Berlin, Oct 03: More than 150 artists from Europe and the United States opened a month-long exhibition of their work today in a vast abandoned air raid shelter under the centre of what was once East Berlin. The theme of the show is paradise and the works of art are displayed on three floors of the immense concrete bunker, built under the Alexanderplatz, capable of sheltering 4,500 people and forgotten since the end of World War II in 1945. On display in the corridors are videos, sculptures, paintings, photographs and miscellaneous installations. Artistic happenings are also a regular feature, such as a "German-Russian kissing competition" organised at the preview last night. The organisers hope that the exhibition, due to close on November 02, will be the first in a series of such shows in underground shelters - in Munich in southern Germany in May 2004, Prague in the autumn of that year and, later on, in Central Moscow. The show has its own internet site (www.Paradiesprojekt.De) and displays works by artists from Britain, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Macedonia and the US.
Bureau Report