For anyone looking for costume and party supplies in Berlin there was always one address: Deko Behrendt in Schöneberg. Located on Hauptstraße, Behrendt was the party shop of choice for drag queens, performers and party people until it closed its doors in 2021 after 60 years. Now the glitter, masks and feather boas are making way for ChertLüdde, the art gallery which is taking over the space and building on its queer legacy. For its opening show, the gallery is welcoming artists Annette Frick, Petrit Halilaj and Alvaro Urbano as they explore the history of Deko Behrendt and Berlin’s queer spaces. The exhibition is called Die Blüten von Berlin (“The Blossoms of Berlin”) and sees Halilaj and Urbano – former Deko Behrendt regulars themselves – revive a little bit of the costume-filled cornucopia. The pair removed pieces of the shop’s original wallpaper as it was being cleared and have now reassembled them in the form of abstract panel paintings.
Frick, meanwhile, preserves the history of Schöneberg with her photographs. Her striking black-and-white portraits sensitively memorialize some of the leading lights of Berlin’s 90s drag scene, such as Ovo Maltine. The gallery is also home to Bungalow, ChertLüdde’s experimental space for young art. Kicking things off is Senegalese-Italian artist Binta Diaw with an installation that recalls the fates of the Senegalese Tirailleurs, soldiers who had to fight for France’s army during colonial rule.
Text: Laura Storfner / Photos: Andrea Rossetti, courtesy of the artists and ChertLüdde
ChertLüdde, Hauptstr.18, 10827 Berlin–Schöneberg; map
Tue–Sat 12–18h
Die Blüten von Berlin with Petrit Halilaj, Alvaro Urbano and Annette Frick runs until 21.05.2022
@chertluedde
