Exberliner Issue 167, January 2018

WHAT’S ON — Art
Editor’s Choice
A day in Dahlem
The southwestern suburb still has a lot to offer a museum-going
day tripper – but for how long? By Sarrita Hunn
ART NEWS
Steyerl is number one!
Known as much
for her writing (The
Wretched of the
Screen) as her artwork,
Berlin-based
UdK professor Hito
Steyerl has nabbed
not only a spot on
the Transmediale
advisory board (see
page 26) but also
the top ranking in
ArtReview’s list of
the most influential
people in contemporary
art.
Defending Documenta
More than 200 past
Documenta participants
(such as Johan
Grimonprez and Hans
Haacke) have signed
a petition defending
the long-running
Kassel art expo
against politicisation.
The inciting event was
a lawsuit against the
exhibition organisers
by the AfD faction of
Kassel’s city council
over alleged “misappropriation
of funds
and other offenses”,
citing a €5.4 million
deficit and the expansion
to Athens.
This dark winter month, take a
mini stay-cay out in Dahlem
and bear witness to the end
of an era. This affluent neighbourhood
is home to the Free University,
the Max Planck Institute, and
the Botanical Garden, but you don’t
have to worry about crowds. Since
reunification, Dahlem’s museums
have lost many visitors (from over
half a million in 1989 to around
120,000 last year) and now, some
of their prized collections are
departing to Mitte and the grand
vision of Museum Island.
At the controversial centre of
this transition is the Ethnological
Museum, the largest of its kind in
the world, which closed last year
in preparation for a move into the
still-under-construction Humboldt
Forum. Director Viola König retired
alongside her final exhibition, but
not before defending her “non-
European” collection from colonial
critique (such as from the protest
group “No Humboldt 21!”), while
at the same time criticising the
muddled planning of the transition
by the Humboldt Forum’s British
director Neil MacGregor.
You can now see select Ethnological
Museum highlights on Museum
Island courtesy of the exhibition
programme On the Way to the Humboldt
Forum. But over in Dahlem,
don’t miss your last chance to stroll
through the foyer of the museum’s
former home where Packing up and
Repackaging (photo), a scaffoldinglike
installation of videos and
photographs by German media artists
David Gaehtgens and Daniela Maria
Hirsch, presents the last eight months
of the relocation behind the scenes.
It’s a bit depressing, but Dahlem is
not without celebrations. Head next
to the Museum of European Cultures
to catch the last days of Anna Weaves
Reformation, featuring a sprawling
tapestry created on the 150th anniversary
of the Reformation and dusted
off on the occasion of last year’s
500th Protestant jubilee. For kids,
100 Percent Wool is a fun, interactive
exhibition filled with wool-related
historical artifacts, a giant sheep
they can climb on and a back room
with wool-related crafts. Also downstairs,
Berlin-based Mila Teshaieva’s
photographs made with flashlights
in the dark provide a haunting view
on the unique landscape, inhabitants
and ancient culture of the
North Sea island of Föhr.
From there, it’s just a short bus ride
and – if the weather cooperates – a
pleasant walk to the the Brücke
Museum, which turned 50 last year.
Famously one of David Bowie’s
favourite Berlin haunts, it’s dedicated
to the work of the early 20th-century
Expressionist group Die Brücke
(The Bridge) and is still celebrating
its golden anniversary with an
exhibition of paintings, prints and
drawings focused around the years
1905-1913, including donations from
museum founder and Brücke painter
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff.
Next door, end your day at
Kunsthaus Dahlem. From January
19, the museum’s small collection
of post-war German artworks will
be joined by paintings and sketches
from the exiled Jewish painter
Armin Stern (1883-1944), on view
for the first time in Berlin. You just
have to make it before the Kunsthaus
closes at 5pm – and then you
still have time to follow this full
day in Dahlem with an evening
glass of Glühwein. n
Gaehtgens.hirsch: Packing up and Repackaging Through Jan 14 Ethnological
Museum | Anna Weaves Reformation Through Jan 28 IslandBeing.
IslandLife: Insights into Frisian Lives Through Apr 2 100 Percent Wool
Through Jun 2019 Museum of European Cultures | Brücke Museum Anniversary
Exhibition Through Apr 8 Brücke Museum | Armin Stern – Zionist,
Border Crosser, Cosmopolitan Jan 19-Mar 12 Kunsthaus Dahlem
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EXBERLINER 167