to artistic endeavours?

With works by Lara Almarcegui, Lars Bergmann, Kent Chan, Céline Condorelli, Katarína Dubovská, Ólafur Elíasson, Till Exit, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Andrea Garcia Vasquez, Elizabeth Gerdeman, Interspecies Society, Christine Hill, Johanna Kandl, Inga Kerber, Imi Knoebel, Hanne Lippard, Muntean/Rosenblum, Olaf Nicolai, Dan Peterman, Maren Roloff, Christoph Schäfer, Sean Snyder, Sarah Sze, Auke de Vries

Julia Eckert

Julia Eckert is a collection curator, administration manager and sustainability officer at the GfZK – Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig. She co-curated Things That Were Are Things Again, the museum’s first attempt at a climate-neutral exhibition.

Franciska Zólyom

Franciska Zólyom is a curator and director of the GfZK – Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig. With her team, she works on the realization and communication of artistic ideas and aims to contribute to transforming museums into places of participation and co-determination, where people with different interests and expertise come together.

Editors: Julia Eckert, Franciska Zólyom
Authors: Kent Chan, Katarína Dubovská, Julia Eckert, Gesellschaft für artübergreifende Freundschaft (Interspecies Society), Inga Kerber, Katharina Köhler, Eleni Michaelidi, Olaf Nicolai, Studio Baustein (Jonas Fleckenstein / Maria Bauhofer), The New Raw (Foteini Setaki), Franciska Zólyom
Design: Katharina Köhler
Editorial management: Julia Eckert, Sabine Weier, Franciska Zólyom
Copy editing: Tanja Milewsky, Sabine Weier (DE), Louise Bromby (EN)
Proofreading: Julia Eckert, Bettina Reichmuth, Sabine Weier
Translation: Sabine Weier (EN → DE), Louise Bromby (DE → EN)
Photo credits: Alexandra Ivanciu
Except: Katharina Köhler, Studio Baustein, Kent Chan, Inga Kerber,  Céline Condorelli, Sebastian Schröder, Stefan Fischer, Humme, Leipzig, Tobias Wootton, Andreas Enrico Grunert,  Mehrweglabor
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026: Christine Hill, Inga Kerber, Imi Knoebel, Olaf Nicolai (courtesy Galerie EIGEN + ART Leipzig/Berlin)
Typefaces: Besley (indestructible type); Gus Mono, Rosart, (Camelot Typefaces) New Rail (A2 Type); TychosRecipe (Pia Frauss)

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