BERLIN
Central Berlin is an art lover’s dream with world-class museums and architecture, vibrant neighbourhoods, and a rich history. Berlin has become a hub for artists and designers attracted to the city for the cheap rent rates and large studio spaces. The community of creatives and working artists has moulded the city into, once again, a bohemian capital.
BEBELPLATZ
WEBSITE: NONE
VISIT TIME: A FEW MINUTES
Micha Ullman‘s touching memorial in the centre of this historic square is really worth visiting. It marks the site of one of the many book burnings held in the 1930’s by the Nazis. The square was renamed after WWII and the memorial is buried underground, visible by looking through a glass window on the cobbled floor. To look down it is to see ghostly empty library book shelves.
FEUERLE COLLECTION
WEBSITE: THEFEUERLECOLLECTION.ORG
VISIT TIME: 45 MINUTES
The new must in Berlin, make an effort to visit the Feuerle Collection. A unique collection of Imperial Chinese and Southeast Asian Sculpture, interspersed with Contemporary artworks and photography, collector Désiré Feuerle has created a beautiful and considered experience – something totally new. Make sure to book for the incense ceremony, if you have the time.
HAMBURGER BAHNHOF
WEBSITE: WWW.SMB.MUSEUM
VISIT TIME: 1HOUR 30 MINUTES
This unspeakably big ex-railway building, which was extended to be made even more bombastic, is an unadulterated 10,000sq meters of contemporary art land. It exhibits the national collection, as well as the private Marx and Flick collections, donated to the space on long-term loan. There is something for everyone and the curators, luckily, are not shy of using the space, skilfully and to its full volume. The quality of the works though is what steals the show.
KÖNIG GALERIE
WEBSITE: WWW.KOENIGGALERIE.COM
VISIT TIME: 20 MINUTES
As a church, this brutalist building must have scared the b’jesus out of worshiper. As an art gallery, the space is an incredibly impressive backdrop. Art dealer Johann König (if the name sounds familiar, his uncle Walter owns the art book publishing house Koenig) commissioned Arno Brandlhuber to convert the space and represents over 30 major international artists in the tres-trendy Kreuzberg in South Berlin.
KW INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART
WEBSITE: WWW.KW-BERLIN.DE
VISIT TIME: 1.5 HOURS
As Berlin becomes saturated with artists of all shapes and sizes, the KW curators have their pick and use their programme to analyse contemporary issues and anxieties through art. The approach is exploratory and at times raises more questions than answers, making a visit thought-provoking and relevant. There are a few misses but you will be guaranteed interesting insights into culture, politics, society, and much more, all in a slightly radical (but safe) tone.
SAMMLUNG BOROS
WEBSITE: WWW.SAMMLUNG-BOROS.DE
VISIT TIME: 1 HOUR GUIDED TOUR
A private collection of contemporary art housed in a once air-raid bunker in the Mitte district of Berlin, Christian Boros bought the building in 2003 and converted the 120 rooms and 5 floors into a concrete labyrinth of contemporary art. The top floor was converted into a glass-walled penthouse where he lives with his family. To visit the collection one needs to make an appointment which is simply done through the website – it is popular so booking early is advisable. The hour-long tour (in English and German) is well worth it. Update: on a recent visit, the space was rehung with almost exclusively conceptual work and the guide, annoyingly, couldn’t string a full sentence and used the same phrase to describe each work. It is a pity as the collection seems to have plummeted in quality – still worth visiting for the architecture of the space but to be taken with a spoon of salt.