Offsite
by Wehrmuehle
Friedrichstraße. 112b, 10117 Berlin
BERLIN GALLERY WEEKEND PARTY
COLLABORATION WITH ARTREVIEW
NINA KRAVIZ & MYKKI BLANCO
SAT 14TH SEPT 2024
On the last Saturday of Berlin Art Week, the city was buzzing with activity. In partnership with Berlin’s major institutions, the five-day contemporary art festival continued to draw crowds to various openings and events. Among the highlights was Wehrmuehle’s Offsite project in the city’s heart on Friedrichstrasse, where an invite-only party unfolded all evening long, marking the end of the museum’s summer season.
The empty building’s inner courtyard had been transformed into a striking visual spectacle, with a stage constructed from industrial steel poles and topped with a corrugated metal ceiling as its centrepiece. Semi-transparent long lengths of fabric cascaded down from the windows of neighbouring buildings, their surfaces bathed in the glow of overhead lighting, enhancing the stage below. Sudden bursts of red light occasionally punctuated the white neon.
Against this evocative backdrop, designed by Julia Ann Payne, the evening was kicked off with a DJ set by artist and filmmaker Shira Kela, who set the tone for the night with groovy house beats. This was followed by an unexpected appearance from musical artist Eddington Again, who jumped on stage to perform an impromptu set of a few songs while interacting with the crowd. The night reached its zenith with a riveting performance by the renowned DJ/producer Nina Kraviz, whose mix kept the party alive well into the night.
Her three-hour set commenced with a gradual introduction. It started dark and slow with haunting, distorted and chopped-up vocal samples interwoven with percussive clicks and mechanical sounds, creating a dark, almost dystopian atmosphere that marked a dramatic departure from the earlier acts. A dense and wild series of remixes followed, including accelerated guaracha patterns from emerging Colombian producer Aleroj, which had the crowd electrified despite the chilly night