The art exhibition was held in a hall of the Berlin Exhibition from 15 July to 16 August, and displayed 667 works of art from 22 countries. Additionally, the literature competition attracted 40 entries from 12 countries, and the music competition had 33 entries from 9 countries.[2]
The art competitions at the 1936 Games were similar to the 1928 and 1932 Games, with medals being awarded in multiple subcategories for each of the five artistic categories.[3] The judges declined to award any medals for three subcategories, and no gold medals for another three subcategories.
Art competitions were part of the Olympic program from 1912 to 1948.[4]
At a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in 1949, it was decided to hold art exhibitions instead, as it was judged illogical to permit professionals to compete in the art competitions but only amateurs were permitted to compete in sporting events.[5] Since 1952, a non-competitive art and cultural festival has been associated with each Games.[6]
At the time, medals were awarded to these artists, but art competitions are no longer regarded as official Olympic events by the International Olympic Committee. These events do not appear in the IOC medal database,[7] and these totals are not included in the IOC's medal table for the 1936 Games.[8]
Hitler wanted to add a further selection of artistic events that he believed would glorify the Nazis to the programme of the 1936 Games, including dance. The International Olympic Committee declined to approve any of the events, though dance had been among the original planned art events when they were first introduced. Still, dance was included as an unofficial art event at the 1936 Games, known as the Internationale Tanzwettspiele.[9][10] Fourteen nations took part, and a festival with choreography and performance by Harald Kreutzberg and Mary Wigman was held. Rudolf von Laban had also been contracted to contribute, but his choreography was not deemed to be suitable propaganda and he was placed under house arrest. Kreutzberg and Wigman then also took part in the competitive part of the dance event, being among the (honorary) medalists.[9][11]
^Bolanaki, A. (June 1951). "Report on Art Exhibitions"(PDF). Bulletin du Comité International Olympique (27). Lausanne: International Olympic Committee: 34. Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
^O'Bonsawin, Christine; Heine, Michael (1 May 2022). "The 1936 Olympic Dance Competitions, Canadian Settler Colonialism, and the Indigenous Absence". Journal of Olympic Studies. 3 (1): 49–71. doi:10.5406/26396025.3.1.04. ISSN2639-6017.
