By Jennifer Porto*
The headliner for Berlin’s cultural scene in March is the MaerzMusik festival, held annually in the second half of the month. The festival is “rooted in the multimodality of listening, contemporary music, and sound, employing concerts, performances, installations, music theatre, film screenings, and discursive formats to open up a space where life, art, and theory can co-exist.” It features a variety of events across nearly every artistic genre imaginable, and is held at venues throughout all of Berlin. March also brings the Staatsoper Berlin’s annual Festtage.
This year’s edition presents two full cycles of Richard Wagner’s epic Ring cycle, featuring an international cast of Wagnerian superstars. Not far away, at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, a new exhibition takes a look at the legacy of East Germany and migrants from countries such as Algeria, Angola, Chile, Cuba, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Syria, and Vietnam, entitled Echoes of the Brother Countries. In typical HKW style, the exhibition, which is accompanied by a research project, is a multidisciplinary artistic examination that “maps the GDR history and relations with its brother countries, a term that is critically taken up for its gendered problematics, and illusions of and allusions to equality.”
The city’s Free Theater Scene, which boasts over 400 independent theaters, offers a vibrant landscape of genre-defying productions and performances. one of those Independent Theaters is the Hebbel am Ufer, currently celebrating its 20th-anniversary season. The HAU presents its Claiming Common Spaces VI event in March, subtitled “House of Solidarity – In Defence of the Migration Society,” which invites individuals to come together to listen to and speak with one another. The Ringtheater, which was at home at the Alte Münze for many years, has moved to Neue Zukunft in Alt-Stralau, a cultural site with a wide-ranging program that includes an open-air theater (although March might be too chilly!)
The Gropius Bau opens a new exhibit this month called “Nancy Holt: Circles of Light featuring works by the American artist. The historic Kino Babylon has Kamera DDR, a series of films from the GDR, presenting 40 films (many of them with English subtitles), and it’s all free of charge.
And even if it’s too cold for outdoor cinema nights, March in Berlin is when the city starts to come alive, awakening from its wintry indoor slumber party to venture out into the sunshine. Street art tour offerings pick up their pace this month, as do bike tours and walking tours.
But it’s not all bright: budget cuts have forced the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin to close, so March will be the last full month to take advantage of some of the SMB’s museums on a Tuesday. And the Kino International, one of Berlin’s most beloved movie theaters, will close at the end of March for more than a year to undergo renovations. So be sure to catch something in this iconic setting before April.
But that’s true no matter what the venue: don’t miss out on the opportunity to be inspired, challenged, and moved by the magic of Berlin’s thriving art scene. Whether you’re a seasoned art aficionado or a curious explorer, Berlin invites you to embark on a journey of creativity and discovery.
Jennifer Porto is the Arts Coordinator at NYU Berlin.