Haus der Nachwuchsvisionen

Second round of the competition for a temporary public art artwork at the Karl Marx Allee, Berlin

Haus der Nachwuchsvisionen is a participatory public walk-in installation which accommodates young people’s visions of possible developments in Berlin (or rather of the second section of Karl-Marx-Allee) for the next 60 years, and overlaps them with excerpts of the present city.

The second section of Karl-Marx-Allee emerged from a vision of the future, which was associated with progress, created by the first real GDR generation. Thus, this area gave citizens a new attitude towards life that was linked to a specific use of public space. In the present day, this section and thus this vision of the future is preserved as a monument and protected accordingly.

Monuments are created within the framework of a remembrance culture, and visions are projected into the future. With the project, the artists want to add another layer and connect the area with a new utopia which will arise from the cooperation with a young generation. What is modern for the current young generation?  Young people are rarely asked about their dreams and visions for public space. Yet, from the current perspective, they are the ones who will use and inhabit the city for longer. For this reason, we believe they should be involved in the planning of the city. The aim of the project is to motivate young people to dare to imagine their dream city. Because that is the first step towards its realisation.

Juan Chacón & Valeria Schwarz

Concept

Berlin, GER, 2020
Supported by: Bezirksamt von Mitte von Berlin