Zukunft am Ostkreuz

Zukunft am Ostkreuz (stylised as ZUKUNFT am Ostkreuz) was an independent art and culture centre in the Friedrichshain district of Berlin, Germany, located on Laskerstraße south of Berlin Ostkreuz station and parallel to Markgrafendamm. It operated from August 2011 until 30 September 2023. The site had previously been a large DEFA film storage depot for the Progress Film-Verleih during the GDR era, and later the techno club Ministerium für Entspannung (MfE), which was destroyed by a major fire in 2009. From 2010 a co-operator of the Tilsiter Lichtspiele began developing the derelict site into a cultural campus, opening the open-air cinema Pompeji in August 2011, followed by the music club Tiefgrund in winter 2011, two cinema halls in early 2012, the Bildersaal Zukunft gallery in May 2012, the Theater Zukunft in 2013, and the Brauerei Zukunft brewery in April 2014. The complex offered a wide range of cultural programming — film, theatre, visual art, live music and jazz — and produced its own unfiltered beers, Goldene Zukunft and Dunkle Zukunft. It closed permanently on 30 September 2023.

The site of Zukunft am Ostkreuz, on Laskerstraße in Berlin-Friedrichshain, has a layered history. The street, named after the Jewish jurist and politician Eduard Lasker, originally ran parallel to the railway line as far as Markgrafendamm, but was heavily destroyed during the Second World War by bombs and the Battle of Berlin; after reconstruction only a short 140-metre remnant remained. During the GDR era the plot housed a large film storage depot of the Progress Film-Verleih, where copies of DEFA films were kept. After German reunification the depot continued for a few years until it moved to Berlin-Adlershof, after which the property stood empty. On 23 March 2003 the techno club Ministerium für Entspannung (MfE) opened on the site. It became so popular that visitors continued to ask about it at the later Zukunft venue. The club's activities came to an abrupt end when a fire alarm was raised on 30 September 2009 at around 19:38. A major fire lasting several hours and involving 130 firefighters caused part of the roof to collapse. At the end of 2010 a co-operator of the Tilsiter Lichtspiele noticed the now-neglected site and conceived the plan to develop a larger cultural campus there. The first work session, involving rubbish clearance, took place on 5 March 2011. The first film screenings were held in the open-air cinema Pompeji, which opened in August 2011 and took its name from the ruins of the fire-damaged building section. In winter 2011 the first concerts were held in the newly established music club Tiefgrund in the basement of the Zukunft building. On 6 January 2012, Epiphany, the first cinema hall opened, followed by a second hall on 23 February 2012. In May 2012 the first exhibition was held in the art gallery Bildersaal Zukunft. In autumn 2013 the first in-house production premiered at Theater Zukunft. On 30 April 2014 the Brauerei Zukunft presented itself to the public for the first time with a brewing festival in the Waldgarten. The open-air cinema Pompeji was architecturally distinctive because of the changes wrought by the 2009 fire on Laskerstraße. The unplastered brick walls, almost undamaged apart from unavoidable smoke blackening, were crowned by crenellated openings created by the burning away of the roof and wooden beams. The overall appearance strongly recalled the excavations of the ancient city of Pompeii, hence the name. Under the motto 'Live at Pompeji' film concerts were also held; two now-legendary film concerts were given in September 2011 by the Berlin psychedelic and stoner rock band Samsara Blues Experiment accompanying the long version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. The Theater Zukunft celebrated its first theatre premiere on 19 September 2013 with the in-house production Labyrinth, based on a play by Reiner Groß and directed by Kai Lange. A second in-house production, Das kurze Leben, came from the same author-director duo. The Bildersaal Zukunft, roughly 90 square metres in size, hosted monthly changing exhibitions of paintings, drawings, graphics, photographs and installations from its opening in May 2012, with the curator emphasising variety and a particular artistic perspective. In the Waldgarten, the small Brauerei Zukunft began operating in April 2014. It brewed unfiltered, naturally cloudy beers that supplied the Zukunft house. The range included two standard varieties: a Helles called Goldene Zukunft and a Dunkles called Dunkle Zukunft, both characterised as light and easy-drinking. The brewmaster built the robust brewing system entirely himself, and the brewhouse was visible from the Waldgarten through a large shop window. Jazzbar Zukunft was a regular event series in the cinema bar; from 2012 jazz concerts with international musicians were held every Wednesday evening, exploring the full musical diversity of the genre. TIEF (formerly Tiefgrund – The Small Venue), the music club in the basement, hosted concerts from the end of 2011 and gained attention in the Berlin music scene as 'The Small Venue For Advanced Rock'n'Roll & Exciting Electronica' for the diversity of its programme and its authentic atmosphere; bands came from all over the world, from America to Russia and Japan, attracting an international audience. The tree-planted Waldgarten lies at the rear of the Zukunft building on Industriestraße, between Zukunft and the venue About Blank. The centre closed on 30 September 2023.

• 2023

  Zukunft am Ostkreuz closes on 30 September.

• 2014

  Brauerei Zukunft begins operating in April and presents itself with a brewing festival on 30 April.

• 2013

  Theater Zukunft premieres its first in-house production Labyrinth on 19 September.

• 2012

  First cinema hall opens on 6 January, second on 23 February; Bildersaal Zukunft gallery opens in May; Jazzbar Zukunft series begins.

• 2011

  First clean-up work session on 5 March; open-air cinema Pompeji opens in August; music club Tiefgrund hosts first concerts in winter.

• 2010

  A co-operator of the Tilsiter Lichtspiele notices the derelict site and plans a cultural campus.

• 2009

  Major fire on 30 September causes part of the roof to collapse, ending the MfE club.

• 2003

  Techno club Ministerium für Entspannung (MfE) opens on the site on 23 March.

Independent, grassroots cultural centre combining cinema, theatre, art, music and craft brewing in a repurposed industrial site in Berlin-Friedrichshain.

• Freiluftkino Pompeji

  Open-air cinema opened August 2011, named after the Pompeii-like ruins of the fire-damaged building.

• Theater Zukunft

  Theatre in the Zukunft building; first premiere 19 September 2013 with Labyrinth.

• Bildersaal Zukunft

  Approximately 90 m² art gallery hosting monthly changing exhibitions since May 2012.

• Brauerei Zukunft

  Small brewery operating from April 2014, producing unfiltered beers Goldene Zukunft and Dunkle Zukunft.

• TIEF (formerly Tiefgrund)

  Basement music club hosting concerts from late 2011, known as 'The Small Venue For Advanced Rock'n'Roll & Exciting Electronica'.

• Jazzbar Zukunft

  Regular jazz concert series in the cinema bar, held every Wednesday evening from 2012.

• Waldgarten

  Tree-planted garden at the rear of the Zukunft building on Industriestraße.

1. 1Zukunft am Ostkreuz – Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Zukunft am Ostkreuz – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org