Berlin bohemia

By Matthew Fox

Former East Berlin is where it's at, especially for art enthusiasts. Young bohemians from Europe (and around the world) are flocking to neighborhoods like Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain to make art that pushes the boundaries. Avoid tourist-packed museums with this alternative art tour.

Prenzlauer Berg

Prenzlauer Berg

Facing off across from each other on über-hip Schönhauser Alle – the East's Bohemian main drag – are two of the most innovative visual arts galleries in Berlin. On one side is the Akira Ikeda, an enormous venue that's set in the beautiful but eroding shell of a 19th-century brewery. It's the perfect setting for large-scale installation pieces – the Akira's specialty ­– which range from wall-size, colorful canvases to the furniture-based interactive sculptures of Haim Steinbach.

Just opposite, you'll find the Galerie Vostell, where organizer Rafael Vostell reminds local bohemians of the important works that shaped their art scene – from Yoko Ono to his own famous father, Fluxus artist Wolf Vostell.

Afterward, unwind by rubbing shoulders with local artists in their natural environment. Just down the way, and too cool for even a sign, you'll find the dark and packed bar 8mm. This is mainly a watering hole for bohemian diehards but also serves as a venue for edgy films and new rock music.

Akira Ikeda Gallery Berlin, Schönhauser Allee 176, 49-30-44-32-85-10

Galerie Vostell Berlin, Schönhauser Allee 176, 49-30-8-85-22-80

8mm, Schönhauser Allee 177b, 49-30-40-50-06-24

Mitte

Mitte

Once used for Soviet military parades, Mitte's massive boulevards have now been colonized by enterprising retailers and cultural connoisseurs. Aptly, local artists like DJs Canisius and Jueri Gagarino are dabbling in the area's history using new mediums. Both have worked at Yellow Lounge – a club night where visitors dance, chill and chat as they would at a normal bar, only the DJs mix classical music. Wagner and Mahler take the place of Madonna and Christina Aguilera to create a strange and surprisingly social atmosphere. The location changes each month, so be sure to check their website.

Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz is home to a more subtle mix of past and present – the Filmkunsthaus Babylon. This cinema, designed by Bahaus legend Hans Poelzig, opened in 1929 to show silent movies and went on to serve as a play theater and a hideout for Jews during the Nazi era. Now, after a complete and spectacular renovation, the Babylon shows art-house, independent and cult films of the highest caliber. Check their schedule for upcoming English-language titles, new Berlin underground flicks and retrospectives of the great German directors.

Yellow Lounge, multiple locations, info@yellowlounge.de

Filmkunsthaus Babylon, Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse 30, 49-30-44-32-85-10

Friedrichshain

This is the residential heart of the East, packed with twentysomething students and artists who are always looking for the next hip neighborhood. It is in this creatively fertile area, amid the unmistakably Soviet-style apartment blocks, that you will find BüroFriedrich, a dynamic new gallery specializing in the work of young painters, installation artists and videographers. Exhibitions include such diverse pieces as Andreas Koch's reproduction of an enormous seascape and his glass tunnel illuminated by a light box full of insects. Unassuming and surprising, the Büro is located under a train overpass.

Stroll a little deeper into East Berlin, and you will come across the legendary cultural project Subspace, where music, art and architecture intersect. This project centre opened its doors in 2003 and invited gutsy emerging artists to completely transform the space, so that the art literally surrounds its visitors. Guests are allowed to walk into the installation to investigate drawers, step into cardboard constructions or crawl under desks.

If you are still standing after a long day of cultural wanderings, check out the art-clad dance club Berghain. Berlin's best club is located in a factory where many of the original fixtures hang from the wall alongside evocative images from local photographers.

BüroFriedrich, Holzmarktstrasse 15-18, 49-30-20-16-51-15

Subspace, Richard-Sorge-Strasse 30, 49-30-42-08-97-74

Berghain, Am Wriezener Bahnhof

Where to stay:

Art'otel Berlin Mitte: An art-themed hotel with a meticulously chosen decor and Warhols on the walls.
Wallstrasse 70-73, 49-30-24-06-20

Hotel Greifswald: A minimalist hotel in the heart of Prenzlauer Berg's incredible restaurant district.
Greifswalder Strasse 211, 49-30-442-78-88

Hotel Sarotti-Höfe: A chocolate factory-cum-hotel with spacious, understated rooms.
Mehringdamm 57, 49-30-61-28-52-83

mitArt Pension: The art-expert owner of this converted 19th-century townhouse once let his rooms only to artists.
Friedrichstrasse 127, 49-30-28-39-04-30

(Matthew Fox is a journalist and fiction writer. He recently moved to Berlin to find inspiration for his new novel.)

Getting There

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