From 16 March to 15 June, Spreepark Art Space presents the exhibition Hidden Realities. Collective Artistic Explorations in the historic Eierhäuschen. The exhibition showcases the results of the first three residencies that Spreepark Art Space awarded to interdisciplinary and international artist groups since 2024.
Image above: © Animal Architecture Collective.
The exhibition provides an insight into the three-month research programmes of Animal Architecture Collective, Imperfect Futures and MOTHS. Each group addresses key spatial, environmental and social issues by exploring the themes of nature and architecture, present and future, and food culture in the context of the former amusement park.
Animal Architecture Collective (Cardoso Studio, Feral Partnerships, Jennifer Turpin) investigates the architectural strategies of non-human creatures and explores the insights that humans can gain from these building forms. Inspired by the constructions of ants, bees, birds and small mammals, the exhibition uses a video work, a 3D-printed facsimile of an ant’s nest and AI “hallucinations” of animal architecture to shed light on the interactions between nature and architecture and reveals new perspectives on sustainable building practices and the coexistence of humans and nature.
Imperfect Futures (Naadira Patel, Sarah de Villiers, Manijeh Verghese, Zen Marie, with external collaborators Madeleine Amsler and Alice Clancy) explores the past, present and future of the Spreepark, examining themes of continuity, futurity and time. The group focuses on the park’s outer enclosure as a central site and examines how this infrastructure has shaped narratives, myths and the public’s perception of the park throughout its history. The project presents a series of explorations – through installations, films, zines, performances and interventions on the fence – to stimulate conversations about sustainability, access and the multiple futures of the park.
The collective MOTHS (Yujia Bian, Niel de Vries, Xiaolu Yan, Hanwen Zhang) focuses on the food culture at Spreepark and takes this as a starting point for exploring the history, present and future of the site. Inspired by archive images showing visitors eating together at kiosks and in the former restaurant “Spezi”, the group developed a speculative menu and a collection of tableware. With these works, they address social, ecological and technological issues of the Spreepark, blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction to open up new perspectives on the park and its development.
Über Spreepark Art Space
Opened in 1969 as “The Plänterwald Culture Park”, Spreepark was the only fixed amusement park in the GDR, which was closed twenty years ago, leaving nature to reclaim its abandoned grounds. In anticipation of a new public park, the platform “Spreepark Art Space” integrates the crossover of art and nature as fundamental to the Spreepark’s development.
Spreepark Art Space is an interdisciplinary platform focusing on artistic production in connection with planning, research, and mediation. Between the wooded Plänterwald and the Spree River, the projects and exhibitions that emerge here bring together artists, experts, locals, and many others from diverse backgrounds with the common goal of exploring public space, actively shaping the role of art in it, and contributing to its broader dynamics.
As a key component of the future Spreepark’s design, art provides fresh impulses and opens new perspectives on the park: It inscribes itself into the entire structure of the site through permanently installed artworks, temporary exhibitions, and artistic interventions. Art is made touchable, walkable and immersive for all visitors – an accessible experience that encourages interaction and exploration.
About Eierhäuschen
With the opening of the Eierhäusch in March 2024, the Kunstraum Spreepark has a permanent home. Once a popular excursion destination, the venue combines a restaurant and an art space with a free exhibition area as well as artist residences with living and working spaces. Visitors can enjoy art, a diverse educational and public programme and gastronomy all in one place.
WHEN?
Exhibition dates: Sunday, 16. March – Sunday, 15. June 2025
Opening: Sunday, 16. March 2025, 11 am.
WHERE?
Spreepark Art Space,
Kiehnwerderallee 2,
12437 Berlin
