The Hans Würtz Collection comes to Sunderland Minster

At the turn of the Twentieth Century, the German pedagogue Hans Würtz (1875-1958) passionately collected artworks connected with impairment and disability. Würtz, himself not disabled, was the educational director of the Oskar-Helene-Heim (Oskar-Helene-Home) in Berlin, one of the largest orthopaedic institutions for disabled children and teenagers of its time. His collection features thousands of 2D prints, lithographs and photographs along with small 3D statuettes made of pottery, metal, wax, textile and carved wood and ivory. Exhibited in Berlin in 1932, Würtz’s activity was set against the political background of the rise of National Socialism.

Academic, artist and disability historian, Professor Simon McKeown, has been working with an international team to digitise the catalogue of items and curate a selection of the vast archive to go on display in the United Kingdom. The collection is of high cultural, educational, historical and artistic importance.

Now a selection of his archive will be on display at Sunderland Minster from 27th of August to 4th of October 2026.  The exhibition, The Hans Würtz Collection, is free to enter. The Minster is open Monday to Friday between 10am-12pm. You can find out more on the Sunderland Minster Facebook page.

As part of the exhibition, Sunderland Minster will be hosting Images of Disability: Then and Now, a panel discussion with Professor Simon McKeown, Dr Alison Wilde and Dr Rachel Holdforth on 24th September 6 - 8pm. The event is free, but ticketed. Tickets are available from TicketSource.