From 18 January to 15 March 2025, the residential building at Heidestrasse 54, built in 1870, will be hosting the exhibition STATES OF UNCERTAIN DOMESTICITIES, which will be staged in the HAUS KUNST MITTE exhibition space in the building in a variety of artistic ways. The public vernissage will take place on 17 January 2025 at 6 pm.
Image above: Kathryn Cornelius, Resolve, Video, 2005, copyright Kathryn Cornelius.
The exhibition rooms still bear witness to the building’s original function. It survived two world wars, was a Berlin apartment block and at times served as accommodation for East German resettlers. Transforming old industrial complexes into ‘white cubes’ and opening them up to the cultural world has been common practice in the art world for decades. But what about an apartment block at a time and in an urban context where there is a housing shortage?
HAUS KUNST MITTE offers a space to reflect on this question through artistic contributions. The basic idea of the curatorial team is to reverse the process of conversion into exhibition spaces and give them back their original character through performative and installative interventions as part of the show.
Works by 44 international artists were selected, who approached the theme in a multi-layered way using painting, film, video, audio, photography, installations, performances and sculptures. Curatorially, the themes of ‘house and living’ were linked culturally, socially, psychologically and spatially and linked to the former residential building and its surroundings.
The exhibition reflects the emotional worlds within one’s own four walls and is unique in relation to the theme of ‘house and living’. A house is never just a house, it is home and home, symbol and metaphor. Central themes are care work, domestic violence, homelessness, gentrification, migration and physical integrity. The content of the exhibition ranges from the external to the private sphere of housing and deals with their interactions: What happens to people when their living spaces become precarious? What is the significance of losing one’s home? What psychosocial tensions, what power relations become effective within the living space? How is behaviour in the private sphere gendered? And what role does the house, the home, play in human life in general?
The majority of the artistic positions are female or diverse, some artists have a migrant background. Some artists are Persons of Colour (PoC), while others have experienced homelessness or domestic violence first-hand.
The extensive programme of events includes performative interventions in the rooms that change the exhibition over time – similar to the processes in real living spaces. Actions in public spaces extend the radius of the exhibition. A film programme deepens the theme of ‘House and Living’.
Alba D’Urbano conceived the exhibition together with Ina Bierstedt and artistically curated it with Tina Mamczur. HAUS KUNST MITTE is run by the non-profit ‘Asyl der Kunst Stiftung’, founded by the painter Manfred Bartling and the poet Elisabeth Bartling, and artistically directed by Dr Anna Havemann. It offers a home to contemporary artists.
Programme of events (preliminary):
PERFORMANCES
Over the course of the exhibition, performative interventions will be presented alongside and within the room installations
On the opening evening, 17 January, the performances ‘Freedom of Sleep (I would prefer not to perform)’ by Stefan Hurtig and ‘Rubbergloves’ by the artist Ping Qiu can be seen.
During the exhibition, there will be several dates with the artist Melina Matzanke, where she will offer various eating performances under the title ‘HOME TASTE’.
In mid-February, the performance ‘Tapetenwechsel’ will take place, in which the curators, together with other artists and staff, will transform the exhibition performatively and in the presence of the public.
ACTIONS IN PUBLIC SPACE
In addition to the performances in the exhibition space, there will be a walk in the neighbourhood of Haus Kunst Mitte. You will be guided by the artist Nika Radic and the artist Georg Spehr. During these performative tours, the history of the neighbourhood will be told from the perspective of the plants.
FILM PROGRAMME
The positions of 4 filmmakers will be presented selectively: Maya Deren, Agnès Varda, Chantal Akerman and Paola Cortellesi. The films are dedicated to the theme of psychological imbalance and female care stress as well as sexual labour or domestic violence.
Exhibiting artists:
Adidal Abou-Chamat, Liz Bachhuber, Ina Bierstedt, Frauke Boggasch, Christian Borchert, Benhard Bormann, Bella Bram, Nakeya Brown, Libia Castro/ Ólafur Ólafsson, Kathryn Cornelius,
Alba D’Urbano/Tina Bara, Johanna Demetrakas, Milena Dopitová, Judith Miriam Escherlor, Maria Ezcurra, Kerstin Flake, Gluklya, Markéta Hlinovská, Fumi Kato, Daniela Krajčová, Elli KURUŞ,
Via Lewandowsky, Loredana Longo, Susanne Lorenz, Tina Mamczur, Anguezomo Mba Bikoro, Isa Melsheimer, Cornelia Friederike Müller, Jill Luise Müßig, Linda Perthen, Cesare Pietroiusti,
Chloé Piot, Inken Reinert, Dana Sahánková, Corinna Schnitt, Selma Selman, Jakub Šimčik, Barbora Šimková, Molly Soda, Nanae Suzuki, Fede Taus, Petra Trenkel, Andreas Ullrich, Anna Witt
PERFORMANCES: Stefan Hurtig, Melina Matzanke, Ping Qiu, Nika Radic/Georg Spehr
FILM PROGRAMME: Maya Deren, Agnès Varda, Chantal Akerman, Paola Cortellesi.
WHEN?
Exhibition dates: Samstag, 18. Januar – Samstag, 15. März 2025
Vernissage: Freitag, 17. Januar 2025, 18 Uhr
WHERE?
Haus Kunst Mitte – House for Contemporary Art
Heidestraße 54
10557 Berlin
