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Botschaft e.V. «Botschaft e.V.» | Dromomania
Botschaft e.V., «Botschaft e.V.», 1990 – 1996
Dromomania
‘Dromomania: Kult und Ritual der täglichen Fortbewegung – Ein Experiment um Verkehr und Stadtplannung' (The Cult and Ritual of Daily Transport – A Traffic and Town Planning Experiment), the first project to be organized by Botschaft e.V., took place from 19 to 25 November 1990 in the former headquarters of the Württembergische Metallwaren Fabrik (WMF) in the Mitte district of Berlin. A group of some 13 people occupied the fourth floor of the building, which was due for demolition, renovated the offices and other rooms, and used them for a series of activities that encompassed architecture, town planning, art and civic involvement. The project placed artistic matters in relation to politics, to the state of the WMF building and the projected large-scale development of nearby Potsdamer Platz. Activities inside the building were shown simultaneously on its exterior as large-format projections. As a result of ‘Dromomania' the WMF headquarters became a listed building two months later.


 
Botschaft e.V. «Botschaft e.V.»Botschaft e.V. «Botschaft e.V.» | DromomaniaBotschaft e.V. «Botschaft e.V.» | real '92

Categories: Context

Keywords: Geography | East/West


Berlin | Germany
 

 Botschaft e.V.
«Botschaft e.V.»

In May 1990 a group of 13 people working on an interdisciplinary basis united to form Botschaft e.V. in Berlin. Their location in the eastern part of the city and the vacuums created by the fall of the Wall formed an essential part of their activities. In the summer of 1990 the group occupied rooms in the WMF building and, from 1991, worked at Kronenstrasse 3 in the city's Mitte district. Here, they opened the Friseur Club in 1992, confronting a bar-type clientele with various events devoted to specific topics. The constitution of the members varied from project to project, the group always functioning both as a pool of information and as a forum for work and discussion. Botschaft's projects included ‘Dromomania' (1990), ‘richtig '92' (1992), ‘IG Farben: Performance einer Aktie' (Performance of a Share; November 1993) and ‘Berlin/NY/Beirut' (1995-96).