Connecting the world

Attempts to explore, chart and take possession of the world continue to this day.

The enormous mural by How and Nosm depicts events in the conquest and exploitation of the globe. The two artists have painted, sprayed and modelled the four walls to highlight colonial divisions of the world, studies of connections between humans and nature, and controversial appropriations of objects from other cultures. Collage-like scenes reveal symbols that stand for conceptualising the world as something shared: clasped hands, broken chains and doves of peace.

How do we want to live together in the world? How does this world influence us? How do we want to shape it? Join in! You can log in and connect with the exhibition. Numerous stations invite you to cast a vote and make a difference. At the end you’ll receive a summary of your choices and have the chance to meet people who share your opinions exactly – or not at all.

Typically Berlin

This room provides an unconventional prelude to Berlin – and literally draws you in. Staggered backdrops with large-scale photos show images of the exhibition’s seven themes: Revolution, Free Space, Boundaries, Entertainment, War, Fashion and Interconnection. You’ll walk through these themes as if on a stage and begin to ask whether they are characteristic or simply clichés. The reverse sides of the backdrops suggest other possible perspectives.

The city rises up

Berlin played a central role in Germany’s major revolutions. The country’s uprisings were closely connected with liberation movements in Europe and the world at large. With recordings of revolutionary anthems and chants, this room lets you imagine what revolutions sound like. A dense collection of posters with statements and appeals evokes the charged atmosphere and tension of upheavals. But how were the revolutions launched and what fuelled them? Spin the wheel of history and embark upon a trip back in time! When one of the years snaps into place you’ll be immersed in a striking combination of moving images and sound. Videos with interviews and historical film sequences plus immersive works of art make it clear that revolutions are by no means closed chapters in history but instead reverberate on into the present. Here you can watch and listen to individuals who themselves or whose close associates took part in revolutions.

Free space opens and closes

Berlin is known for diversity, tolerance and freedom of expression. Think of the many abandoned spaces and empty buildings after the fall of the Wall, and the way residents typically put them to provisional use.

Berlin offers opportunities for all manner of new uses and ideas – although limited in time, because the city is constantly changing and its free spaces appear and disappear. This room’s photographic projections will lead you to Potsdamer Platz, which changed extraordinarily rapidly after the Wall fell. You’ll feel surrounded by walls that move towards you and then away. Spaces will seem larger and then smaller, and you’ll sense contraction and expansion. You’ll also smell some of the city’s typical aromas, such as its earth, lavender, grasses and dog faeces.

Making boundaries visible

The illuminated map on the floor shows Berlin’s roads and waterways. Tall glass cases containing remarkable historical objects stand on the map: they indicate boundaries that surrounded, divided and were determined in Berlin in the past. Media stations in the form of surveying instruments also stand on the map. Their screens show you something about boundaries in Berlin today. Videos, animations and illustrations tell of racist exclusion, of places like the TV tower’s viewing platform that cannot be accessed by wheelchair users, and of parts of the city where residents can no longer afford to live.

A great pleasure, or no pleasure?

Entertainment cultures have thrived on international influences since the 19th century. Explore the wooden kaiserpanorama that delighted viewers 120 years ago with its 3D scenes of cities, landscapes and events in faraway places. For a high-volume experience, take a headset, enter the disco sphere and dance to the beats of Berlin. They will transport you to musical cultures of the past century, from foxtrot to hip-hop. Today global music corporations are headquartered in Berlin. In the early 20th century companies like Lindström AG popularised jazz, tango and samba in the city. You can play songs from old shellac records on a converted portable player. Four sparkling copper walk-in spheres present different aspects of entertainment culture. The displays also take you behind scenes and onto fine lines between entertainment and exclusion: who can enjoy what where, and who is not allowed in? And who decides what is entertainment and what is not?

City of decisions

Berlin unleashed wars of conquest that shaped the 20th century. Wars in the German colonies and the First World War were launched from Berlin. The Second World War started here and ended in the destruction of large parts of the city as well as of the world. The walls of this room contain illuminated glass cases set in a restless pattern of protruding and receding grey felt squares. The objects, audio recordings and videos tell of war, violence and captivity. Digital stations show some of the traces of war in Berlin, such as street names and the number of pavement “stumbling stones” that recall individuals persecuted and murdered by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945. What are the signs of today’s wars? LED displays also show updated numbers of new refugees in the city.

More than a stylish look

A large display window shows typical women’s outfits in Berlin today, compiled by students at Berlin’s School of Fashion, against a photographic backdrop of women in everyday outfits from 1900 to the present. You can listen to women describing their choice of clothing. But where do the clothes come from? You’ll find that out by looking behind the display window.

An extensive infographic places the history of Berlin’s fashion industry into a global context. Where did the cotton come from in the 18th century? Who cut, sewed and ironed garments in the 19th century and who does that today? A digital loom prompts discussion of how to bring fairer conditions to the global fashion industry. On six screens, activists and NGO representatives describe what they consider key to overcoming abuses in the garment business. The pattern of colours on the digital carpet shows how visitors respond to their statements.

People in Berlin

The visuals of this room are dominated by a multicoloured sculpture suspended from the ceiling. It was inspired by 15 sound portraits of Berliners who were born here, chose the city as their home, fled here or ended up here by chance. The portraits tell of Berlin and of very different connections to other parts of the world. Take a headset and sit down on a long bench to hear their stories and examine details of the sculpture. A collection of objects illustrates these Berliners’ relationships to places they love or miss. The room also features a media station that lets you display your own interconnections with the world.

Meet and connect

A sculpture reminiscent of large woody vines offers numerous places to sit. It reflects the exhibition’s leitmotif that everything is connected. Before taking a seat, you’ll return your chip wristband and receive an individual summary of your tour. You can also view composite results of visitors’ choices and opinions on monitors. You’ll meet people who share your opinions exactly – or not at all. The lounge offers many opportunities for discussion. Perhaps some of these encounters will lead to actions that change something in Berlin and shape the world together.

The place to join in

The WORLD STUDIO invites everyone to put shared ideas for Berlin and the world into action. This is the place for information, workshops, respite, reflection and simply deciding to join in. Here you can rethink conventional ways of showing the world, and design new maps with your own ideas – three unusual “cartographers” stand ready to help. Individual maps and the discussions they bring open up new ways of seeing the world.