65th Anniversary of the Construction of the Berlin Wall | Installation and Open-Air Exhibition at the Brandenburg Gate

The installation plays with transparency, lines of sight, and shifts in perspective: depending on the viewer’s vantage point, it appears either permeable or impenetrable, thus creating moments of disorientation, confusion, but also of encounter. It highlights the brutality of the historical border demarcation while simultaneously inviting reflection on contemporary forms of walls and borders.

In parallel, the open-air exhibition “Mauerblicke. Berlin 1961–1990” presents historical photographs documenting everyday life in the divided city with the Wall. The focus is on the people who had to live with the division, suffered under it, observed it, captured it in images, and were tasked with monitoring it.

The exhibition showcases the often incredulous gaze of the early years as well as the tourist and journalistic perspectives on the structure. It also reveals the perspective of the GDR authorities, who justified and strictly controlled the Wall, as well as the viewpoint of Western security forces.

Image and text modules convey the history of the Berlin Wall and are complemented by a free program featuring guided tours, discussions with eyewitnesses, and artistic contributions.

• A project by Kulturprojekte Berlin and the Berlin Wall Foundation in cooperation with the Berlin Commissioner for Coming to Terms with the SED Dictatorship, made possible by funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the LOTTO Foundation Berlin
• The temporary memorial site at the Brandenburg Gate is designed and implemented by Kulturprojekte Berlin, with an exhibition curated by the Berlin Wall Foundation. The installation by artist Hubertus Hamm was designed by art Next Level in cooperation with Artikel 1 Initiative für Menschenwürde e.V.