Readings
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A literary series to accompany the exhibition Wohnkomplex
Monthly readings will accompany the current exhibition Wohnkomplex: Art and Life in Plattenbau, inviting visitors to engage in a literary exploration of architecture, prefabricated buildings in the GDR, and their critical reflection in the present day.
Picking up on the exhibition’s question of how East German Plattenbau complexes are addressed in visual art, authors provide literary inspiration, explore new narratives, and situate stories about life in prefabricated buildings in the GDR within a contemporary context.
Renowned authors such as Katja Oskamp, Florentine Anders, Hendrik Bolz, and Grit Lemke present their books in a variety of ways.
The readings, moderated by Maria-Christina Piwowarski, take place once a month in Café Hedwig or in the foyer of DAS MINSK. The event ticket includes a visit to the exhibition. The events are in German.
Wed, January 21, 2026, 7 PM
Vergessene Zukunft. Bilder vom ostdeutschen Umbruch
A collaborative event with the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF)
The social change in the East associated with the end of the GDR and German reunification has many facets and faces: it manifests itself in the restructuring of political conditions, has been inscribed in life stories and biographies, and is recounted as a rupture whose effects reach into the present. Taken during different phases of the upheaval after 1989/90, Holger Herschel’s twelve photographic series can be understood as a kind of visual archaeology. In dialogue with the images, the authors of the essays each map out their own perspective on this period of transformation. They take us to places that are undergoing change, show people caught between old and new certainties, and illuminate the interiors of a changing material culture. This diversity of voices can help dismantle entrenched interpretations of the East, which is too often misunderstood as a “problem case.” (Ch. Links Verlag)
On this evening, author Elke Kimmel will read from her essay Ostdeutsche Wohnungseinrichtungen nach 1990 (East German Home Furnishings after 1990). Accompanied by a presentation of photographs by Holger Herschel, they will talk with Anna-Maria Piwowarski about the stories behind the photo series and their personal approaches to the archaeology of the period of upheaval.
The reading is a collaborative event with the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF).
The book’s co-editor, Jürgen Danyel, is a senior fellow at the ZZF, where he previously served as deputy director, department head, and library director, among other positions. The ZZF’s research is also represented in the book through contributions by Frank Bösch, Hanno Hochmuth, and Annette Schuhmann.
Jürgen Danyel and Holger Herschel (eds.) Vergessene Zukunft. Bilder vom ostdeutschen Umbruch, 2025, Aufbau Verlage
Short biography Maria-Christina Piwowarski
Maria-Christina Piwowarski was born in Haldensleben in 1982 and grew up in a small village in the Magdeburger Börde. She is a trained bookseller and most recently managed the Berlin bookshop ocelot. Together with Ludwig Lohmann, she has been running the blauschwarzberlin literature podcast since 2019, which has been broadcast as a livestream from the Staatsbibliothek Berlin since the fall. She moderates readings and events in the cultural sector and writes. In fall 2024, she published the anthology Und ich - 20 Geschichten von Wendepunkten des Lebens.
Maria-Christina Piwowarski © Andreas Schmidt
