Papercuts, Collage and Installation 25 October 2025 – 9 January 2026 Robert Cripps Gallery, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge
We are delighted to announce Escape from Colditz, an exhibition of works by Leipzig-based artist Annette Schröter, co-curated by Professor Silke Mentchen (Magdalene College, University of Cambridge) and Matthew Shaul (Departure Lounge Contemporary Art).
Inspired in part by Schröter’s origins near Colditz Castle and by the tales of wartime derring-do popularised by the 1970s BBC series Colditz, the exhibition explores the theme of escape and escapism through an intricate series of papercuts, collages, and installations.
Schröter’s work reflects on life in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), engaging critically with its visual culture, idealised depictions of rural life, and the subtle forms of resistance and “inner emigration” found in everyday creative practices. Her large-scale papercuts and collages—often based on her own photographs, media imagery, and imagined scenes—invite viewers to consider how state narratives shape aesthetic and ideological worlds.
The exhibition runs from 25 October 2025 to 9 January 2026 Opening hours: Monday–Friday 2–4 pm; Saturday 2–6 pm (closed Sundays). Please note: on Tuesday 18 November and Wednesday 26 November the Gallery will open at 3 pm due to ARTiculation Discovery Days.
Public Events
In Conversation with Annette SchröterSaturday 25 October 2025, 4:00 pm – Magdalene College, Cambridge Annette Schröter discusses her artistic evolution and experience of life in the GDR with co-curator Matthew Shaul and historian Katja Hoyer. Register via Eventbrite →
Escape and Escapism – Art and the GDR: A SymposiumSaturday 15 November 2025, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Magdalene College, Cambridge A free one-day symposium exploring artistic and cultural legacies of the GDR in visual arts, architecture, photography, film, dance, and literature, featuring an international line-up of speakers. Speakers include Richard Calvocoressi, Neil MacGregor, Georgina Paul, Matthew Shaul, Stefan Ehrig, and Marion Kant. Register via Eventbrite →
About the Artist
Trained as a porcelain painter at the GDR’s State Porcelain Works in Meissen before studying at the prestigious Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig (1977–82), Annette Schröter’s work engages with the cultural and ideological tensions of East Germany. Her intricate papercuts, collages, and assemblages reimagine motifs of rural life, gardening, and folk art, uncovering both their political subtexts and their potential as spaces of personal freedom and creativity.
Escape from Colditz is co-curated and co-organised by Professor Silke Mentchen (Magdalene College, University of Cambridge) and Matthew Shaul (Departure Lounge Contemporary Art). With generous support from Christine and Philip Carne and the Schröder Fund of the German Section, University of Cambridge.
