Voices Mag

Relations between Japan and the GDR are as deep as they are unexplored. The two countries had built up a multi-layered relationship with each other. Japan was seen as an economic bridge between the GDR's socialist system and the capitalist West. How did the GDR and Japan find ways to exchange art across the Iron Curtain?

As well as upholding traditions, high priority was given to emerging contemporary artistic trends, which are the focus of Part 4 of our MeissenLab. Workers from the manufactory, many selected from among the existing staff, studied at established GDR art academies with the aim of creating artistically sophisticated porcelain both for domestic sale and for export.

Part 3 of MeissenLab is about trade with countries outside the socialist bloc. The most important sales market was West Germany. In the 1980s, Japan also rose to a prominent position, with the GDR maintaining close diplomatic and economic ties.

Part 2 of MeissenLab examines corporate culture and production at the Meissen manufactory in GDR times. Tradition is key here; some Meissen families can trace their employment at the “Manu” as far back as the 18th century.