“What would Walter do?” was a one-time performance at the Bauhaus Dessau which prompted visitors to imitate and accompany the famous Bauhaus personality Walter Gropius on a speculative evening in the life, witnessing his private moments and connection to the building during its construction phase in 1926. The aim of the performance was to create and re-enact a speculative past, that makes history visible as deeply personal and something that can be experienced bodily, rather than just through the engagements with text, historic photographs and exhibits. This was based on an inquiry into the way history is remembered about and through the Bauhaus building. When engaging with the building from afar, it seems almost impenetrable, monolithic and ageless in its visual depiction and dominant remembrance narrative. This is in stark contrast not only to the layered, partially hidden history that presents itself on site but also to my own experiences there as a student-inhabitant, encompassing all senses and memories connected to friends, teachers and the relationship to the visiting public.

“What would Walter do?” took place as part of a guided walk through the Bauhaus building as part of the Bauhaus Study Rooms 2026 and Bauhaus Summer School.