Zum Idealen Himmel

Zum Idealen Himmel is the name of a small, dank pub[1]. It’s a dive, full of assorted crooks and filled with dense smoke, and it is where the main character (of Elias Canetti’s novel Auto-Da-Fé published in 1935) Professor Kien’s demise begins. The name of the place is overstated and optimistic, pleonastic, sentimental. None of it fits, the name is perfect. 

nationalmuseum hosted by ALSO as part of B-LA Connect 2022 presents works by George Barber, Lesya Godfrey, Susanne Kohler, Raaf van der Sman and John Hodany.

[1] my translation: Ideal Heaven Inn (orig. translation ‘The Stars of Heaven’) 

 

ALSO

https://www.instagram.com/galleryalso/

 

 

B-LA CONNECT

B-LA CONNECT is an initiative to promote the cooperation and interlinking between the two sister cities’ creative communities.

In June 2019, twenty art spaces from Los Angeles exhibited in 22 art spaces from Berlin. The interdisciplinary program included art exhibitions, film screenings, performances, talks, and more. This July, 2022, the Berlin art spaces travel to LA for a return visit with staggered openings throughout the city in 22 different art spaces, a film night at the Goethe-Institut LA, and a performance evening on the rooftop of The Bendix Building.

B-LA CONNECT sees itself as an international cultural exchange on a grass roots level. It brings together members of different art spheres and scenes from both cities. New opportunities for interacting and connecting with each other are created and extended locally inside and transnationally between the two cities. In the sense of a positive globality B–LA CONNECT seeks to advance the cultural partnership between Berlin and Los Angeles.

B-LA CONNECT wants to celebrate urban diversity, show presence and stand against reactionary forces. Berlin and Los Angeles share the urban self-image of being the world in small, a place of cultural diversity and individual freedom. In light of the rising authoritarian and regressive currents worldwide the two cities stand for a liberal and cosmopolitan openness towards the world.

B-LA CONNECT wants to build bridges where others erect walls.

 

click here to learn more about the 2022 edition 

 

click here to learn more about the 2019 edition