C/O, one of Berlin's most unique art centers, will soon become an endangered species -- yet another space for the creative arts forced out by gentrification and soaring real-estate prices.
From Leibovitz to Lindbergh, Magnum to Mapplethorpe
The photo gallery on Oranienburgerstrasse opened in 2000 in the spectacular 19th century building which had once housed the postal office, the Postführamt -- from where the name C/O derives.
Photographer Stefan Erfurt stumbled on the empty building while looking for space in which to exhibit photographs from the Magnum agency archives. That was back in 2000. Over the next ten years, C/O became one of Berlin's top photo galleries. The exhibition of works by Annie Leibovitz in 2009 had viewers lining up around the block. The "On Street" exhibition featuring Peter Lindbergh opened last September but had so many visitors that it had to be extended by a week this January. And just last weekend began a brilliant retrospective of works by the legendary Robert Mapplethorpe.
Visual Dialogue
C/O showcases the work of photographers, architects and designers, and draws attention to nexus points between the three. One of the first talks in its lecture series was by star architect Daniel Libeskind in 2002. Lectures and workshops accompanying the exhibitions make C/O more than "just" a museum or gallery. Its dynamic team prefers to call it an "International Forum for Visual Dialogue."
Curiosity, Passion and Professionalism
These three words are set off against the gallery's logo, and they describe to a T the team behind C/O's success: photographer Stephan Erfurt, designer Marc Naroska and architect Ingo Pott. Against incredible odds, they have kept the gallery running as a private enterprise, without the infusion of state funds. Instead, they have relied on their ingenuity, the ability to find creative solutions for financial crises, a vast network of contacts and sponsors, and a high volume of visitors (30.000 in its first year, 180.000 in its tenth).
Alas, curiosity and passion have been outdone by crass commercialism. The site has been purchased by an Israeli investment group, El-Ad, whose plans are to build a luxury hotel and shopping center. C/O faces eviction, come this Spring.
A Child of Mitte
Erfurt calls C/O a "child of Mitte," referring to the phenomenon in Berlin Mitte, where creative improvisation made arts centers out of unrenovated buildings, post-1989.
While the Postführamt has an imposing exterior, walk inside and you will find internationally acclaimed photographs mounted on walls of peeling and pock-marked plaster. The wallpaper is faded, and sculpted pillars are in a state of grand disrepair. The upstairs gallery space has obviously been converted from an old basketball court, and the hoop backboard still remains on the wall.
But the phrase also refers to a repeated pattern of gentrification in Berlin Mitte -- first a state of neglect and low rents, then the artists, then the tourists, then skyrocketing real-estate rates and commercial deals, which finally edge out the cultural institutions that made the district attractive in the first place.
This same pattern happened down the road from C/O where Tacheles, the former department store which became an arts squat, post-1989, housing a cinema, theater, bars and 30 artists' studios, has been taken over by HSH Nordbank. The new owner intends to sell the property for 35 million Euros. The building must be empty by the end of this month.
Restaurants and Pub Crawls
A plan to relocate C/O to the empty Jewish girls' school in the Gallery Quarter on Auguststraße in the Hackesche Höfe area proceeded for a while, raising hopes. Then, just before Christmas, the Jewish community announced that it was selling to the gallery owner, Michael Fuchs, instead. Fuch's commercial plans include gallery space as well as a branch of the restaurant Grill Royal.
Malls, five-star hotels and royal grills -- not exactly edgy -- and a far cry from the best of Berlin's alternative art scene."Once we move and Tacheles has closed ... Oranienburger Strasse will just be Indian restaurants and tourist pub crawls," says Erfurt.
The unconventional and unbureaucratic financial structure of C/O cannot survive without an attractive location. Unless the city moves fast to help secure new digs, the future of a unique cultural institution is at stake.
C/O Berlin is at Oranienburgerstr. 35-36 (S Oranienburgerstraße) and is open daily from 11 am to 8 pm. Entrance is 10 EUR (reduced rate: 5 EUR). See the C/O Berlin website for more details and for more on the Mapplethorpe exhibition, which runs from 22 January to 27 March 2011.
From Leibovitz to Lindbergh, Magnum to Mapplethorpe
The photo gallery on Oranienburgerstrasse opened in 2000 in the spectacular 19th century building which had once housed the postal office, the Postführamt -- from where the name C/O derives.
Photographer Stefan Erfurt stumbled on the empty building while looking for space in which to exhibit photographs from the Magnum agency archives. That was back in 2000. Over the next ten years, C/O became one of Berlin's top photo galleries. The exhibition of works by Annie Leibovitz in 2009 had viewers lining up around the block. The "On Street" exhibition featuring Peter Lindbergh opened last September but had so many visitors that it had to be extended by a week this January. And just last weekend began a brilliant retrospective of works by the legendary Robert Mapplethorpe.
Visual Dialogue
C/O showcases the work of photographers, architects and designers, and draws attention to nexus points between the three. One of the first talks in its lecture series was by star architect Daniel Libeskind in 2002. Lectures and workshops accompanying the exhibitions make C/O more than "just" a museum or gallery. Its dynamic team prefers to call it an "International Forum for Visual Dialogue."
photo: with kind permission of C/O Berlin
Curiosity, Passion and Professionalism
These three words are set off against the gallery's logo, and they describe to a T the team behind C/O's success: photographer Stephan Erfurt, designer Marc Naroska and architect Ingo Pott. Against incredible odds, they have kept the gallery running as a private enterprise, without the infusion of state funds. Instead, they have relied on their ingenuity, the ability to find creative solutions for financial crises, a vast network of contacts and sponsors, and a high volume of visitors (30.000 in its first year, 180.000 in its tenth).
Alas, curiosity and passion have been outdone by crass commercialism. The site has been purchased by an Israeli investment group, El-Ad, whose plans are to build a luxury hotel and shopping center. C/O faces eviction, come this Spring.
A Child of Mitte
Erfurt calls C/O a "child of Mitte," referring to the phenomenon in Berlin Mitte, where creative improvisation made arts centers out of unrenovated buildings, post-1989.
While the Postführamt has an imposing exterior, walk inside and you will find internationally acclaimed photographs mounted on walls of peeling and pock-marked plaster. The wallpaper is faded, and sculpted pillars are in a state of grand disrepair. The upstairs gallery space has obviously been converted from an old basketball court, and the hoop backboard still remains on the wall.
But the phrase also refers to a repeated pattern of gentrification in Berlin Mitte -- first a state of neglect and low rents, then the artists, then the tourists, then skyrocketing real-estate rates and commercial deals, which finally edge out the cultural institutions that made the district attractive in the first place.
This same pattern happened down the road from C/O where Tacheles, the former department store which became an arts squat, post-1989, housing a cinema, theater, bars and 30 artists' studios, has been taken over by HSH Nordbank. The new owner intends to sell the property for 35 million Euros. The building must be empty by the end of this month.
Restaurants and Pub Crawls
A plan to relocate C/O to the empty Jewish girls' school in the Gallery Quarter on Auguststraße in the Hackesche Höfe area proceeded for a while, raising hopes. Then, just before Christmas, the Jewish community announced that it was selling to the gallery owner, Michael Fuchs, instead. Fuch's commercial plans include gallery space as well as a branch of the restaurant Grill Royal.
Malls, five-star hotels and royal grills -- not exactly edgy -- and a far cry from the best of Berlin's alternative art scene."Once we move and Tacheles has closed ... Oranienburger Strasse will just be Indian restaurants and tourist pub crawls," says Erfurt.
The unconventional and unbureaucratic financial structure of C/O cannot survive without an attractive location. Unless the city moves fast to help secure new digs, the future of a unique cultural institution is at stake.
C/O Berlin is at Oranienburgerstr. 35-36 (S Oranienburgerstraße) and is open daily from 11 am to 8 pm. Entrance is 10 EUR (reduced rate: 5 EUR). See the C/O Berlin website for more details and for more on the Mapplethorpe exhibition, which runs from 22 January to 27 March 2011.
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