Metabolic Rift: A New Immersive Experience at Kraftwerk

Metabolic Rift: A New Immersive Experience at Kraftwerk

photo: Frankie Casillo. 

The old power plant Kraftwerk has proven to be a magnetic event space over and over again. This time, the great halls will feature Metabolic Rift, an immersive experience organized by Berlin Atonal that is supposed to fuse the elements of a festival,  an exhibition, a tour, and a performance.

Kraftwerk is a venue especially suited for immersive exhibitions. You might agree if you remember either the audio-visual experience Skalar or the laser and sound installation Deep Web. Next week, yet another immersive exhibition will transform these halls – an artistic parallel universe that promises to show you around Kraftwerk’s “unexplored areas”.

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Get Lost in Dark Rooms full of Art: The LOST ART Festival

Get Lost in Dark Rooms full of Art: The LOST ART Festival

photo: Tadeo Cern. 

One of the major qualities of Berlin is that it never stops coming up with disused old breweries, factories, or power stations that all of a sudden get a new lease on life as event and exhibition spaces. These places are usually massive and thanks to that the things that can happen here can go so far beyond what’s possible in a small gallery in Mitte.

That’s why we are so excited to see what the LOST ART Festival will come up with at their latest edition that will happen on September 24-26, 2021. They are using 6000 square meters of industrial halls of the old powerhouse in Reinickendorf to present the work of 80 artists in a 48h long art happening. A 1km long route through 24 dark rooms will create an ambiance of mystery and surprise. And you know we love a good surprise in the dark 😉

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10 Amazing Art Exhibitions to Look Out for in Berlin

10 Amazing Art Exhibitions to Look Out for in Berlin

Yayoi Kusama at Gropius Bau 2021, photo: Luca Girardini. 

Once again Berlin’s museums and cultural venues have had to close their doors due to lockdown restrictions. However, there are still a few hidden gems around for us to continue exploring the artistic side of the city and get inspired in a safe way. 

Gallery Weekend took place a couple of weeks ago and many of the participating galleries are still open to the public as long as you contact them in advance and have a negative COVID test. You can check out Gallery Weekend’s website for a full list of participating galleries and artists.  

Additionally, we can look forward to some larger exhibitions that have unfortunately had to close for now, but it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye out for when tickets will be available for purchase again.

Here is a list of some fantastic exhibitions – some that you can currently check out, including participants of Gallery Weekend, and some to visit in the (hopefully) near future!

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A New Take On the Iconic Illustration of the Line At Berghain by Nicola Napoli

A New Take On the Iconic Illustration of the Line At Berghain by Nicola Napoli

Even though clubs have been closed for over a year now, surprisingly, we haven’t really run short on news about Berlin’s famous nightlife places. From photography projects on clubber outfits, empty dancefloors, or outdoor raving, to virtual clubs and nightlife activism – there is always something to write about. And we are glad to keep the spirit alive this way, even though we’re all really craving for a party right now.

Artist and illustrator Nicola Napoli has also dedicated some of his time during the lockdown to work on a new nightlife-related piece. He’s blessed us already with various party-themed artworks in the past, but his most notable work might be the iconic line at Berghain that he first came out with back in 2014. It was one of our most successful articles of the time and it prompted a collaborative event and exhibition that we hosted together with him showcasing a new elaborate 10-meter long artwork.

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Berlin Offstage Captures Artists Behind The Scenes During Lockdown

Berlin Offstage Captures Artists Behind The Scenes During Lockdown

photos: Aja Jacques. 

It takes a lot of effort for an artist to build up a career. Berlin has undoubtedly been a center of avant-garde artists from all around the world, offering a unique platform for innovative and unstigmatized arts. However, during the last year of the Covid lockdowns, they had to sacrifice what they have built-in years. Berlin artists embellished our nightlife and arts scene with their diverse and original touch but now with no jobs, no stages, and no live audiences, they are stripped off of their platforms even though their art still radiates talent and creativity. 

The photographer and former performance artist Aja Jacques created Berlin Offstage after spending the last three months interviewing and photographing some of these artists in their homes and leads us through a series of vignettes of their fears and concerns. Jacques aims to create an open space for public discussions about the struggles of the art community in Berlin that has been left in the lurch during the pandemic.

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DARK MATTER Will Take You to a New Dimension of Audiovisual Magic

DARK MATTER Will Take You to a New Dimension of Audiovisual Magic

A glittering river in the sky, luminous shapes with a life of their own, playful distortions of light dancing to electronic music in black rooms – this is the world of Dark Matter, an audiovisual exhibition that aims to transport its visitors away from the outside world and into their senses. 

The mastermind behind this multi-dimensional experience is light artist Christopher Bauder and his design studio WHITEvoid who also brought us DEEP WEB and SKALAR at Kraftwerk Berlin. In 2014, Bauder and WHITEvoid also marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with LICHTGRENZE where they presented 8,000 luminescent balloons across the city where the wall once stood.

Bauder describes Dark Matter as a kind of history exhibition of the studio’s creations over the years, featuring seven installations going as far back as 20 years ago and as recently as this year. 

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Chiharu Shiota and Sasha Waltz & Guests Collaborate at König Galerie

Chiharu Shiota and Sasha Waltz & Guests Collaborate at König Galerie

photos: Arata Mori.

There are so many wonderful creatives making art in Berlin, and it’s always a joy to see two of our favorites collaborating. This week, two of them, artist Chiharu Shiota and the dance company Sasha Waltz and Guests, are collaborating in an online event that you definitely don’t want to miss. A stunning installation and a dance performance will be fused together at the iconic König Galerie and you can join in online.

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These Special Online Events Will Treat Your Corona Blues Through Dance, Theater & Digital Art

These Special Online Events Will Treat Your Corona Blues Through Dance, Theater & Digital Art

As a 27-year-old night owl in Berlin, who once devoted himself so dearly to the nightlife and party scene, sometimes I question myself how I ended up spending my Friday night taking an online quiz to find out which döner sauce I am. Now I’m sure most of you can already relate. Corona forced our boundaries of mundane activities to a whole new level. You won’t be surprised to find out you’re not the only one watching an old show on TV and find yourself wondering how the actors are so close to each other without wearing a mask. While we are adapting to the new normal, artists and performers are working hard to bring us the best on digital platforms to keep us connected to the world and we can’t thank them enough. You will be extra happy if you love immersive experiences, dance, theater, opera, digital art, and drag shows! Here is a list of online events you can book right now!

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Berlin, Augmented Berlin: An AR Exhibition by High Snobiety

Berlin, Augmented Berlin: An AR Exhibition by High Snobiety

photo: Manuel Rossner. 

One of the major challenges of the new world we’re living in right now – still in the middle of a pandemic – is rethinking some of the old ways and concepts that we are so used to and to see how they fit into this new reality. In many cases, it’s out of necessity, but in some, it’s also an opportunity. We can expect many things to go back to normal after the pandemic, but wouldn’t it be a waste if we didn’t use the momentum to push the envelope a bit on developments that were already on their way but that are especially fitting for our current circumstances? I’m thinking here of things like remote working, e-learning, live streaming, and – of course – digital art.

The digital program “Berlin, Berlin” that is initated and presented by our colleagues from High Snobiety starting today in conjuction with the final weekend of Berlin Fashion Week is set to explore exactly those opportunities I’m talking about inviting important initiatives, musicians, artists, and designer of the city such as United We Stream, Ellen Allien, Âme, GmbH, and Olafur Eliasson to create one cross-genre experience that is certainly shaping up to be a highlight of the current lockdown period we’re in.

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