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EXBERLINER MAGAZINE

ART

The best of Berlin in December

Exberliner, the German capital's leading English-language magazine, this month picks the best places to knock back a glass of fine Burgundy, buy yourself an extravagant headpiece, and buy original versions of international children books.

Published: 10 December 2008 12:09 CET
The best of Berlin in December
Photo: www.LesClimats.com

Burgundy cellar

While most of us passively protest the globalization of taste by stuffing ourselves with local fare from bio delicatessens, a few gastronomic crusaders are actively working to enlighten our profane tables. Roland Kretschmer is one of them: a former journalist and editor at Deutsche Welle, this 40-year-old oenophile spent five years roaming across picturesque Burgundy, to uncover family-run vineyards, new terroirs and great wines – and, of course, he never missed a tasting on the way.

Back in Germany, Kretschmer decided to turn his hard-earned knowledge into commerce: Last month he launched Berlin’s first and only Burgundy-specific wine store, Les Climats. Here, at the back of a Mitte courtyard, you’ll find prestigious Grand Crus side by side with affordable village appellations and bargain AOCs. For the holidays, why not treat yourself to a Montagny 1er Cru (€13.50)? It’s from Domaine Le Grégoire, and Kretschmer’s personal favourite to accompany your Christmas fish. As for turkey, let yourself be tempted by a red from Domaine Denis Père et Fils, maybe the Pinot Noir (€9.50) or the Savigny Les Beaune (€15.90). Have a hankering for something even more special? Go for a Grand Cru from Vosne-Romanée. And Champagne is not so far away – Kretschmer offers an excellent Rosé Brut Grand Cru (€27). For further advice, drop by one of Les Climats’ regular wine tastings or on December 11 for special Holiday Season recommendations./VC

Les Climats, Hannoversche Str. 1, Mitte, U-Bhf Oranienburger Tor, Tel 2900 1212, Wed-Fri 12-20:00 and Sat 12-18:00 or by appointment, www.lesclimats.com

Heart sounds

How will you be remembered when you’re gone? That’s a question the French Artist Christian Boltanski has been attempting to answer for decades. His previous “records” – collections of photos, worn clothes and letters – have graced galleries in Paris, New York and London. And now Boltanski is aiming to pin down the most potent symbol of them all: at his latest installation, punters are invited to step inside a black box and have their heartbeat recorded for the posterity of Les Archives du Cœur, the “heart archives”. So far, Boltanski has gathered heartbeats in Stockholm and Paris. The project is scheduled to continue until 2010, when his collection will be stored (presumably for all eternity) on a deserted Japanese island. Boltanski often displays his art in completely atypical settings because he sees the primary purpose of art as the creation of a joint experience – Les Archives du Coeur’s current venue, the Italian restaurant Sale e Tabacchi, being a case in point./ALM

Christian Boltanski’s Les Archives du Cœur, Sale e Tabacchi, Rudi-Dutschke-Str. 23, Mitte, U-Bhf Kochstr., Tel 2521 155, Mon-Fr 15-18:00. Through Dec 31

A home for every head

“Home is where the hat is.” This little hat shop in one of Berlin’s most trendoid shopping streets offers an inspiring selection of hats for everyone and each occasion, whether hip hop, Bavarian or cocktail, with brands Borsalino, Goorin Hats, Mayser and Kangol, not to mention Berlin designers Rotkäppchen, Bencen and Winterfeld. The brainchild of businessman Sebastian Mücke and hat connoisseur Stefan Lochner, Heimat Berlin opened for business just over a year ago and word-of mouth and a loyal customer base have encouraged Heimat to design their own line of hats and open a second shop in Hamburg. From the selection of over 500 hats, the friendly, clued-up staff quickly find you a hat tailored to fit your style and budget: big brim if you’re tall, a small brim if you’re small, a green hat for a blonde, a beige hat if you’re a redhead. They offer a home for every head with prices ranging from €10 to €349 for a Panama. Victims of their own success, they have opened up a temporary shop in Kreuzberg to meet the high Christmas demand./LM

Heimat Berlin, Kastanienallee 13-14, Prenzlauer Berg, U-Bhf Eberswalder Str., Tel 8894 8059, Mon-Sat 10:30-20:30, Sun 13-19:00, www.heimat-berlin.eu

Heimat Berlin II, Körtestr. 5, Kreuzberg, U-Bhf Südstern, for a limited time through Jan 15

OV kiddie literature

After Le Matou closed earlier this year, Prenzlauer Berg’s famous international brats would have been sadly bereft of OV literature if Mundo Azul hadn’t stepped in to fill the vacuum. Inspired by the literary workshops for children in her homeland, the bookshop’s Argentineanborn founder Amariela Nagle set out to provide quality reading for youngsters in her Berlin Kiez. Mundo Azul carries classics but high quality books from independent publishing houses are particularly favoured. Launched last May as a German/Spanish book trove, the colourful shop recently added an English-language section – the result of inexorable pressure from the ever-growing colony of enlightened expats. Looking for a Christmas gift? Nagle recommends either a classic choice like The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg and Hansjörg Schertenleib, or something a little more obscure like The Toys’ Night Before Christmas by Susanna Ronchi. Mundo Azul also offers music lessons, reading groups and children’s workshops in anything from juggling to book-making – activities that are held in each of the store’s three languages./JM

Mundo Azul, Choriner Str. 49, Prenzlauer Berg, U-Bhf Eberswalder Str., Tel 4985 3834, Mon 10-16, Tue-Fri 10:30-19, Sat 11-16, www.mundoazul.de

Click here for more from Berlin’s leading monthly magazine in English.

ART

African-born director’s new vision for Berlin cultural magnet

One of the rare African-born figures to head a German cultural institution, Bonaventure Ndikung is aiming to highlight post-colonial multiculturalism at a Berlin arts centre with its roots in Western hegemony.

Published: 8 July 2023 10:13 CEST
African-born director's new vision for Berlin cultural magnet

The “Haus der Kulturen der Welt” (House of World Cultures), or HKW, was built by the Americans in 1956 during the Cold War for propaganda purposes, at a time when Germany was still divided.

New director Ndikung said it had been located “strategically” so that people on the other side of the Berlin Wall, in the then-communist East, could see it.

This was “representing freedom” but “from the Western perspective”, the 46-year-old told AFP.

Now Ndikung, born in Cameroon before coming to study in Germany 26 years ago, wants to transform it into a place filled with “different cultures of the world”.

The centre, by the river Spree, is known locally as the “pregnant oyster” due to its sweeping, curved roof. It does not have its own collections but is home to exhibition rooms and a 1,000-seat auditorium.

It reopened in June after renovations, and Ndikung’s first project “Quilombismo” fits in with his aims of expanding the centre’s offerings.

The exhibition takes its name from the Brazilian term “Quilombo”, referring to the communities formed in the 17th century by African slaves, who fled to remote parts of the South American country.

Throughout the summer, there will also be performances, concerts, films, discussions and an exhibition of contemporary art from post-colonial societies across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.

‘Rethink the space’

“We have been trying to… rethink the space. We invited artists to paint walls… even the floor,” Ndikung said.

And part of the “Quilombismo” exhibition can be found glued to the floor -African braids laced together, a symbol of liberation for black people, which was created by Zimbabwean artist Nontsikelelo Mutiti.

According to Ndikung, African slaves on plantations sometimes plaited their hair in certain ways as a kind of coded message to those seeking to escape, showing them which direction to head.

READ ALSO: Germany hands back looted artefacts to Nigeria

His quest for aestheticism is reflected in his appearance: with a colourful suit and headgear, as well as huge rings on his fingers, he rarely goes unnoticed.

During his interview with AFP, Ndikung was wearing a green scarf and cap, a blue-ish jacket and big, sky-blue shoes.

With a doctorate in medical biology, he used to work as an engineer before devoting himself to art.

In 2010, he founded the Savvy Gallery in Berlin, bringing together art from the West and elsewhere, and in 2017 was one of the curators of Documenta, a prestigious contemporary art event in the German city of Kassel.

Convinced of the belief that history “has been written by a particular type of people, mostly white and men,” Ndikung has had all the rooms in the HKW renamed after women.

These are figures who have “done something important in the advancement of the world” but were “erased” from history, he added. Among them is Frenchwoman Paulette Nardal, born in Martinique in 1896.

She helped inspire the creation of the “negritude” movement, which aimed to develop black literary consciousness, and was the first black woman to study at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Reassessing history

Ndikung’s appointment at the HKW comes as awareness grows in Germany about its colonial past, which has long been overshadowed by the atrocities committed during the era of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis.

Berlin has in recent years started returning looted objects to African countries which it occupied in the early 20th century — Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia and Cameroon.

“It’s long overdue,” said Ndikung.

He was born in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, into an anglophone family.

The country is majority francophone but also home to an anglophone minority and has faced deadly unrest in English-speaking areas, where armed insurgents are fighting to establish an independent homeland.

One of his dreams is to open a museum in Cameroon “bringing together historical and contemporary objects” from different countries, he said.

He would love to locate it in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s restive Northwest region.

“But there is a war in Bamenda, so I can’t,” he says.

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