06.–29.01.2023
Fridays 6pm–10pm
Saturdays & Sundays 4pm–10pm
Entrance free
Kottbusser Tor, which is affectionately known as “Kotti” by Berliners, is one of the most diverse places in the city. It is a rough place but also an authentic neighborhood. For some it is a place of transit, while others call it home. While Kotti is affected by poverty and criminalization, it also stands for community and cohesion, and attracts tourists as a “must-see” place. The people who live here have helped to shape this place through local clubs and initiatives, neighbourly exchange, and political struggles.
The project “Kotti Island” is dedicated to Kottbusser Tor and the people who live and work here. We began collecting field recordings and local interviews in order to produce a music album and an exhibition: artists and residents will engage with the neighborhood at 14 different stations from January 6–29, 2023. These will include spaces inside such as Spätis, bars, and stores, as well as outside spaces such as the walls of buildings, arcades, and public squares. These multimedia works will open up different perspectives on the life and events of this vibrant neighbourhood. The tracks of the album “Kotti Island Disc”, which will be released in Spring 2023, can be heard during the exhibition at different spots in the neighborhood.
The exhibition is planned as a navigable course that follows five chapters.
What do people from Charlottenburg have to say about Kotti? What do tourists think? Whatimpression is created of Kotti by the media? For this chapter, we interviewed commuters orpeople who only stay at Kotti for a short time and asked them questions in several languages.Melanie Lischker collected their answers in an audio installation and an experimental videowork. An installation by Rosalie Wood (The Boys Club Berlin), which is generated live, exploresthe virtual topography of Kotti, while a video work by Andrea Pietro Munafò deals with the themeof surveillance.
How is Kotti portrayed in film? Which TV series and music videos were shot here? And howdoes Kreuzberg “sound” in literature? The “Kotti Kino,” curated by director Neco Çelik, shows a selection of films that were shot by and with local actors or that are also set at Kotti, while “SpätiTV” shows music videos in which Kotti provides the backdrop. Manu Lossau also exhibits portraits of people he photographed at Kotti, and Menekşe Toprak reads from her new novelDejavu which is also partially displayed in the public space around Kotti.
What is Kotti like from behind the service counter? Who is actually in the kitchen? Which tradesand crafts are practiced here? In several display windows, video works by Juma Hamdo and JasMiszewski portray the people who have been part of Kotti for a long time and who have shapedit for decades through their work cooking, shoe-making, or hairdressing in the neighborhood.
Who lives at Kotti, and how does neighborliness occur? What could socially minded urbandevelopment look like? In the project space Aquarium, which was initiated by the Café andCommunity Center Südblock, the choreographer Katharina Scheidtmann will develop aperformance together with residents. The video documentation by Theresa Maria Forthaus willbe exhibited afterwards. Sonja Och will also exhibit photographs of people who live at Kotti, andvisitors can also discover Gecekondu, which is a neighborhood meeting place, protest house,and art venue.
What does Kotti sound like? The music album “Kotti Island Disc” brings together tracks by eight artists who explore Kotti’s sounds which will be released in Spring 2023. At the local club Paloma, a sample station will be set up by producers Lai Raw and Doshy Xbot, where visitors can create their own Kotti track. In this way they get to artistically process how they experience Kotti, and also experiment with the same field recordings made by Cecilia Tosh which the artists used in their tracks on the album.
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Andrea Pietro Munafò, Cecilia Tosh, Jas Miszewski, Juma Hamdo, Katharina Scheidtmann, Lai Raw, Manuel Lossau, Melanie Lischker, Menekşe Toprak, Neco Çelik, Rosalie Wood, Sandy Kaltenborn, Saramé, Sonja Och, Theresa Maria Forthaus
Aquarium, Café Kotti, Foto Kotti, Gecekondu, I love shoes, M-Style Kreuzberg, Mittelpunktbibliothek Wilhelm Liebknecht, Möbel Olfe, Paloma, Regenbogen Kiosk, Simitdschi
Berliner Projektfonds Urbane Praxis
Artists 36, ABC Dinamo, Gewobag, Monarch, Nachbarschaftsraum NKZ, narrativ e.V., Newglyph, Regenbogen Buchhandlung, Salzgeber & Co. Medien GmbH, The Boys Club, Kotti e.V
