10 years of Direktorenhaus
In 2020, Direktorenhaus will celebrate its 10th anniversary. In April 2020 this anniversary will be celebrated in the house together with artists, partners and friends. Since 2010, it is as an art space in Berlin a connection between applied art, design and contemporary art.
In 2020, Direktorenhaus will celebrate its 10th anniversary. In April 2020 this anniversary will be celebrated in the house together with artists, partners and friends. Since 2010 as an exhibition house in Berlin a connection between applied art, design and contemporary art.
In the early years the exhibitions of illustration and painting still predominated, but since 2012 the presentation of handicrafts, manufactories and handicraft collector’s items has become more important. The director’s house was founded by Pascal Johanssen and Katja Kleiss. The building was part of the Old Mint, the former mint at Werderschen Markt. In the Second World War, during the bombing of Berlin, the underground vaults were used to store treasures from the Berlin museums.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the house stood empty for years and was visibly decaying. Pascal Johanssen and Katja Kleiss repaired large parts of the house with their own means and saved it from decay. When the house was occupied, it resembled a ruin.
To this day, Direktorenhaus is a private cultural institution in Berlin that, supported by the German Craft Council, presents a combination of applied art, design and contemporary art. The focus of the exhibitions is always on the noticeably increased importance of design and aesthetics in contemporary life. Thus, the program revolves around current phenomena of design and consciously includes the border areas to architecture, art, and craftsmanship.
In the past, the exhibitions followed a “galleristic” principle: there were 4–5 temporary exhibitions per year, showing high-priced unique pieces, which were accessible to a small circle of interested people. From May 2019 this will change: with an additional newly created exhibition area, the Director’s House will permanently display and open up handicraft products, unique designs and manufactured products on four floors.
From autumn 2018, Direktorenhaus will be presenting over 1,000 handcrafted objects and manufactured products under one roof — right across the areas of glass, porcelain and ceramics, jewellery, metal, textiles, paper and furniture. All creations were handmade by renowned German and international artists and workshops. The Direktorenhaus thus brings together unique editions that are hardly to be found on the market.
