1946: Still scarred by the destruction of World War II, the Kunstamt Zehlendorf was established in the former industrialist’s villa Haus Knobloch. This soon gave rise to Haus am Waldsee, which would, over the decades, go on to establish an acclaimed exhibition history. In 2026, on the occasion of its 80th anniversary, the Haus directs its gaze back to its founding years – on the transformation from a private residence to an exhibition venue, on the ruptures and continuities of the post-war period, and on the traces these have left on the institution’s understanding of itself.

A display architecture developed by the Georgian curator and archivist Nina Akhvlediani (*1989 in Tblisi, lives and works in Tblisi) for the former garage (now the café) enables adaptable forms of presenting archival materials. In dialogue with contemporary artists, new perspectives on the house unfold, revealing that archives are always also a reflection of their very present.

Since… is divided into three chapters, the first of which is being developed by artist Luciano Pecoits.

20.2. – 25.5.2026