Since September 2019 the Berlinische Galerie has had an additional space for cultural education: 207 m² devoted to workshops, collaborative projects and artistic activities. This welcoming platform offers a range of seating for visitors to converse or pass the time. Regular events cater for children, families, schools and groups from both the immediate neigh-bourhood and Berlin as a whole. Project outputs are displayed in exhibitions and film projections. In this way the museum is open up even more broadly to the city community and establishing a permanent home for critical debate and artistic processes. This is the second time that the Berlinische Galerie has dedicated one of the exhibition rooms to education. The “207 m²” project is building on experience from “Dada is here! Space for Dialogue and Experiments” in 2016 . That was a two-month pilot for the idea that has now found a long-term home in the museum: a highly visible place for exchange, participation and artistic work.
Action
„207 m²“ offers a space for a wide variety of programmes. School groups come in for three-hour practical, discursive project days on the exhibitions. On the second Saturday of each month the Material Bar welcomes anyone who responds spontaneously to the invitation to do some art. In addition, the space offers all visitors options to comment and discuss, and their input feeds back into the work of the museum.
Collaboration
The Berlinische Galerie has been working for some time with schools, pre-schools, family centres, a disability association and nearby hostels for refugees. These projects address very wide-ranging themes. The common factor is participation and having a say. “ 207 m²” gives greater visibility to projects like those the museum carries out in partnership with its neighbours. The prelude was an exhibition that evolved out of collaboration with the Kreuzberg art studio run by Lebenshilfe, a charity for people with learning difficulties. The group came to the Bunter Jakob studio every week in 2019 as part of the “Standortwechsel” programme on switching perspectives. The resulting works, photographs and ideas representing many different voices were put on display.
Exhibitions and performances, which are developed together with the cooperation partners, take place regularly.
Architectural concept
David Saik drew up the architectural concept for the space. Sustainability was a central theme. Most of the materials used are recycled. The chairs were made of 90% industrial waste. 75% of this is polypropylene and 15% is wood fibre waste. The seating material is 45% recycled wool. The partition walls were made from a reusable system and accordingly consume few resources.
Press release
207 m²
Space for action and collaboration
Kontakt
Katrin-Marie Kaptain
Education
Phone +49 030-789 02-837
kaptain@berlinischegalerie.de
Christine van Haaren
Head of Education and Outreach
Phone +49 030-789 02-836
haaren@berlinischegalerie.de