Tour Details
Duration
3 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
Various contemporary art galleries
Photos & Highlights
- Learn about Berlin’s thriving art scene
- Led by a local curator or practicing artist
Select a date
Tour Description
Thanks to a thriving and bold artistic community with a subversive attitude to spare, Berlin has proven itself a world capital of contemporary art for decades. Since the fall of the Wall in 1989, artists from all backgrounds have been transforming the city’s forgotten spaces into workshops, galleries, and collectives. On this 3-hour Berlin art tour, a local curator, historian, or artist will hand-pick a selection of galleries and provide an introduction to the diverse, cutting-edge, and experimental art scene that has brought Berlin international fame.
Private Art Tour in Berlin
With a multitude of museums (from the giants of Museum Island to lesser-known gems), over 300 established contemporary art galleries, and an ever-expanding network of temporary spaces throughout the city, Berlin has clearly established itself as a cultural and creative capital of Europe. In order to find the pulse of the city’s scene, we will spend our walk on Auguststrasse. The original core of Berlin’s artistic community in the early 1990s, it is now home to some of the city’s most prestigious galleries.
In the company of a Context guide, we will make our way along Auguststrasse and through its side streets, visiting some of the city's most venerated spaces. Our itinerary will be guided by the current exhibitions as well as our guide’s knowledge of the galleries’ strengths and weaknesses. We'll also tackle some broader questions about the functions of the best art galleries in Berlin.
"What can I say? It was like getting an MFA in three hours. [Our guide] was intelligent, funny, and made me look at art in a new way. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed it."
Space to Create
This walk isn't simply a sequence of contemporary galleries, but also explores the history of Berlin as a capital for contemporary art and how its vibrant community of artists shapes the city. We will consider the hype that keeps drawing people here and talk about the many artist-run initiatives and community art spaces that shape the cultural landscape.
Take Aways
Together, we'll see what makes the gallery scene in Berlin different from other art meccas such as New York, Paris, or London. True to its chaotic and revolutionary origins, the Berlin scene is constantly expanding, re-inventing itself, and pushing the purview of contemporary art.
FAQ
Is this tour available during the summer?
Due to gallery closures in July and August, we aren't able to offer this walk in the summer.
Due to gallery closures in July and August, we aren't able to offer this walk in the summer.
Where You'll Start
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62 Reviews
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Enjoyed our time - Julian was passionate about his subject and the walk and talks with him were a perfect way to spend an enjoyable Autumn afternoon in Berlin.
Richard
Reviewed on:
Oct 11, 2011
I loved Julian as a person. He has a great personality for meeting new people and interacting with them. I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of "structure" to the tour. The tour effectively took us to various galleries where the gallery owner answered questions for us. I could have wandered into galleries on my own and asked questions of the gallery owner.
I think it would have been more insightful and interesting to have had more background information on the gallery scene in Berlin beforehand - for the docent to provide a foundation for what we were about to see and perhaps some history on how the art showcased in Berlin is unique to Berlin (or not), how the art scene has evolved since post-reunification (or not), etc. etc. Also, I think it could be useful for Julian to have more specific knowledge of artists that are showcased in the galleries that he takes us to and develops overriding "themes" if possible. I just felt like the tour was pretty random and generally unstructured. I was not sure what I "learned" from the tour which I was really expecting to walk away feeling like I "learned" new things from a docent who is well-educated in the subject matter presented. Of course, it is possible that I should have asked more questions but, for someone like myself who is hoping to "learn" on the tour, I do not think I know all the questions that I should have asked so it would be helpful for the docent to spend more time in explanation, background information, etc.
Melissa
Reviewed on:
Oct 10, 2011
The fist comment and this was true of both tours, is how much we appreciated Julian's starting points. For the morning Intro tour he picked a corner with two breakfast choices - Starbucks and a German pastry shop. Perfect. For the afternoon Scene tour he picked Orange Cafe, where we had a much needed quick lunch that was just delicious.
A difficult tour to frame but very successful. We liked Ann, your docent in training. I hope things work out on both ends. She really seems to know art. But once again Julian includes those more illusive sights and insights that put the Berlln Art Scene in something of a current context.
We love Julian. The other docent we will never forget was Haluk Cetinkaya in Istanbul. Both men are just exceptional to the point that we feel quite fortunate to have spent even just a moment in their company.
One comment on Berlin - we were surprised at the lack of Americans we ran into. In 5 days at the Regent we only heard an American accent twice. We got the impression Berlin is more of a business destination than a tourist destination but that might just be an anomaly to our time there.
Sue
Reviewed on:
Oct 10, 2011
