C/O Berlin Berlin

C/O Berlin is a charitable foundation that has presented, since 2000, a cultural program with an international standing. The exhibition venue for photography and visual media shows works by renowned artists, promotes emerging talent and accompanies children, youths and adults on their journeys of discovery through our visual culture.

Based on the civic commitment of the three founders—photographer Stephan Erfurt, designer Marc Naroska and architect Ingo Pott—a private initiative has developed, within 15 years, into a unique institution that receives widespread public acclaim. As a foundation, C/O Berlin operates independently of commercial interests and is financed through its admission fees, book sales, and sponsoring as well as by donations and contributions of the C/O Berlin Friends e. V. C/O Berlin Foundation does not receive any regular public funding and pays rent to the city of Berlin for the utilization of the Amerika Haus at standard local rates.

Each year C/O Berlin shows as many as twenty solo and group exhibitions of internationally distinguished photographers such as Annie Leibovitz, Martin Parr, Nan Goldin, Anton Corbijn, Peter Lindbergh, Sebastião Salgado, and Stephen Shore. Artist talks, lectures and guided tours intensify and expand on selected exhibition content and artistic approaches of the exhibitions, which have been curated and compiled in collaboration with museums, art collections, archives, and galleries worldwide. In 2006, C/O Berlin launched an international competition to support young contemporary photographers and art critics. Every year, a jury selects four positions which are awarded each a solo exhibition and a publication.

With its education programs Junior, Teens, Perspectives, and Adults, C/O Berlin is covering the important aspect of visual pedagogy. In workshops lasting several days the participants get to know photography, film and design on a professional level, gain specialized knowledge, enhance their perception and discover their own creative potential.

In 2014, C/O Berlin moved to the Amerika Haus, built in 1956/57 on the occasion of the Interbau International Building Exhibition and according to plans by architect Bruno Grimmek. Until 2006, the light and elegant building served as the cultural and information centre of the United States of America in Berlin—including a cinema, a library and exhibition spaces. In 2015, C/O Berlin was awarded the Berlin BDA Prize (Bund Deutscher Architekten) for its sensitive refurbishment and revitalization of the Amerika Haus.