Encounter with art: events that inspire

An extraordinary event begins with an extraordinary location. With this in mind, our BCO team regularly travels across the capital in search of (new) venues for conferences, congresses, meetings, events and incentives. This time we went to some of Berlin’s most famous art and cultural locations. Nothing new? Far from it! On our tour from the Kulturforum to Museum Island and Charlottenburg Palace we were surprised by Barbara Brockstedt (Museum & Location) more than once as she led us to places we had never seen before ...

Upon meeting Barbara Brockstedt in front of the Berlin State Library, she immediately infects us with her enthusiasm for the unique possibilities that Berlin’s cultural venues offer us for conferences and congresses: “It is an event in itself to be here in the building,” she explains, as the doors to the Kulturforum’s so-called “book ship” open at nine in the morning. Surrounded by the spacious architecture of Hans Sharoun, we immediately know what she means. Where books, maps and historical newspapers are studied in absolute silence during the day, in the evening the Otto-Braun-Saal (which accommodates up to 481 guests) and the Simón-Bolívar-Saal (up to 100 guests) open their doors for events with excellent acoustics and an ambience that is consciously reminiscent of the Berliner Philharmonie. The very idea that the largest academic universal library in Germany surrounds us conveys the special “spirit of the building”.

“Art wants to be discovered” – with this observation Barbara Brockstedt leads us along the other side of Potsdamer Straße to the Kulturforum, where in the midst of four museums there is a lot of space for hosting events with up to 1,200 guests. Whether it’s the Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Decorative Arts, the Museum of Prints and Drawings or the Art Library – every art form makes its own contribution to the central entrance hall and the piazzetta of the Kulturforum, Brockstedt explains. We marvel at modern LED installations in front of a magnificent architectural backdrop and can immediately imagine various event formats in combination with a guided tour through the museum ensemble.

Museum Island is a magnet: For visitors from all over the world, for Berliners and for event planners. It simply captivates everyone. And once again we have goose bumps as we wander through the Altes Museum with its antique collection and marvel at the magnificent basilica in the Bode Museum alongside Byzantine art. There is no doubt that here, among classical and baroque architecture and at the meeting point of world cultures, events are a real experience. On a colourful mosaic floor, in light-flooded colonnades and in the midst of 6000 (!) years of cultural history, organisers can invite several hundred guests to receptions and, on request, guide them through the exhibition.

visitBerlin, Foto: Karin Willms

BCO Team on the way to the eventlocation Neues Museum

Berlin’s history becomes particularly tangible in the Neues Museum: After the 19th century building had been abandoned for more than 40 years after the Second World War, the British architect David Chipperfield succeeded, after almost ten years of restoration, in making the scars and traces of the past artistically visible and preserving the history of the building from all eras. The special atmosphere of the building can be felt at receptions in front of the imposing staircase. Right next door is the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti. We believe she couldn’t have found a better home in Berlin. And that probably also applies to all events on Museum Island.

With the newly built sixth building on Museum Island – the James Simon Gallery – architect David Chipperfield has given us a modern think tank in a historic setting. Clear lines, an auditorium with state-of-the-art technology, bright rooms, glass and exposed concrete – this is where conceptualising and planning events is made simple. In other words, everything flows here – including the river Spree, which passes by virtually at eye level on the lower ground floor.

An impressive panorama sticks in the memory. So it comes as no surprise to us that meetings and events held in the temporary exhibition house “Pergamon. The Panorama” will be unforgettable experiences. Here Yadegar Asisi’s 360° panorama offers us the opportunity to spend a day in ancient Pergamon around 129 CE – from sunrise to sunset. The event area in the foyer welcomes up to 500 guests and in turn also features its own impressive panorama: the Spree flows behind the large windows and in the evening your gaze falls on the illuminated Bode Museum.  

visitBerlin, Foto: Karin Willms

Yadegar Asisi’s 360° panorama at Pergamon Museum - View to the Burgberg

The Hamburger Bahnhof brings us – literally – back to the present. In the famous Museum für Gegenwart, organisers can invite their guests to inspiring discussions about contemporary art with works by Joseph Beuys or Andy Warhol – either in modern conference rooms or in the inner courtyard against the backdrop of the former 19th-century terminus station. On a practical note: Berlin’s main railway station is only a few minutes’ walk away, which facilitates the arrival and departure of event guests.

As we enjoy the view of Charlottenburg Palace at the end of our tour, we can hardly believe how many cultural spaces Berlin offers us for meetings, incentives, conferences and congresses. Like the carriage house opposite the palace (accommodating up to 200 people inside and up to 400 outside), which is certainly not the last discovery to amaze us. In the middle of the 19th century, the spacious rooms served as guard barracks for the royal bodyguard. Today, the eastern part of the Stüler buildings and the adjacent royal stables house the Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection, with works by Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst, among others. The adjacent carriage house, which is not itself used as an exhibition space, is therefore another ideal location for events and in particular for an encounter with art.