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The gallery at Helsingforser Platz

When the prefabricated building was constructed in 1985, the gallery was already part of the plans: not the brainchild of the East Berlin city authorities, but of two freelance photographers, art historian Ralf Herzig and curator Ulrich Domröse. Their intention was to create an exhibition space exclusively for photographic art, as there was no such gallery or museum anywhere in the country at that time. When, after lengthy negotiations for approval and conception, the doors finally opened, Ralf Herzig, who had set everything up and supervised it down to the smallest detail, was no longer involved, and Ulrich Domröse also left the gallery soon after. Neither of them was willing to bow to ideological demands such as party membership or interference by state authorities in exhibition concepts.

Regardless, the gallery immediately attracted overwhelming interest. Beyond the opportunity to present artwork, it became an enthusiastically received place of interaction between the public and photographers. The catalog of local and international names who exhibited here would be legendary, and fortunately, the location, intention, and interest have survived all the upheavals since then.