About
Flutgraben e.V. occupies a former industrial building at the border between Kreuzberg and Treptow, sited directly along the canal that gives it its name and, notably, along a stretch of the former Berlin Wall border. Founded in 1997 under the name Kunstfabrik am Flutgraben and later renamed Flutgraben e.V., the association has grown into one of Berlin's enduring self-organised artist spaces, occupying a building now placed under monument protection in recognition of both its architectural and historical significance.
The building at Am Flutgraben 3 today comprises around fifty artist studios alongside a Projektraum, a Mehrzweckhalle and a rooftop terrace, together forming a working environment sustained through permanent studio rentals and the temporary rental of communal spaces to external projects. This financing structure reflects the association's character as a nonprofit, artist run institution, one that has maintained its independence and continuity for close to three decades through the collective commitment of its resident community rather than dependence on a single funding source.
In 2004, Flutgraben e.V. extended its footprint by taking on management of the former watchtower at Schlesischer Busch nearby, a second historically charged site now used by the resident initiative The Watch for exhibitions, lectures, screenings and residencies, further embedding the association within the layered history of this particular stretch of the city.
The institution's contemporary importance rests on the sheer breadth and continuity of the artistic community it houses, spanning painters, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers, choreographers, architects and collectives working across performance, publishing, textiles, new media and post colonial research, among many other practices. This diversity of resident practice, sustained over many years, has made Flutgraben a distinctive site for interdisciplinary exchange within Berlin's independent art scene, with initiatives such as raumlaborberlin and Fehras Publishing Practices among its long-term residents.
Its curatorial trajectory is shaped less by a fixed exhibition programme than by the ongoing activity of its resident artists and collectives, who use the Projektraum and Mehrzweckhalle for events, exhibitions, internal meetings, performances, seminars and symposia, with the roof terrace additionally serving large scale outdoor projects. This structure allows Flutgraben's public programme to remain closely tied to the working practices of the artists based within the building, rather than being curated from the outside.
Organisationally, the association's core pillars are its studio community, its shared exhibition and event spaces, and its stewardship of two historically significant sites within the city. As a self-organised nonprofit, Flutgraben e.V. sustains its infrastructure through studio rents and space rentals rather than core public subsidy, a model of collective self-financing that has allowed the association to preserve its independence and its distinctive character as an artist led institution for more than a quarter of a century.