Sept. 8, 2021
Taking place from September 10th to 12th and 17th to 19th, the Unblock Fair Art Fair presents a cross-over of artistic disciplines and positions from all over the world in the Berlin district of Lichtenberg. At Studios ID—a former operative technical sector of the GDR espionage and counterintelligence center—83 artists will exhibit their works.
Curators Denis Leo Hegic and Jan Gustav Fiedler present Unblock as a departure from the exclusively for-profit and hard-to-find gallery and exhibition formats. With it, they strive for a format that doesn’t involve intermediaries, cultural guardians, sellers or other gatekeepers. Instead, they encourage an open exchange between artists, art lovers, cultural actors, the local community and the global audience.
Unblock Fair Art Fair // Photo by Jan-Holger Hennies / Supermarket Lab
Studios ID is home to more than 100 artist studios. The two buildings are a distinctive part of the development of Lichtenberg into one of Berlin’s primary creative districts. Comprising a total of 24,000 square meters across 11 floors spread over two connected block buildings, plus an outdoor art garden area between them, it makes for a unique off-location for emerging art in Berlin. The venue invites you to explore not only the new art production on view, but also an often overlooked district of Berlin boasting the highest density of art ateliers.
Unblock proposes that art has always been too engaging to be confined between walls. While the inside of Studios ID will be the main art fair site, the open-air exhibition in its outdoor space called the Kunstgarten will present 23 positions from artists working in the ID Studios, including two performances by Pasha Cas and Marina Markovic on the opening night, in the Red Block Pavilion located within the garden and the White Block Series. The audience will be able to experience contemporary culture in an open-studio exhibition setting and in direct exchange with the artists.
08 Artist Marie-Charlotte Nouza // Photo by Neven Hillebrands/Supermarket Lab
The variety of installations attests to the diversity of the Berlin art scene and focuses on the international audience as well as on an exchange with the surrounding residential area. The garden will be made accessible with a barrier-free location and no admission costs. The goal of this fair and its subtitle—”Fair Art Fair”—is to create a safe space where everyone is included, and to foster an unrestrained exchange of ideas and the purchasing of artworks directly from the artists in which the profits remain entirely with them.
Unblock will offer a wide range of talks, classes, workshops and behind-the-scenes insights. In partnership with the Museum of Now Academy (MON-A), it will explore trends and articulate the current zeitgeist. The scope of discourse will vary from the traditional art world and market to revolutionary approaches on how to shape the aesthetics and conceptions of the future. Leading experts in their representative fields will provide valuable insights and visions into their work.
Exhibition Info
Unblock Fair Art Fair
Opening Reception: Friday, Sept. 10; 7:30–9:30pm
Exhibition: Sept. 11–12 and 17–19, 2021
unblock.berlin
Genslerstraße 13–13a, 13055 Berlin, click here for map
