About the location
The Atelierhaus in the historic Monbijou Park is the main exhibition venue for based in Berlin.
The building, which has been refurbished for the exhibition, will for the last time host this 1,500 m2 contemporary art exhibition before its demolition in August. Monbijou Park, situated on what is now Oranienburger Straße, has had an eventful history. In the Middle Ages there was a large farm and dairy on the site, which was then outside Berlin’s city walls. The farm and dairy were destroyed during the Thirty Years War. In the mid-17th century, the Elector of Brandenburg’s wife set up a model farm on the site, to which a summerhouse and garden were added.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the estate was further expanded with the addition of a small palace and park in late-baroque style and was given the French name Monbijou — my jewel. Soon afterwards, Friedrich the Great had Monbijou substantially rebuilt and extended by architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, who had also built Sanssouci. In 1786 it became the main residence of Queen Friederike Luise, who died in Monbijou in 1805. After her death the palace was used for cultural events and in 1820 it became the Museum Vaterländische Alterthümer (Museum of National Antiquities). With the expansion of its collections, Kaiser Wilhelm I decreed that the 42-room palace be turned into the Hohenzollern museum in 1877. The museum was open to the public until it was largely destroyed in a bombing raid in November 1943. Its ruins stood until 1959, when Mitte’s local council ordered their complete demolition, despite the opposition of historic monument conservationists and strong protests by museum experts and many Berliners.
Monbijou Park’s post-war history was marked by three planning phases, in 1951, 1958 and 1973. The 1951 plans took up an idea that had already been raised in Hans Scharoun's urban "collective plan" and aimed to establish a centre for young people there. According to this the plan was to build childcare facilities and student residencees. It was also planned that the banks of the River Spree would be turned into green space.
The Atelierhaus in Monbijoupark’s basic structure also dates from this period. Only at the end of the 1950s was the Zentrale Werkstätten Berlin am Institut für bildende Kunst (Berlin Central Workshops of the Institute for Fine Arts) further developed and set up as an art studio. It was used by students from the Weisensee Kunsthochschule Berlin as a production studio and temporary exhibition space until March 2011. In 1958, work began due to “pressure from local authorities and the instigation of construction authorities to rebuild the park as part of the national reconstruction.” This project was called “Volkspark Monbijou” (Monbijou People’s Park). The children’s swimming pool was built in accordance with the wishes of local residents, some of whom also helped build the complex, and most of the trees planted at that time. In 1973 the ‘Volkspark’ became a “Leisure and Recreation Center,” with new small-scale sports facilities, playgrounds, a shooting range, and a park restaurant and sports hall. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Monbijou Park was considered as a possible site for a National Garden Show or for redevelopment, plans which were not carried out as a result of a “social study” on the importance of permanent green spaces and parks. In 1998 the park was given protected status during the process of applying for the World Heritage title for the adjacent Museum Island. (Source: Report on the construction and planning history of the Monbijou People’s Park 1949-1989 by Dr. Simone Hain, Berlin)
opening hours
Opening Hours
Mon - Sun 12pm - 12am
How to get there
U-Bahn
U8 (Rosenthaler Platz)
U8 (Weinmeister Straße)
U6 (Oranienburger Tor)
S-Bahn
S3, S5, S7, S75 (Hackescher Markt)
S1, S2, S25 (Oranienburger Straße)
Tram
M1, M6
About the location
KW Institute for Contemporary Art is one of the most significant centers for the production and presentation of contemporary art in Berlin. Since its creation in 1991 KW has presented the most recent and contemporary developments in the international arts.
Through multi-faceted and interdisciplinary exhibitions and events and the implementation of the Berlin Biennale, KW has evolved into one of the leading international contemporary art institutions.
KW has over 2000 m² of gallery space, six artist studios and the Café Bravo, designed by Dan Graham.
opening hours
Opening Hours
Tue - Sun 12pm - 7pm
Thu 12pm - 9pm
How to get there
S-Bahn
Hackescher Markt
Oranienburger Straße
U-Bahn
Rosenthaler Platz
Weinmeister Straße
Oranienburger Tor
About the location
Since November 1996, Hamburger Bahnhof has housed Nationalgalerie’s Museum für Gegenwart (Museum for Contemporary Art). Parallel to temporary exhibitions, the museum also presents works from its own important collections in a series of rotating exhibitions on the 10,000 square meters of space at its disposal. The exhibitions use monographic and thematic constellations, surprising dialogues, and the context of art history to present works from the Nationalgalerie, the Marx and Marzona Collections, as well as the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection in Hamburger Bahnhof in all parts of the museum.
The building was erected in the mid-nineteenth century as one of the first terminal stations of the rail system. In the early twentieth century, the structure was converted into a museum of transportation and technology. After a reconstruction by the architect Josef Paul Kleihues, the Hamburger Bahnhof reopened on November 2, 1996 as Museum für Gegenwart. As part of the reconstruction, the so-called Kleihueshalle was built. In 2004, a former goods depot was converted by the architects Kühn Malvezzi into the so-called Rieckhallen, adjoining the main building to the north and intended for the presentation of contemporary art.
opening hours
Opening Hours
Tue – Fri: 10am – 6pm
Sat: 11am- 8pm
Sun: 11am – 6pm
How to get there
U-Bahn
U6 (Naturkundemuseum)
S-Bahn
S3, S5, S7, S75 (Hauptbahnhof)
Tram
M6, M8, 12 (Naturkundemuseum)
Bus
M41, M85, TXL (Hauptbahnhof); 120, 123, 147, 240, 245 (Invalidenpark)
About the location
n.b.k. is an institution focusing on the production of contemporary art and discourse, established in 1969 to present international contemporary visual art to the general public and to facilitate access to works of art, whilst also inviting audiences to play an active role in cultural processes. n.b.k. shows artists from around the world and young Berlin artists in its two exhibition spaces, the main hall on the ground fl oor and the fi rst fl oor showroom. In 1970, n.b.k. launched one of the fi rst lending libraries for art in Germany, the Artothek, and in 1971 it set up the Video-Forum. Both collections—the Artothek and the Video-Forum—are open to the public, offering experimental programs in art and cultural education. Fostering the evolution of more recent artistic developments and spotlighting the social signifi cance of contemporary art are important priorities for n.b.k. Artists granted fellowships as part of n.b.k.’s residency program can use the studio/apartment at the recently renovated residential complex Gartenstadt Atlantic and have opportunities to carry out research in Berlin and to develop their projects. The book series “Exhibitions,” “Discourse,” and “Berlin” number among the publications produced by n.b.k. in conjunction with the Cologne publishing house Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König. The DVD series n.b.k. “Concert,” in turn, features contemporary music and performance art. n.b.k. also produces artist editions on a periodic basis.
n.b.k. receives a grant from Stiftung Deutsche Klassenlotterie with the support of the
Lord Mayor of Berlin, Senate Chancellery, Cultural Affairs.
opening hours
Opening Hours
Tue - Sun 12am - 6pm
Thu 12am - 8pm
How to get there
U-Bahn
U6 (Oranienburger Tor)
Tram
M1, M6, M 12
Bus
M 240
About the location
BERLINISCHE GALERIE
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, PHOTOGRAPHY AND ARCHITECTURE
The Berlinische Galerie is one of the newest museums in the German capital and collects art from Berlin dating from 1870 to the present day – with both a local and international focus. Founded in 1975, the State Museum reopened in its own building close to the Jewish Museum in 2004, moving into a spacious industrial hall that has been rebuilt to provide 4,600 square metres of exhibition space. Fine art – painting, graphics, sculpture, multimedia – photography, architecture and artists’ archives provide a rich source, whose interdisciplinary relationships create exciting dialogues. Its outstanding collections include Dada Berlin, the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) and the Eastern European avant-garde. The art of he divided and reunified city of Berlin provides another focus.
Image:
Berlinische Galerie, Eingangsbereich
(c) Berlinische Galerie, 2011
(c) Foto: André Kirchner
opening hours
opening hours
daily (execpt Tuesdays) 10am - 6pm
How to get there
Bus: M29, 248
U-Bahn:
U1 Hallesches Tor
U6 Kochstr. /Hallesches Tor
U8 Moritzplatz
