die raum, proving that art is not a misfit.

2,000 playing cards, 700 paperback books, 160 vinyl records, 4 refrigerators, an adult horse, or one art gallery could fit into a 5 m² space.

While there is no intention to provide any evidence regarding the former five aspects, die raum gallery in Oderberger Straße, Berlin is a great example of how a tiny space can serve a valuable artistic, cultural, and social purpose, with an average of five shows running back to back every year, making every meter of the space count.

Founded by curator Lotte Møller and visual artist Jesper Dyrehauge in 2011, the space has been run by Lotte Møller alone since 2015. Since then, the gallery has hosted exhibitions, talks, and concerts, with shows accessible to the public twenty-four hours a day, making it an installation in itself for the residents and workers of Prenzlauer Berg development, as well as passers-by. The size, purpose, and dynamic programme of the gallery make it a destination for both locals and visitors to Berlin.

Photos (left to right): Jacob Borges Palilalia 2025 photo by Jan Windszus. Nina Katchadourian, Der Krawall, die Überraschung und das Seepferdchen, 2018 photo by Jan Windszus. Arturas Bumšteinas and Kristupas Gikas, Voice Turnings, 2023, photo by Steffen Roth. João Modé, Land, 2014 photo by Jan Windszus.

Of course, the space dictates the curatorial decisions Lotte makes within it. The unique qualities of die raum, including its size and elongated shape with high ceilings that, to some, resemble an elevator shaft, along with the shop window that brings natural light into the gallery, emphasise the role of the space. As what Lotte describes as a “membrane” between the development and the outsissse world. Another aspect that used to inspire the exhibition programme was an old public swimming pool next door, but that was before it was turned into a privately owned hotel. “If the projects relate to Prenzlauer Berg, they relate more to the gentrification of the neighbourhood, with a lot of shops and restaurants and a touristic feel”, shares Lotte.

“The size of the space is not a challenge, I would say, but rather a gift, also to the artists working with it. It is often a good thing to have some boundaries or limitations to work with or against. For me, a big white space would be far more challenging, as there would be so many possibilities. And yet, after more than eighty exhibitions and events, it is fantastic to witness the in credibly diverse use of the space, where no two projects are alike.”

Photo: Egemen Demirci and Sunette L Viljoen, Exclusive Incline, 2020 photo by Jan Windszus

die raum is a vital organ of Prenzlauer Berg, bringing culPrenzlauer cultural context into the internal tural ecosystem of the building.

The architectural project in Prenzlauer Berg, which houses die raum, is sectioned into residential and social spaces, including an architect studio, a silkscreen workshop, a bespoke shoemaker, a fine dining restaurant, and the gallery itself. Designed by BARarchitects, the building is meant to reflect urban life within itself, contrasting the classical model in which developments serve a single purpose, while embracing the richness of the surrounding urban context. The model of the building is called “internal urbanism” by BARarchitects and is intended to serve a social purpose resembling the energy of the city around it.

The space that die raum occupies within the development was intended for it from the beginning. As opposed to art galleries based in repurposed spaces, die raum is a vital organ of Prenzlauer Berg, bringing cultural context into the internal ecosystem of the building.

For those who know German, the gallery name may sound slightly incorrect. The word raum, meaning room in German, is supposed to have the masculine article der before it.

Photos (left to right): Ursula Nistrup, Swinging Building, 2015. Julie Stavad, To Swallow Prey
Larger Than My Head, 2025. Sophia Ioannou Gjerding Broken Telephone. All photos by Jan Windszus

It is often a good thing to have some boundaries or limitations to work with or against.

Yet, in the name of the gallery, raum acquires a feminine connotation.

“I am Danish, and in our language, we do not have gendered articles and pronouns for inanimate objects,” explains Lotte. “We have two types of ‘neutral’ instead, so it is difficult for us to relate to words being either feminine or masculine.The correct German article der would be too boring, so we chose the most incorrect, opposite one.”

It is not only the obvious aspects of die raum that make it a landmark worth visiting. In a wider context, die raum demonstrates how art can be connected to the landscape and the society that surrounds it, even when inhabiting a space specifically created for it. die raum reminds us that an art space is not separate from life. It is an artery pumping blood through the body of society, a crucial part of cultural context that can easily be fully integrated into the rhythm of life.

Cover photo: Elizabeth Ravn: Exposed Aggregate 2026. Photo by Jan Windszus