Michael Thomas Schröder, born 1949 in Berlin, founded the Galerie 70 in Berlin-Charlottenburg together with friends in 1977, which in turn was the center of Berlin’s political cultural scene until its closure in 1986. In addition to political-documentary exhibitions on topics such as “Brokdorf”, “§ 218”, “Kunst gegen Rechts”, “SPIEGEL-Titelseiten”, “Kriegsspielzeug””Kein schöner Land”, there were various joint political art projects with the artist group RATGEB, such as “Fussball & Folter” (Football & Torture) on the occasion of the World Cup in Argentina in 1978. In 1982, Fotogalerie 70 was opened on the 2nd floor of Galerie 70 with exhibitions by Andrew Savulich/NY, Stanislav Tuma/Prague or F.C.Gundlach/HH.
He then curated large exhibitions such as “1984” in the provisional Kunsthalle Hallensee and “Art in Exile” in the Orangerie Schloss Charlottenburg.
Many contacts and close friendships with visual artists nationally and internationally stem from these years, which in turn was the basis and motivation for the establishment of the foundation.