Gerry Schum and Ursula Wevers

The Gerry Schum and Ursula Wevers Archive 
1967–1973

Filmmaker Gerry Schum (1938–1973) and artist and art historian Ursula Wevers (*1943) developed groundbreaking formats with the Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum and the later videogalerie schum to establish television and video as independent artistic media. The films and videos created during this period are now part of the international canon of video art, land art, and conceptual art.

The archive covers three phases: Gerry Schum’s early film works (1967–1968), the Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum (1969–1970), and the videogalerie schum (1971–1973).

Short films and documentary films for West German television (1967–1968)

Between 1967 and 1968, Gerry Schum produced a series of short films and documentaries on art in collaboration with the artist and art historian Hannah Weitemeier and the artist Bernhard Höke: Schaustücke – Ereignisse (SFB, 1967), a short documentary on an action by Bernhard Höke, 6th San Marino Art Biennale (WDR, 1967), and Konsumkunst – Kunstkonsum (WDR, 1968). These commissioned works were clearly documentary or essayistic in nature, yet they opened the door for Schum to the broadcasters. 

At the same time, they brought him into contact with key debates of the late 1960s: industrial modes of production, the mass reproduction of artworks and their commercialization, and the question of how art could have a public impact beyond traditional forms of exhibition and ownership.

The Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum (1969–1970)

The Fernsehgalerie responded to changing notions of art production and art consumption, as well as to the crisis of the artwork as an object, which became increasingly apparent toward the end of the 1960s. Processes, actions, and site-specific works eluded conventional forms of collecting and exhibiting.

The proposal for the Fernseh-Galerie Berlin, submitted to Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) in May 1968, which for the first time defined the idea of a purely television-based exhibition and its format, was developed by Gerry Schum in collaboration with art historian Hannah Weitemeier and artist Bernhard Höke. Starting in October 1968, Ursula Wevers played a key role in the design and realization of the Fernsehgalerie. The script ultimately submitted to SFB by Schum and Wevers contained a completely new concept and featured different artists. The initially strong sociopolitical focus gave way to a clearer definition of the idea of a »Fernsehgalerie.«

On April 15, 1969, Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum went on the air for the first time: ARD broadcast LAND ART, the first television exhibition. This was followed on November 30, 1970, by IDENTIFICATIONS, a second television exhibition on Südwestfunk. All films had been conceived for television. The productions were created in collaboration with thirty artists, including Joseph Beuys, Daniel Buren, Jan Dibbets, Richard Long, Mario Merz, Richard Serra, and Lawrence Weiner. Added to these were the television interventions by Keith Arnatt and Jan Dibbets, who interrupted the ongoing programming unannounced.

videogalerie schum (1971–1973)

After the public broadcasters refused to continue their collaboration, Schum and Wevers developed a new concept in 1971: the videogalerie schum in Düsseldorf. It was the first gallery in Europe dedicated exclusively to the production and distribution of video art.

The Archive

The Archive documents a decisive shift in the history of art and media: the evolution of television and video into independent artistic media that not only report on or document art, but through which art itself is realized. This reflects the cultural upheavals of the time and highlights Germany’s important role as a center of avant-garde art production during that period. It not only preserves key works but also documents the material and institutional conditions of their creation.

The archive’s particular value lies in its comprehensive contextualization of the projects. The materials provide insight into conceptual considerations, artistic decisions, technical requirements, organizational processes, and institutional negotiations, making them accessible to the reader. They demonstrate how closely questions of aesthetics were linked to issues of technology, distribution, and the market.

The archive also demonstrates that the Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum and the videogalerie schum were collaborative projects, both with the participating artists and on the conceptual and organizational levels, first with Bernhard Höke and Hannah Weitemeier, and later primarily with Ursula Wevers, who played a decisive role in shaping the realization of the Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum and the subsequent videogalerie schum beginning in October 1968.

The archive brings together artistic works, technical media, and extensive documentation on the creation and dissemination of the projects:

Films and videos
66 original 16-mm films and 81 videotapes in various formats, including the complete productions of the television exhibitions, the editions of the videogalerie, and unfinished projects  

Artistic materials
Drawings, collages, and objects created in connection with the productions, often in the form of certificates 

Documents and archival materials
Correspondence with artists, television stations, museums, and collectors; exposés; printed materials; photographs; negatives; press kits; and audio materials 

Technical equipment
Camera, editing machine, monitor, and other early video production equipment

The collection was acquired in 2025 with support from the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States, the City of Karlsruhe, and the State of Baden-Württemberg.

Artists in the Archive (selection)

Giovanni Anselmo, Keith Arnatt, John Baldessari, Joseph Beuys, Alighiero Boetti, Marinus Boezem, Stanley Brouwn, Daniel Buren, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Gino De Dominicis, Ger van Elk, Event Structure Research Group, Jan Dibbets, Barry Flanagan, Hamish Fulton, Gilbert & George, Michael Heizer, Imi Knoebel, Gary Kuehn, Richard Long, Walter de Maria, Mario Merz, Dennis Oppenheim, Klaus Rinke, Peter Roehr, Ulrike Rosenbach, Ulrich Rückriem, Reiner Ruthenbeck, Richard Serra, Robert Smithson, Keith Sonnier, Franz Erhard Walther, Lawrence Weiner, Ursula Wevers, Gilberto Zorio