Mauerwinkel an der East Side Gallery, 2022 © Stiftung Berliner Mauer, Foto: Svetlana Sokolova
East Side Gallery: Open-Air Exhibition
118 artists from 21 countries helped make the East Side Gallery in Berlin in 1990. It was the first time anyone had painted on the east side of the wall that had divided the city for 28 years. The artworks spoke to a unified Europe about the revolution in 1989/90 and memories of life in dictatorships and divided Germany. Today, the paintings are accompanied by an open-air exhibition on the grounds.
The artists tell the stories behind their pictures. These stories and numerous residents’ comments give a range of insights into life in the divided city, the fall of the Wall and German unification. Going beyond the events of 1990, the exhibition also looks at monument protection in a growing city and explores issues of appropriation and dispossession, asking questions such as:
- Does the city need free zones?
- Do we need public art?
- To whom is it relevant?
© Stiftung Berliner Mauer, Foto: Matthias Stange
Online Exhibition
The new online exhibition eastsidegalleryexhibition.com brings together 76 video interviews on the East Side Gallery. In them, the artists talk about their pictures, describe the message and also provide information about their experiences during the upheaval of 1989/90, but also about their lives before 1989 and up to the present day. In their diverse memories, experiences and perspectives, the artworks of the East Side Gallery become ambassadors of 1990 and contemporary witnesses of the fall of the Wall. Each artwork is linked to the website on site via a QR code.
