Andy | iHeartBerlin.de

Illegal Sex: Photos exploring Berlin’s Underground Cruising Scene

photo: Marc Martin

With his photo series “Cruising” French photographer Marc Martin reimagines a time before dating apps, a time when public toilets, were the only place to find sexual encounters for many gay men. Behind closed doors, in front of shiny tiles and messy graffiti, these places were a meeting spot for those who could not use their own homes, who could not be open about their sexuality and desires. His work is on display at Schwules Museum Berlin in the exhibition “Fenster zum Klo – Public Toilets & Private Affairs”.

The Pornceptual Magazine: Redefining Pornography

by Andy | Art, Party

photos: Pornceptual

Their art made you gasp, their parties made you sweat – and always left you craving for more. For almost 5 years the Berlin collective Pornceptual has been disrupting the worlds of art and porn; first Berlin then the world. But don’t you think they’re out of breath, after half a decade, they are only sharpening their teeth and getting ready to fight: Fittingly, their freshly launched third magazine is called “Guerilla”.

Over 50 visual artists are featured in “Porn Guerilla”, well-known names such as Erika Lust appear alongside young queer and feminist artists from all over the world. Styles, subjects and explicit depictions vary, but throughout the work is connected by themes of unconventionality, struggle, and fight, using erotic art as a tool of resistance against oppressive power structures and censorship.

Why the Fuck is Everyone a Sex Tourist?

by Andy | People, Stories

photos: Pornceptual

Location: Berlin. Display Name: German flag – English flag – Arrow sign – Random vegetable – Teddy Emoji?. Edit Profile. About Me: I re-downloaded this 5 minutes ago, didn’t come up with something cool just yet. Sorry. Looking for: Uhm… Relationship Status: Single.

It’s a new year, a blank page before me, a land full of opportunity to… regain my optimism about finding love, even in Berlin. Ok, maybe not love, let me downsize this, someone who asks me for my name and not my dick size… Yeah, that should be doable, right? 2018? You game? In a city where gays from all over the world basically live door-to-door, (Literally, I’m pretty sure my next-door neighbor is gay) it can’t be that hard to find someone who’s compatible in bed – watching Disney movies, eating chocolate chip ice cream and … Oh wow, romantic comedies fucked up my expectations! Anyways, hopeful, and possibly delusional, I log into my dating app of choice and … Aaah that was why…!

The Berliner’s unbreakable Do-It-Yourself Spirit

by Andy | People

The Crew of Jonny Knüppel.

More action and fewer words: This has always been the Berlin-way! More than any other city mother Berlin had to deal with the circumstances thrown at her. Wars, tyranny, division, misery, she has seen it all. Possibly, it is for that reason Berlin is this unique place where people get together and decide to do something, no matter what! Especially in a lawless, post-wall vacuum, there was freedom to just take space and create. A pioneer spirit that made the millennial Berlin thrive and the global place-to-be.

In over 20 years since the German reunification, Berlin has put on an ever-changing coat. The Wedding might still be “im kommen”, yet, Prenzlberg has become yuppie town, and Neukölln five years ago is far from what you will encounter nowadays. Still, in all these transitions, Berlin won’t put down its DIY spirit. A place where funky ideas become lived reality. Where a group of friends opens a community garden in the middle of the hippest neighborhood, or a bunch of party kids build their own club at the Spree. We collected a few of our favorite sucess stories.

Inside Neukölln’s New Nightclub Arkaoda

by Andy | Clubs, Neukölln, Party

A week ago the Berlin club map welcomed its latest edition. Arkaoda opened its doors at Karl-Marx Platz 16. The opening party had a stunningly long-line up including Acido Records and Dynamo Dreesen. Arkaoda is a familiar name for many Turkish expats living in Berlin, the venue shares its name with a famous club in Istanbul, which opened in 1999. Instead of believing the hype, iHeartBerlin took a trip down the U7 to see for ourselves what this bowling alley turned nightclub has to offer.

4 Green Berlin Startups that Change the World

by Andy | People

La Lucha: Reinventing Mexican Food in Kreuzberg

by Andy | Kreuzberg, Restaurants

With so many great Mexican and Mexican-inspired restaurants in Berlin already you would think our bellies would be full with Tacos. Nonetheless it was a compelling prospect for us to get one more – but with a completely different approach. We already highlighted La Lucha in our New Restaurants Guide 2017, and now we all finally got the chance to experience one of Kreuzberg’s most exciting gastronomic newcomers, – reason enough for a ‘lil review.

Survival in Neukölln: The Life in Berlin’s roughest Neighborhood

by Andy | Movies

“Survival in Neukölln” – that’s the title of documentary filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim’s newest work. Following the life stories of various inhabitants of Berlin’s infamous neighborhood, the movie visualizes Neukölln as a place full of creative contradictions.

We meet Drag performer Stefan Stricker who calls himself Juwelia, the androgynous Cuban singer and dancer Joaquin la Habana, or a queer Syrian singer, called Enana. We participate in gay-nudist cooking groups, female theatre performances and turkish demonstrations. We see a Neukölln that has became a melting pot of young and old Berlin, and the epicentre of rapidly increasing rents.

Where is the Way to the Darkroom?

by Andy | Stories

Location: Berlin. Display Name: What is love?. About Me: Baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me. Looking for: No more. Relationship Status: Single.

Remember how I was like: “I’m off dating apps – Yay!” Yeah well, I got weak, I’m human, bear with me. But it’s fine, feeling generally good about myself right now: Bought myself socks with pineapple print, my 4 pack recently became a 5 pack, coconut butter is my latest skin care discovery, and I established a new, successful flirting strategy. When you combine your tendency to creepily stare at someone with a subtle charming smile, and just keep on staring, through all the different stages of weird, creepy, lunatic, and serial killer, respective person of interest can’t help, but finding you kinda cute after all – Success rate: 85% so far. So, as you can see, life is good!

VOLUME A: Wisdoms of Curating an Exhibition in Berlin

by Andy | Art

photo: Evelyn Bencicova

In a creative city like Berlin keeping up with the art world is a challenge most people just give up on. Where to go? There’s just so much to choose from! As we are aware of this, we wanna introduce an exhibition to you that is definitely worth a visit. Volume A will take place from the 3rd to the 5th of November in Colonia Nova, and has acclaimed contributing artists, such as Erwin Olaf and Bruce LaBruce. We had a chat with Nicolas Simoneau, art director of KALTBLUT Magazine, and photographer Manuel Moncayo about their exciting project and about curating exhibitions in Berlin.

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