Dream On—Berlin, the 90s
Berlin in the 90s: The city found itself in flux after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, caught between past and future. A spirit of optimism battled with fears of loss and defined the mood of this era. Extraordinary new opportunities led to a flourishing of temporary initiatives. Berlin became the city of subcultures, even as controversies raged over the development of the new German capital and its center. The potential futures and utopias of the 1990s left a lasting mark on Berlin’s image and continue to define the city to this day.
A group of photographers from former East Germany founded the photo agency OSTKREUZ in East Berlin during this tumultuous era, in 1990. Today, they are recognized internationally as one of Germany’s most important photo agencies. C/O Berlin shows works by nine OSTKREUZ members, including co-founders Sibylle Bergemann, Harald Hauswald, Ute Mahler, and Werner Mahler, as well as Annette Hauschild, Thomas Meyer, Jordis Antonia Schlösser, Anne Schönharting, and Maurice Weiss. These photographers turned their sharp gaze to societal transformations and the challenges of reunification in a city formerly divided by the Berlin Wall.
They reflect a city in flux with all its attendant ambivalences, beginning with the fall of the Wall and dancing in the ruins to the burgeoning techno scene, social and economic changes, and Berlin's transformation into the new German capital. These images reflect the OSTKREUZ photographers' unique perspectives, revealing the complex relationship between individuals and urban space.
At a moment when global changes and political upheavals are omnipresent, Dream On—Berlin, the 90s offers valuable insights into the mechanisms and effects of societal transformation. The exhibition also serves to mark the long-standing and close cooperation between C/O Berlin and OSTKREUZ.
Dream On—Berlin, the 90s is curated by Annette Hauschild (OSTKREUZ) and Boaz Levin (C/O Berlin Foundation). The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication of the same name, published by Spector Books.
OSTKREUZ – Agentur der Fotografen
OSTKREUZ’s extraordinary success story began in 1990 when the Eastern Bloc dissolved. Seven East German photographers—Sibylle Bergemann, Harald Hauswald, Ute Mahler, Werner Mahler, Jens Rötzsch, Thomas Sandberg, and Harf Zimmermann—founded the agency as a reportage photographers’ collective, taking Magnum Photos as their model. Today, the agency has 25 members working as independent photographers and journalists on commission and exhibiting their work internationally. Though the OSTKREUZ photographers have different working methods, one thing they share is their commitment to societally engaged documentary photography.
