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Tacheles

Nika Kramer
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Photo © Nika Kramer

Tacheles, 2011

Fine art photographic print

Nika Kramer is a Berlin-based photographer with roots in the hip-hop scene, specializing in B-Boy/B-Girl (breakdancing), street art, sports, music, and photography, particularly of cultural events. Before turning to photography, she was an event organizer, editor, and author of two books on hip-hop. It was through these book projects that she met Martha Cooper, in 2010, who gave her her Nikon camera. This was the start of a new career, and of a fruitful collaboration between them.

Kramer specializes in capturing the vibrant essence of subcultures and she goes to great heights and lengths to get the best shots. Her dynamic photographs vividly portray the energy and actions of these scenes and give the viewer a glimpse of the unique character and spirit of each moment. With a keen eye for detail and an innate ability to freeze motion, she transforms moments of action into compelling visual narratives. Her work not only documents these subcultures but also celebrates their cultural significance. Rather than being a voyeur with respect to these scenes, Kramer is part of the culture.

On loan courtesy of the artist.

More photos of the action
Photo © Nika Kramer
Photo © Nika Kramer
Photo © Nika Kramer
Photo © Nika Kramer

Additional information

The shopping arcade, built in the early twentieth century, was supposed to unite individual retailers under one roof to give them a chance to compete with the department stores that were appearing in Berlin at that time. The business model turned out to be unsuccessful. The arcade was very soon purchased by the AEG electric corporation as a showroom for the company’s products. In the 1930s the building was used by National Socialists as offices, and in the 1940s French prisoners of war were detained there. Though slightly damaged during the war, it could still be put to various uses in the first decades of the GDR era until the city administration decided to demolish it in the early 1980s.

East Germany collapsed before the demolition was complete. In 1990, when the city was in transition following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the preserved part of the building was occupied by artists. The squatters applied for the house to be recognized as a listed heritage building, and after achieving this status, they saved the historic building from the temporarily delayed demolition and remained there.

The artists named the building “Tacheles,” which, translated from Yiddish, means “to speak openly,” “to directly express what you think.” It quickly developed into a center of art and culture that came to symbolize freedom and creativity in reunified Berlin. With numerous studios, exhibition spaces, a cinema, a bar, and large rooms for concerts, readings, performances, “Tacheles” became a place of creativity and diversity, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

In 2008, the lease agreement came to an end and the owner decided to sell the building. Despite four years of protest against the sale of “Tacheles,” the collection over 200,000 signatures, negotiations with the building’s owner, and an appeal to the mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, city officials forced the last residents of “Tacheles” to leave the premises in September 2012.

Where freedom and creativity once thrived, today there stands a building complex with mainly luxury apartments. The name “Am Tacheles” and the historic facade of the shopping arcade, which has been integrated into the new building, are reminders of its former use. Once occupied by squatters, the building is now an architectural monument – one still covered in old graffiti.

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