what happened so far

FLUGWERK was founded in 2016 with the support of the educational institution Chance gGmbH as a process-oriented workshop stage on the grounds of the Osloer Straße factory in Berlin’s Wedding district and was initially used as an open, interdisciplinary workshop for artistic experiments, interdisciplinary exhibitions and performances of various kinds.

From 2017 onwards, FLUGWERK was used as a rehearsal stage by professionally working artists from the independent scene, the municipal theatre as well as artistic educational institutions and their students, and from 2018 onwards it was funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe as part of the Bestandsoptimierungsprogamms.

In order to make the artistic work processes taking place on site accessible to the public, the FLUGWERK team developed the specially designed Open Rehearsal format and held a total of around 30 corresponding events. In addition, other free public formats were regularly offered, such as the short film series “Gran Premio di Wedding”, the culinary networking event “Das kleine Fressen” or the “Writing Workshop”.

Since 2021, a strong need for more conceptual work and the desire to establish the “Open Rehearsal” format outside of their own rehearsal stage led to the decision to discontinue on-site rehearsal stage operations and to continue the Open Rehearsal format exclusively and as a location-independent project.

As part of a double grant from the #TakeThat programme of the Fonds Darstellende Künste 2021, the FLUGWERK team organised a digital professional conference on the topic of communication and feedback methods and opening up artistic work processes. In addition, the group implemented open rehearsals for the first time in cooperation with other production houses of Berlin’s independent scene (Ballhaus Ost, Ringtheater am Ostkreuz and TATWERK).

From 2022 on, FLUGWERK continued the cooperation with institutions like Centre Francais de Berlin and LOT Wien and developed further exchange formats. With other initiatives like You are warmly invited and the Geheime Dramaturgische Gesellschaft, FLUGWERK initiated an exchange, which is currently growing into a network on the subject of exchange about art.