This year’s pandemic has not just brought dramatic change; it has also forced us to stop and take stock. But what effects will this imposed break have on us, now and beyond? That’s the question guiding Gropius Bau’s summer program Down to Earth, which runs for a month starting 13.08 as part of the Berliner Festspiele’s ongoing Immersion series. For four weeks, the museum’s ground floor and southern square are being transformed into a space that is part exhibition part alternative campus. Performances, lectures, musical interventions, workshops and discussions ask how we can eat, work and travel to the good of the environment. The permanent exhibition features art, research projects and installations on the subject of the environment presented across 14 rooms, with works by Agnes Denes, Alicja Kwade, Yngve Holen, Tomás Saraceno and Tino Sehgal. Also in the program is practical guidance, including Joschka Härdtner and Kay Andrees’s workshop on Tiny Houses and the Repair Café which lets you breathe new life into your electricals. The Roof Water Farm laboratory is open for tours, while lectures on holistic farming and green club culture provide great food for thought. Almost all the performances are shown without electricity, indicating the show’s commitment to radical rethinking. (Text: Hanna Komornitzyk / Photos: Agnes Denes, Courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, New York & Imker Norman Linke, Umweltforum Auferstehungskirche, Berlin)

We are offering readers five pairs of tickets for the exhibition, redeemable for any day during the month-long program. To win, send us an email. Good luck!

Immersion – Down to Earth: 13.08.–13.09.2020
Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstr.7, 10963 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Sat–Wed 10–19h, Thu–Fri 10–21h, Tues closed
You can view the full program and buy tickets online.
Tip: on 13.08 you can visit free of charge with a pre-booked ticket.
@gropiusbau
@berlinerfestspiele

For many the Corona crisis has been a trying time. But what is it like to live through a pandemic without protection, without money – without a home? That’s the question explored by Mein Heim, an online documentary project by Berlin-based Norwegian visual artist Per Christian Brown. Filmed over the course of May and June at Tiergarten – long a refuge for Berlin’s rough sleepers – the videos capture the lives of 12 homeless people who now have to contend with Covid-19 in addition to the challenges of street life. Brown interviews his subjects matter-of-factly, focusing on what their typical day looks like and the effects of the pandemic. One interviewee, 46-year old Manuell, thoughtfully explains the complexities and contradictions of homelessness, a life he finds hard and yet rewarding. He goes on to describe the house of his dreams – one of many poignant moments in the films. Bringing you face-to-face with people too often forgotten, Brown’s project is required watching for every Berliner. (Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Per Christian Brown)

Mein Heim, a documentary art project by Per Christian Brown, can be viewed online. 
To support the people featured in the films, you can make a donation here.