Missing the Berlin art scene?
By Anna Ratcliffe | April, 2020
Missing the Berlin art scene? Us too. But while physical exhibitions, openings and events have been put on hold, a world of virtual experimentation has opened. Many galleries are doing walk throughs of their exhibitions, online artist talks and workshops. So there are many ways to still get your art fix from the comfort of your own self isolation.
Of course, in the virtual world we are not limited by location and major institutes from around the world are giving the opportunity for anyone to experience their collections and exhibitions. But we think it’s important to keep it local, and to celebrate the spaces we know and love. Here is an introduction to Art Tour Berlin’s pick of spaces that are doing innovative and interesting things through these uncertain times:
König Galerie
König was quick to start with going virtual: running walk throughs of their current exhibitions, studio visits and talks with artists, every day at 10am live on Instagram. They are also holding evening talks with artists working in the fields of net art, post-internet art and digital art. The series is comically titled The Artist Is Online, a pun on Marina Abramović’s The Artist Is Present.
If this wasn’t enough, they have found a way for people to enter the amazing space of St. Agnes, in case you were missing the epic brutalist architecture of the former church. Artist Manuel Rossner transforms the gallery into a game environment where you play as a white humanoid figure and are allowed to do things normally forbidden in white walled spaces: run, jump and not only touch the artworks but actually push them over and climb into the rafters for a birds eye view of the space. The game/exhibition is titled Surprisingly This Rather Works and can be found on the App Store. For their other digital content Instagram is the best place to find it: https://www.instagram.com/koeniggalerie/
Kunst100
Openings and vernissages are two things that are hard to conjure up when everyone has to be 1.5 meters away from each other. But Kunst100 are taking on this challenge and holding a live stream of their vernissage No Touching which used to only apply to the artworks but now applies to us too. With almost 100 works and 30 international artists, the stream will explain the works on display and speak to the makers. Also all of the artworks are for sale on their website at very reasonable prices starting from €30 to €500, so it also a great way to dabble in buying art and support artists. The stream is held over three days so you can be sure to catch it.
Live via Instagram channel "Kunst100" (German/English):
April 23, 2020 Thursday 9:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
April 24, 2020 Friday 9:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
April 25, 2020 Saturday 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Schinkel Pavillon
Strictly not ‘art’ but music in an art space. Schinkel Pavillon is renowned for putting on contemporary art exhibitions of installation, sculpture and new media which are almost always pretty dark. But during this time, they have given over their impressive octagon shaped room to classical music concerts, happening live every Monday and Friday at 8.30pm. Built in 1969 by architect Richard Paulick, who is best known as the chief architect for Karl Max Allee, the space’s floor to ceiling windows and art deco lighting are an enigmatic place for the ‘Concerts in Quarantine’ series. Next up on 24th of April is Gabriel Schwabe on cello and Nicholas Rimmer on piano performing pieces by Chopin and Schubert. Broadcasts happen from their website, along with more information about the performances. https://www.schinkelpavillon.de/exhibition/live-stream-monday-friday-8-30pm/
Disruption Network Lab
As a disclaimer the Disruption Network Lab says when they named their organisation: ‘we would never have imagined that disruption would turn out the way we are experiencing it.’ Previously they hosted conferences that discussed the important social issues of our times and the Covid-19 crisis was damned to stop them. They moved their critical thinking conversations online and are hosting ‘Disruptive Fridays’ weekly at 5pm. Their topics relate to art, hacktivism, whistleblowing, social justice and collective care in times of corona.
If you want to academically engage with the art scene and take your mind on a mental jog we would highly recommend their discussion between art practitioners, curators and an interdisciplinary range of researchers, at the end of the online panel discussion there is a chance for a virtual Q and A with the participants.
This weeks Disruptive Fridays: Virus Tracking & Surveillance, April 24 2020, 5pm. With Lauri Love (Computer Scientist, UK), Joana Moll (Artist and Researcher, ES), Julian Finn (Hacker and Media Artist, DE) and Tatiana Bazzichelli (Director, Disruption Network Lab).
Find it here: https://www.disruptionlab.org/fridays
Migrant Bird Space
Spanning the art scenes in Germany and China Migrant Bird Space is a space for established and emerging artists to present their work. They have teamed up with artist Silin Liu to create a sort of Covid diary. ‘Fun in Quarantine’ sees Liu cook 5 dishes matching it with 5 movies/tv shows for 5 days. The videos are little insights into the artist’s life, doing a very mundane activity of preparing dinner but always paired with some disastrous watching, for instance Chernobyl, The Joker, Black Mirror. This could be said to reflect the world we have now entered – the mundane forced together with the apocalyptic. As Liu muses in her final video ‘I don’t think will be destroyed but disasters should make us reflect on life’.
The videos are also very comical, often with scenes and dialogue from the films spliced into her world, as if she is having a conversation with the characters and they are commenting on her cooking, which doesn’t always go to plan. The series took place from 16th March and can be watched on the Migrant Bird Space Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MigrantBirdSpace/ and they have just put up a brand-new online viewing room with an exhibition by Silin Liu which you can access through: www.artthou.co.uk.