The House of World Cultures in Berlin to Be Renovated

Berlin, Germany – With 55,000 people at sold-out concerts and well-attended exhibitions, the Copa Da Cultura festival turned out to be a great highlight in its activities before
restoration work started at the House of World Cultures. In July, work began on renovating the House of World Cultures.
 
 “Over the next twelve months, our building will be better equipped to hold future
events,” said press officer Yven Augustin. “Scheduled work includes basic refurbishment, providing the technical
preconditions for first-rate international exhibitions, installing new gallery
rooms and creating a foyer that can serve as a forum for a wide range of
encounters. The Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media is supporting the
restoration work to the tune of € 8.8 m.”

Until it reopens in August 2007, the House of World Cultures will be a building
site. Even so, it will be holding a series of events and guided tours for anyone
who wishes to participate in the renewal process. In a series entitled My
Building Site, the House of World Cultures is inviting people to visit the
building site and attend festivals, concerts, readings, performances,
exhibitions, debates and talks. These events will be examining themes such as
future developments in international cultural relations, exchanges, and
different ways in which artists are raising questions about art. With these
activities, the HKW wishes to publicize key points and reflections on its new
program conception, which will be elaborated and concretized in co-operation
with international scientists and artists over the coming months.

Guided tours of the building site, as on the Day of the Public Monument on 10
September 2006, will offer a glance into the core of this internationally famous
Berlin landmark. During the restoration phase, the HKW website will present
activities that focus on the history and architecture of the House of World
Cultures.

The structural and conceptual renewal of the House of World Cultures is taking
place in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the official opening of the
Congress Hall in September 1957, which was initially constructed as a symbolic
gift from the United States. For this reason, the first events at the House of
World Cultures after its reopening will focus on the global changes that have
occurred during the past five decades and on developments in the American
metropolises.

The
House of World Cultures (Haus der Kulturen der Welt in German) is located at
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10,
10557 Berlin.
Tel. +49 30 397 87 153.