Deichtorhallen

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 What`s on in Hamburg with pictures or without pictures

The Deichtorhallen is one of the best known exhibition institutions worldwide. The historical buildings are divided into an exhibition hall for contemporary art and the "House of Photography." Together the two buildings organize a highly diverse program of changing exhibitions.

What were once two market halls, today provide some 6,000 square meters of exhibition area forming one of Europe's largest centers for art exhibitions. "...Anyone who hates that museum feel will love the old halls; no sense of claustrophobia here, a modern ambience, and the shows are always exciting," is how the magazine "MarieClaire" describes the Deichtorhallen. The editors of the annual CAPITAL-Kunstkompass art guide rank the Deichtorhallen among their group of only ten internationally important museums and art institutions alongside the likes of the Guggenheim and MOMA, New York, the Stedelijk, Amsterdam, the Tate Modern , London and the Center Georges Pompidou, Paris.

The restored halls were donated by the Körber Foundation to the city of Hamburg. In 1989 they were assigned to the Deichtorhallen-Ausstellungs GmbH. The Deichtorhallen's international art exhibition program was launched by Harald Szeemann who curated the first show "Einleuchten" which opened on November 9, 1989. Hamburg received, in this way, what Boris Groys termed a "temporary museum."

The Deichtorhallen first opened to the public in 1989 under the aegis of John_Erik Berganus and after 13 years with Dr. Zdenek Felix successfully acting as its director, Dr. Robert Fleck was appointed director in January 2004. Since September 2003, Prof. F.C. Gundlach has acted as founding director of the House of Photography in the Deichtorhallen.