“Tacheles” is an old Jewish word meaning to disclose, to reveal or to speak clearly. The slang meaning of the word was bringing to an end.
The Art-Centre Tacheles is situated in a ruin in Berlin Mitte. Located in former East Berlin, the area was a Jewish quarter in the past and has now become a meeting point for people interested in arts and culture and for those who think they are.
After the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989, a subculture which had its main focus on autonomy, spontaneity and improvisation arose in the former East Berlin areas Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain. Artists and individualists from all over the world used the plurality of available free spaces to put alternative lifestyles to the test.
Due to the individualistic character of the building and the mass of creative activities taking place, the Tacheles soon became famous. Right from the start, Tacheles was a centre of development and realization of individual ways of thinking, of the creative contamination of art and living as well as the testing of artistically and urban ideas. Many international artists staged performances or concerts here, exhibited paintings, sculptures and installations. This essential thought still exists today and the program was even extended further by staging and organizing performances, theatre, various workshops, poetry and special events.
During its existence, Tacheles in its function as an international arts centre has greatly influenced and formed the surrounding area in a positive as well as in a negative sense. By now the once creative surrounding area has mutated to a napless trend quarter.
Tacheles also attained recognition from the Berlin government and receives a varying amount of subsidy every year in order to help finance a part of its many projects. Other money is raised through commercial enterprises such as the cinema and the bar.
Because of its special architecture and the “ruin appearance” of the rearside and due to its 13 years of activities in the international arts field, “Kunsthaus Tacheles” became quite a celebrity on a national and international scale and is also listed in many travel guides of Berlin.
In the course of changes since the wall came down, Tacheles has been confronted with the difficult challenge of remaining true to its roots and ideals without becoming too sentimental about the old squatter times.
Extracted from (whole of the history at): tacheles.de