Photo: Johannes Rau

Site specific artist residency held in a derelict building complex.

Curated and organised by Thomas Mayer, Indra Kuester, Jakob Wirth.

The Ruderal Residency took place in Alt-Hohenschönhausen, Berlin, on a site of abandoned prefabricated buildings left derelict for twenty years. We invited eight artists to inhabit the shells, to collaborate, reflect, sense and create within this uncanny, in-between landscape. It was an invitation to get in touch with the site, with oneself, and with each other.

We converted one of the rooms into a living space beforehand. A wood stove provided warmth, an improvised kitchen for hot communal meals, and a mobile sauna in the courtyard made even the bleakest winter evening unexpectedly intimate. The city’s ruderal cracks, the margins where nature and ruin meet, became our studio and meeting place.

Some of the most compelling moments came from unplanned encounters with people who had a vested interest in the site. The sudden appearance of a cosy living/working space where none was expected, flipped the script and opened room for dialogue, curiosity and negotiation. After a week of intense, lively and often challenging work, the artists presented their original works in a public exhibition the following weekend where over 100 visitors came to see what had been made.

Photo: Johannes Rau

Live Stream of the occupied room during the residency.

Notes and links

¬ Curated and organised by Indra Küster, Thomas Mayer and Jakob Wirth.

¬ In collaboration with Operation Himmelblick.

¬ Participating Artists:

Marina Resende Santos
Rob Blake
Billy Contreras
Vlad Brăteanu
Lucas Gervilla
Jan Dubský
Herkusho Kac

¬ Supported by Berliner Bezirkskulturfonds Mitte.