Since the German reunification in the 1990s, Berlin has become one of Europe’s foremost cultural hotspots. During the first week of half-term, 15 A-level artists, accompanied by Nikolas Arvanitis and Inga Page, visited the city to expand their cultural capital and collect visual research for their coursework portfolios.
Amongst visits to various galleries and museums, the students took part in a street art tour and workshop as well as visiting Berlin’s tourist attractions such as the Berlin Zoo, the Brandenburg Gate and TV Tower.
The visit to the Jewish Museum was one of the most poignant moments of the trip, with the students learning about the relationship between art, history and architecture.
They were able to explore Daniel Libeskind’s masterpiece and experience the museum’s Holocaust Tower, a 24-metre-high asymmetrical concrete enclosure with only a sliver of light in its top corner.
The visit to East Side Gallery (a part of the Berlin wall adorned with hundreds of painted murals commemorating the city’s reunification) helped students put their street art workshop into context.
The art trip was an excellent overall introduction to Berlin’s rich and turbulent past and its vibrant contemporary art scene. The students came back equipped with an array of visual and contextual information to use in their own practice.
