For over two years we’ve been talking about it: C/O Berlin, an internationally renowned photography institution founded in 2000, which occupies the Postfuhramt on Oranienstrasse in the Mitte district, will change locations. After several aborted projects, including the plan announced one year ago to build a new site in nearby Monbijou Park, C/O confirmed at the end of last year that they will be moving to the Amerika Haus in the Charlottenburg district.
The 2200 square meter space for both exhibitions and offices is slightly larger than the current building in Mitte. The Amerika Haus was an initiative of the U.S. government, which sponsored cultural exchanges between German and American citizens from 1946 until 2006. Since the building has been used for temporary events.
On December 12th,the Berliner real estate agency GmbH and C/O Berlin signed a 16-year contract for the use of the building.
Although we can be grateful that C/O will survive, its removal from the artistic center of Mitte comes as a disappointment. The Amerika Haus is located near the S-Bahn station Zoologischer Garten,in the neighborhood of two other major Berlin photography centers: the Museum für Fotografie and the Helmut Newton Foundation.
It’s still not clear what will result from this geographic reshuffling, but we look forward to it with impatience.
Eva Gravayat
