Press release -
Opening DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam
DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam is the newest project of the Hasso Plattner Foundation. On September 24, 2022, the new institution opened to the public with the two exhibitions: Wolfgang Mattheuer: Der Nachbar, der will fliegen and Stan Douglas: Potsdamer Schrebergärten. The former terrace restaurant “Minsk”—built in the 1970s in the modernist style of the GDR—thus becomes a place for encounters between modern and contemporary art. In the future, works from the former GDR, which are part of the Hasso Plattner Collection, will be shown here in new contexts.
"The architecture from the former GDR will be preserved and we have also decided to preserve the historical name ‘Minsk’. Through the means of art, the exhibition venue critically grapples with the chapter in history in which it was created,” says the founding director Paola Malavassi. “From the present we thereby reflect upon the past, in the conviction that our contemporary moment can’t be understood without it.“
With its large window façade and spacious forecourt, DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam like the former terrace restaurant, exudes openness. The Cafébar, terrace, and foyer are open to the public, regardless of whether they are visiting the exhibitions. “For many Potsdamers, the former terrace restaurant ‘Minsk’ is associated with many memories. Many of them fought for the preservation of the old ‘Minsk’ precisely for this reason, because it was to some extent also about the preservation of their own identity and that of the city. DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam wants to pick up exactly where it left off and establish itself as a place of encounter that goes beyond art. Here we will show, search, discuss, endure, and bring together as well as hopefully dancing and laughing again. I hope to spend time with, and for, each other,” says Stefanie Plattner, the representative responsible for the DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam on behalf of the Hasso Plattner Foundation. Inside the building there are reminiscences of the old "Minsk", such as the large spiral staircase and the rounded bar counter in the original location. The interior design of the foyer and bar was realized by the architectural office Linearama from Genoa in collaboration with the Hedwig Bollhagen Werkstätten in Marwitz, Brandenburg.
Open from Monday to Sunday, 10 am to 7 pm, closed on Tuesday.
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