By 1991 the USSR closed the doors of its Nuclear Warhead Storage facility and a military base near the historic town of Juterbog within the Brandenburg district. Thirty-one years later, we reopen the doors of the soviet-titled OBJEKT 4000 nuclear bunker to welcome artistic dissent and the antithesis of what this space was designed for.
We now invite artists to interact with the space and its history to re-imagine our shared togetherness during the current turbulent times through an intersectional lens and dynamic collaboration.
We are a non-profit community of creatives. In the past two years, a dedicated team has emerged to carefully restore and revive an abandoned bunker with art and techno events. Objekt4000 invites a meaningful experience for creatives to explore the past and speculate our shared future inside the walls of a historic and powerful formerly nuclear bunker.
The history and context of the space has inspired our team to be intentional about curation and management. We’d like to invite people to explore and transform the space into an inviting, meaningful, and exciting venue for a community to take shape. We aim to support upcoming artists by creating a platform for free creation, expression, and knowledge sharing. At the moment we're working on a voluntary basis and are looking to grow organically.
We embrace the connectedness of systems because we believe every action has an impact on the environment and on society. To us, consciousness goes beyond sustainability by helping us regenerate our environmental, social, and economic systems.
We aim to create a space which nurtures diverse human interaction and meaningful connection. We want to enable different realities to meet, to reclaim the space together, and transform it into something new. The team and related collectives all come from different backgrounds driven by radical inclusion.
A core part of collaboration on any level is transparency, and it’s a value we’d like to strive for across the project. From making decisions on a consent basis to finances and updates on collaborations – both internally to the team and externally to our community and stakeholders. We believe communicating and operating transparently helps create a trusting, efficient, and collaborative culture which also protects our shared autonomy. It also means we can realistically continue working together as a diverse group of people and reduce issues that come with siloed information.
Objekt4000 is a DIY, collaborative space owned and shaped by the community. We want to contribute to the decommercialisation of club culture and create events with purpose and meaning, where we see every person as a contributor in their own right – whether they’re a guest, artist, builder, or project organizer. Participatory artistic development is at the core of what we do, which helps us explore and evolve how we can live, work, and party together.
From artist exhibitions and collaborative parties to ethical hacking events, the space has attracted a novel mix of ideas and over 400 people per event to explore new frontiers together. The UND.ER Techno Association, who legally manages the space, has thrown 5 events in the Bunker, before Objekt4000’s own flagship event. All events aim to rely on entirely local support such as artist curation, drinks and services. The space has evolved with each event and various art installations still live in the space. Artists have been encouraged to use natural products, such as Richard Green’s rock sugar sculpture.
During this time the team has passionately undertaken the ambitious transformation of the space. This includes: extensive cleaning out of trash and rubble, building stairs, connecting electric cables, building toilets, installing showers and a sauna. Approximately 70% of building materials have been upcycled for these construction efforts.
Various team members are often seen on-site in the space to work on several building projects. There are plans to consider future installations and renovations which could alleviate waste management, water collection, and electricity connection, among other needs. The team regularly welcomes visitors to explore the space and discuss future collaborations.
We aim to harness and transform the historical significance of the abandoned bunker into a meaningful place for people to explore, create, and express themselves. Other than churches and libraries, our urban environments lack places for people to just exist in, not primarily consume. Objekt4000 relieves us from being consumers, and invites us to connect with ourselves in a new way and to explore the history of Germany outside its capital city.
We hope this space and events taking place in it will offer a unique experience for people to return and grow a connection. We envision events with collaborative art and performances, critical discussions, and workshops encouraging an open learning environment.
We stand for building a safe place that fosters connections, void of any kind of discrimination and prejudices. When we encounter intolerance and conflict, we want to see it as an opportunity for growth and broadening perspectives. Creativity flourishes with openness and the opportunity to learn from friction. This is something we actively practice within our team internally as well.
Objekt4000 emerged from various collectives and groups, namely UND.ER Techno Association who partner with the team to manage events. A community of 720 artists, musicians, sound and culture enthusiasts are on Objekt4000’s Instagram. UND.ER extends the support with 4120 partygoers, musicians, techno and culture enthusiasts.
We’re also connected to a variety of collectives and grassroots groups. We have partnered with Night Art Club, a diverse writer’s community in Berlin, and also rely on the support of local communities and partners in Brandenburg.
The community of active visitors and partners includes (but isn’t limited to) artists, art and culture enthusiasts, students, ravers, and technologists,queer communities and nature lovers. We see overlap between interests such as climate and socially conscious groups, and this is why we believe in Objekt4000’s capacity as a space for these people to share, learn, and express themselves.
We have a wonderful mix of skills and talents in this team, each person contributes their own magic touch. Some team members have been around longer than others, some have spent a considerable amount of time and labour on site in the bunker. Everyone is also humble, modest, and curious, which makes it hard to define traditional roles.
Outside of the bunker consults in capabilities and insights to get a breath of that fresh corporate air.
Artist whose practice spans various mediums including documentary filmmaking, sound installation, sculpture, and even fringes on popular music genres of techno, electronica, and film score. Recently exhibited work as part of Transmediale Festival in Berlin.
Both in and outside of the bunker handles project management and strategic content with purpose and grace.
Watching and learning how to take care of a community. When the lights are turned off, plotting for a non-commercial and fair society. Changing the world, one byte at a time.