Kolibri: New Artistic Tendencies

In relation to their body size, hummingbirds (German: Kolibri) are likely the fastest vertebrate 
animals in the world. They can reach speeds of 27.3 m/s or 98 km/h at acceleration rates of 
approximately tenfold the force of gravity. And humming birds are voracious honey suckers! 
The former Kolibri ball house in the formerly poor, densely populated north of Berlin was a 
place of boisterous vitality, like the Borussia or Behrens ballrooms in the immediate vicinity: 
Alluring, mysterious, and also considered disreputable by many. It is situated in what was 
once a suburb of Oranienburg, and due to its proximity to the university and Charité hospital, 
as well as the barracks of the Prussian capital and the Stettin railway station, this area was 
home to students and soldiers, artists and voyagers, loose girls and strange birds.
Constanze Kleiner wants to shine a light on this obscure ruin once again, as place for artistic 
experimentation. The ballroom is located on a quiet street right next to all of the now 
acclaimed art venues of the “Mitte” district of Berlin – so a modicum of momentum could 
originate here: Aiming towards openness, beyond all fractions. The last ball at the Kolibri is 
intended to revive the Berlin-specific feeling of the nineties, the colorful and energized 
atmosphere, detached from mercantile strategies – this exhibition also seems as if it has 
fallen out of time.
Even just the exterior backdrop of the building itself, left empty for decades, ignites the 
imagination.