Berlin in the ’90s – a time after the fall of the Wall (1989), marked by a spirit of optimism and a fear of loss. An era of unique creative spaces, a burgeoning techno scene, and the smell of coal-burning stoves. I remember it vividly. A city in transition, full of possibilities — possibilities that still shape Berlin today. Klaus Biesenbach, Alexandra Binswanger, Clemens Homburger, Philipp von Doering and Alfonso Rutigliano recognized this potential in the urban space. In the early 1990s, they founded the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in a closed and dilapidated margarine factory in Berlin-Mitte. Since then, KW has become a permanent institution for contemporary art in Berlin, featuring Café Bravo (designed by American artist Dan Graham), an exhibition hall by Hans Düttmann, and my favorite courtyard (designed by Berlin landscape architects Le Balto). The history of the building is inextricably linked with its surroundings — the neighborhood and its architecture. To better understand these historical connections, I embarked on an urban walk with Raoul Zöllner (Director of Boros Collection and Assistant Mediator at KW), who grew up in the center of East Berlin — a flâneur who witnessed Berlin’s transformation into the new capital firsthand. Our tour through KW’s neighborhood took us past boarded-up buildings, inconspicuous underground garages, distant domes over burial chambers, communist clubhouses, and into the inner courtyard of a collector’s house. The view of a distant high-rise overshadowing the relics of the Soviet era at Alexanderplatz marked the end of our tour. The memories remain vivid. I will be joining this tour again and recommend it to anyone who grew up in Berlin and still wants to discover new things while learning more about Berlin’s art world.
Text: Milena Kalojanov / Photos: Frank Sperling, KW
KW Innenhof, Auguststr.69, Berlin–Mitte; map
You can find the next dates for the tours (both in German & English) here.
@kwinstitutefcontemporaryart
