Exploring Tiergarten-Süd, one comic at a time
I lived in Berlin, Germany, from 2015 to 2023 and in 2021 I decided to make the neighbourhood Tiergarten-Süd the star of my artwork for a special online comics project.
The project was the springboard of many wonderful collaborations. The historical chronicler Dr Paul Enck and I met through this project, and for over two years we have published together an online historial series about the neighbourhood called Spazergang in the online neighbourhood magazine Mittendran. Many of the works from the Tiergarten-Sued comics project were displayed at a show at our local library from November 2022 to January 2023. And finally, from October 2022 to April 2023. after the community centre Villa-Luetzow approached me, I offered a comics workshop to neighbourhood children. I tried to work in themes from the project between the monsters and exploding spaceships, and at the end of our year together, we produced a zine of our work. These collaborations are the most cherished moments of my artistic career, and I am grateful to all the partners, students, patrons, art lovers and neighbourhood residents I met along the way.
The original project:
Berlin Tiergarten-Süd: A comics discovery explores this fascinating Kiez from the perspective of a wide-eyed observer. My goal is to share what I learn as I discover it myself. To discuss this fascinating place would be a delight - and maybe not just for me but for you, too? - so please feel welcome to send along your stories or photos, and especially any suggestions you might have for future themes.
Given that I am new here, there are obviously many people who know far more about things than I do, and I often rely on their hard work. I will include links to experts, historical works, and all sources that have informed my own work.
It is unwise to get hung up on maps when talking about neighbourhoods. Tiergarten-Süd includes Tiergarten-the-Park, where I imagine very few people officially live, but not Gleisdreieck Park, which has a powerful relationship to this Kiez that is home to 14,000 people (see Berlin.de). Equally, the lights of Nolly and its gay village shine on us from Schöneberg beyond the south-western border of Tiergarten-Süd. The 12-Apostel-Kirche (a church) in Schöneberg, another example, looks onto the Kiez from the South, and is an important social hub since the Kiez‘ founding. These are just a few anchors to our Kiez that lie beyond our borders. Equally, within our neighbourhood, the Canal separates the embassy/museum district, where far fewer people live, from the southern portion of the neighbourhood, which is the social heart of Tiergarten-Sud. I used the official borders of Tiergarten-Sud to limit my project to something I could mentally contain. Unlike other cities in which I have lived, Berlin neighbourhoods often blend at their edges. Our neighbourhoods have no hard and fast division between them.
Acknowledgments: I am deeply grateful to Bezirkskulturfonds and the Department of Arts and Culture Bezirksamt Mitte for financing a major portion of my project costs. Thank you! Thanks to Alexandra von Roepke, who reviews the German in my comics for me and makes suggestions, which I do not always take. All mistakes are my fault! A special thanks as well to my beta readers Hui-Min, Agnes and Miriam for their suggestions on content and text, and to Dr. Paul Enck for historical corrections and insights! I save my most heartfelt gratitude for my husband, Jeff, and our children, for their enduring encouragement and support.
I lived in Berlin, Germany, from 2015 to 2023 and in 2021 I decided to make the neighbourhood Tiergarten-Süd the star of my artwork for a special online comics project.
The project was the springboard of many wonderful collaborations. The historical chronicler Dr Paul Enck and I met through this project, and for over two years we have published together an online historial series about the neighbourhood called Spazergang in the online neighbourhood magazine Mittendran. Many of the works from the Tiergarten-Sued comics project were displayed at a show at our local library from November 2022 to January 2023. And finally, from October 2022 to April 2023. after the community centre Villa-Luetzow approached me, I offered a comics workshop to neighbourhood children. I tried to work in themes from the project between the monsters and exploding spaceships, and at the end of our year together, we produced a zine of our work. These collaborations are the most cherished moments of my artistic career, and I am grateful to all the partners, students, patrons, art lovers and neighbourhood residents I met along the way.
The original project:
Berlin Tiergarten-Süd: A comics discovery explores this fascinating Kiez from the perspective of a wide-eyed observer. My goal is to share what I learn as I discover it myself. To discuss this fascinating place would be a delight - and maybe not just for me but for you, too? - so please feel welcome to send along your stories or photos, and especially any suggestions you might have for future themes.
Given that I am new here, there are obviously many people who know far more about things than I do, and I often rely on their hard work. I will include links to experts, historical works, and all sources that have informed my own work.
It is unwise to get hung up on maps when talking about neighbourhoods. Tiergarten-Süd includes Tiergarten-the-Park, where I imagine very few people officially live, but not Gleisdreieck Park, which has a powerful relationship to this Kiez that is home to 14,000 people (see Berlin.de). Equally, the lights of Nolly and its gay village shine on us from Schöneberg beyond the south-western border of Tiergarten-Süd. The 12-Apostel-Kirche (a church) in Schöneberg, another example, looks onto the Kiez from the South, and is an important social hub since the Kiez‘ founding. These are just a few anchors to our Kiez that lie beyond our borders. Equally, within our neighbourhood, the Canal separates the embassy/museum district, where far fewer people live, from the southern portion of the neighbourhood, which is the social heart of Tiergarten-Sud. I used the official borders of Tiergarten-Sud to limit my project to something I could mentally contain. Unlike other cities in which I have lived, Berlin neighbourhoods often blend at their edges. Our neighbourhoods have no hard and fast division between them.
Acknowledgments: I am deeply grateful to Bezirkskulturfonds and the Department of Arts and Culture Bezirksamt Mitte for financing a major portion of my project costs. Thank you! Thanks to Alexandra von Roepke, who reviews the German in my comics for me and makes suggestions, which I do not always take. All mistakes are my fault! A special thanks as well to my beta readers Hui-Min, Agnes and Miriam for their suggestions on content and text, and to Dr. Paul Enck for historical corrections and insights! I save my most heartfelt gratitude for my husband, Jeff, and our children, for their enduring encouragement and support.