Next weekend, on March 15th and 16th, the Charlottenwalk will take place again in Berlin. As a partner of this gallery weekend, which involves 35 galleries from Charlottenburg, we are already looking forward to a rich start to spring full of art. We met with the director, Susanne Burmehl, to discuss the Charlottenwalk’s program.

How did the idea for Charlottenwalk originate, and how has the gallery weekend evolved over time?

Susanne Burmehl: Originally, galleries in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf would periodically join forces to increase the visibility of the galleries in the area. However, they encountered challenges such as the high workload and the difficulty in attracting an audience interested not only in viewing art but also in purchasing art.

In recent years, the density of galleries in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf has continued to increase, prompting me to take over the organization of the Charlottenwalk founded by the galleries Max Hetzler, Philipp Haverkampf, and Volker Diehl in 2022. Since then, I have been working to bring together the diverse gallery scene with an interested, affluent, and engaging audience. This positive development is motivating more and more galleries to participate, and the Charlottenwalk is growing both in terms of its audience and the galleries themselves. It’s a wonderful development, in my opinion!

How many galleries will participate in the upcoming edition of Charlottenwalk?

In the upcoming Charlottenwalk, a total of 35 galleries will participate. The kick-off for the artful weekend will be the opening receptions in 14 galleries on Friday evening, and over the next two days, visitors can independently explore the exhibitions of all participating galleries on foot or join our guided tours. What’s great about Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is its unusually high density of galleries, which I haven’t seen in other Berlin neighborhoods or cities. For example, in Fasanenstraße alone, within walking distance of 200 meters, you can visit ten galleries, and there are also many auction houses in the street.

For the second date on November 30th, it will certainly be, like last time, close to 50 galleries participating.

What are the goals of Charlottenwalk?

The goal of Charlottenwalk is to bring together all 70-80 galleries located there to present themselves collectively. Thus, well-known galleries like Max Hetzler, who has three locations in Charlottenburg alone, regularly exhibit alongside other renowned and lesser-known galleries.

Similarly, we aim to attract an audience for Charlottenwalk who already have a passion for art or come from business and social circles that have an interest in art but little experience with galleries. In other words, we try to reduce the threshold for visitors through guided tours to make art accessible to everyone again.

What can visitors expect?

All visitors can look forward to exploring the open gallery spaces and the diverse range of art offerings free of charge. On these days, the gallery owners dedicate a lot of time to art education. You can feel their dedication to their art and their joy in sharing it with the public. The tour can be visited independently (flyers are available in all galleries), or you can book a guided tour to be comfortably led through 5-6 selected galleries. The advantage of this is that you will learn many backgrounds and can dive deeper into the respective works.

My biggest highlight is that visitors can immerse themselves in the diversity of the gallery scene to make their own personal discoveries. You can preview all exhibitions on our website (www.charlottenwalk.de) in advance. There is so much different art to see, and also at very different prices. There’s something for everyone, really. And thanks to our partnership with Moviiu, art buyers know who to turn to for shipping. 😉

Are there plans to further expand Charlottenwalk in the future?

First and foremost, it’s important to me that we establish Charlottenwalk in Berlin with its two dates in March and November as a fixed event. We are already pleased to see that people from other neighborhoods in Berlin or even from outside the city specifically come to Charlottenburg to discover art at Charlottenwalk. In the future, I would like to create further synergies to further enliven the neighborhood with its creative scene. There are so many creative places like the UDK, the jazz scene, restaurants, and of course, artist studios that we can still discover and bring together. But for now, let’s start by embracing the diversity in art and going on a discovery tour. I’m excited about everyone who has become curious and feels invited to visit Charlottenwalk on March 15th and 16th.

For more information and registration, visit www.charlottenwalk.de.

 

Captions
Jan Tichy: Famille D. Morgand, Cimetière du Père Lachaise, 2022, Cyanotypie auf Aqurellpapier, 120g, 15 x 21 cm, Unikat
Emily Gernild, Beyond Ideas, installation view – Photo: def image, Courtesy: SCHWARZ CONTEMPORARY
Karl Oppermann, Ausschnitt, Courtesy Galerie Mutare