Leonie Herweg is the curator of Grotto, a new art space in Berlin's modernist Hansaviertel. Founded at the beginning of 2024, Grotto has received a great deal of attention for its innovative positioning and programming. Monopol has called it one of "Berlin's most exciting new art venues".
"I had the keys for Grotto approximately two months later."
Kemmler Foundation: Leonie, how did the idea for Grotto emerge?
Leonie Herweg: Last year, I curated two shows at DAS GERICHT – three berry-colored vitrines in a postmodern arcade of a parking garage in Frankfurt next to a dim sum place and a military shop. It was a great experience. However, the logistical effort of organizing transport and accommodation for the artists, artworks, and myself instilled the wish in me for “a room of one’s own”, to put it in Virginia Woolf’s words, in Berlin. So, I joined my local Bürgerverein (neighborhood association) in Hansaviertel in the hope of finding out who was renting out the vacant commercial space in the neighborhood. And it went just like that – the first meeting took place in the Biergarten nearby, they mentioned an empty space in the shopping passage at Hansaplatz. I had the keys for Grotto approximately two months later.
How do you come up with the programming for the space? Do you follow a specific concept?
I’m living in a 33 square meter apartment together with my partner Simon. So for us, GROTTO also acts as a living room, a kind of salon. Which is why I follow a very intuitive and personal approach while putting together the program for GROTTO. I want to give a platform to all my incredibly talented and wonderful friends (most of them female and/or queer) or artists whose works feel like friends to me. In the end I want to have fun, so I’m only doing projects that bring joy.
How do you experience the interaction between the art scene and the people living in the district of Hansaviertel?
People from the neighborhood, most of them on the older side, are very involved in and curious about the happenings at GROTTO. Though the spirit of the area is far from a typical Berlin “Kiez,” I often compare the place to the German series “Lindenstraße”: everybody greets each other here, comes by for a chat, people bring pizza from the market on Friday…It’s a very diverse and curious mix of people. They mingle surprisingly well with the art crowd that attends our openings and events. I always love when people tell me that it’s their first time at Hansaplatz. It’s such an architectural gem in the heart of Berlin, and I want more people to know about it. We are lucky to have a huge window facing the street and always have a laminated exhibition text on the outside door. This way everybody who passes by can take a peek at any moment without the obligation to enter the space.
"Hold on tight during the ride“
Grotto is still a new initiative. What have you learned thus far?
To quote Berlin's great public transport company BVG: „Hold on tight during the ride“.
Where do you want to take Grotto next? Where do you see the space in three years?
On 1 September, the first iteration of GROTTO BOOKS, a small independent art book fair jointly initiated with Stefan Marx, will take place at the nearby Hansabibliothek. It’s an extension of the monthly readings we host at the library and still feels like a dip into new waters. I enjoy the flexibility of a project space: we can turn everything upside down and change direction anytime. GROTTO in that sense isn’t a physical space but a reflection of my interest and personal taste right now, which will change as I grow. There’s a natural expiry date to everything.
