Exhibition title at the Stuttgart Museum of History: "Nudity as Obligation"
Stuttgart’s Haus der Geschichte is set to host two unique evenings, where visitors will be required to strip down to their bare essentials – shoes – as part of its current swimming-themed exhibition, “Free Swimming - Together?!”. This event, titled “Nackt ist Pflicht” (“Naked is mandatory”), aims to delve into themes of body acceptance, social attitudes towards nudity, and historical exclusion at public swimming pools.
The exhibition, co-organized by Get Naked Germany, uses swimming pools as a metaphor for society, illustrating different lifestyles and social tensions, including historical exclusions based on class, ethnicity, and under the Nazi regime.
Joachim Rüeck, spokesperson for the House of History Baden-Württemberg, stated that no program will be held on the evenings of the naked visit, but a guided tour is planned for August 30, and a word art action is scheduled two weeks later.
The exhibition, which runs until September 14, features over 200 objects and photos, and covers topics such as equality and democracy, sexism and racism, moral concepts, exclusion, and prejudice in the context of public bathing. The association behind the exhibition aims to normalize simple nudity in society and disassociate it from sexual activities.
The success of similar offers in cities like Paris, Marseille, Brussels, and Hannover has served as inspiration for the Stuttgart exhibition. Tickets for the event have sold out due to high demand, indicating a strong local interest in experiential museum visits that challenge social norms and promote openness about the human body.
This trend towards immersive cultural experiences that engage audiences in rethinking norms about the body and society, with history and social commentary embedded in the programming, is gaining traction worldwide. While events like a nude museum visit are rare, they serve to provoke reflection on body image, social taboos, or historical perspectives, eliciting a mix of curiosity, enthusiasm, discomfort, and controversy, depending largely on cultural context.
References: [1] Stuttgarter Nachrichten [2] Stuttgarter Zeitung
- Visitors to the "Nackt ist Pflicht" event at Stuttgart’s Haus der Geschichte can expect a guided tour focusing on the themes of body acceptance, social attitudes towards nudity, and historical exclusion, as part of the swimming-themed exhibition, "Free Swimming - Together?!"
- The exhibition, in collaboration with Get Naked Germany, also includes topics centering around fashion-and-beauty, social-media, and entertainment, using swimming pools as a metaphor for society, while exploring various lifestyles and social tensions.
- Aspiring to normalize nudity in society and disassociate it from sexual activities, the exhibition features over 200 objects and photos, covering themes related to home-and-garden, equality, democracy, sexuality, moral concepts, and prejudice in the context of public bathing.
