It feels like only yesterday that we were living in Berlin’s unrenovated old buildings with coal-fired heating, dancing between the jukeboxes and sound systems of illegal basement clubs, and picnicking on the countless wastelands along the Wall. The city was wild, we were free and the reunited Berlin was ours. This feeling was unique — now unimaginable and irrevocable. But it’s less so with the exhibition at C/O Berlin “Dream On – Berlin, the 90s” because there you can rediscover that feeling, without nostalgia or pathos. Let’s go back to 1989: after the fall of the Wall, the city was in flux — caught somewhere between past and future. A spirit of optimism and fear of loss coexisted, as unique spaces of opportunity began to open. At the same time, the struggle to shape the new capital had begun, a dynamic that continues to define Berlin today. Amidst the burgeoning techno scene, the mood of change, and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, seven photographers from the former GDR founded the Ostkreuz agency in 1990 — now one of Germany’s most important and renowned photo agencies.
C/O Berlin is showcasing works by nine members of the agency: Sibylle Bergemann, Harald Hauswald, Ute Mahler, Werner Mahler, Annette Hauschild, Thomas Meyer, Jordis Antonia Schlösser, Anne Schönharting and Maurice Weiss. In more than 200 works, the photographers capture and document the transformations of a new society, the challenges of unifying the former walled city, and the complex relationships between people and urban spaces. For me, these photographs embody a Berlin that many of us remember, making them valuable contemporary witnesses to a formative decade. The exhibition is on at C/O Berlin until 22.01.2025, and if you want to take a piece of it home, consider picking up one of the limited-edition prints or a Dream On cap from the store, as I did. Or, for a truly immersive experience, dance at Tresor during the finissage party on 18.01, with an incredible lineup that includes Josh Wink, Tanith, DJ T-000 (aka Alan Oldham) and Miss Djax.
Text: Milena Kalojanov / Photos: Sibylle Bergemann, Mauerbrache am Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, 1990 © Estate Sibylle Bergemann/OSTKREUZ; Ute Mahler, Grundsteinlegung der Hessischen Landesvertretung am Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, 17. September 1999 © Ute Mahler/OSTKREUZ; © C/O Berlin Foundation, David von Becker
C/O Berlin, Hardenbergstr.22–24, 10623 Berlin–Charlottenburg; map
“Dream On – Berlin, the 90s” until 22.01.2025
@coberlin
@agenturostkreuz
