A discussion with Kito Nedo about the exhibition „Wohnkomplex: Art and Life in Plattenbau“ (DAS MINSK Potsdam) and a screening of the short film „Hinter den Fenstern“ (Behind the Windows, 1983) by Petra Tschörtner

as part of the exhibition „on our way“ featuring works by Nooshin Shafiee, Siavash Amini, and Heike Gallmeier

How do places shape us? And how do we shape them in return?

The exhibition „Wohnkomplex: Art and Life in Plattenbau“ at MINSK, Potsdam, currently presents approximately 50 works exploring perspectives on a building and living model whose influence continues to this day. Originally, prefabricated buildings were the cornerstone of East German social policy; roughly a quarter of the East German population lived in these apartment blocks. After the fall of the GDR, the Plattenbau became the scene of painful transformations. As modern-day ruins, the buildings awaited demolition, renovation, or conversion.

The „Wohnkomplex“ also encompasses the lived experiences of those who live and have lived in them. „Hinter den Fenstern“ (Behind the Windows), a documentary graduation film by director Petra Tschörtner (1958–2012) from the Babelsberg Film and Television Academy of the GDR, looks behind the facades of the Plattenbau. It follows three married couples, all around 30 years old, living in a high-rise building in Potsdam. They talk about their community, their desires for emancipation, and their conflicts, with spoken and nonverbal communication often diverging.

The film received two awards at the 1984 West German Short Film Festival in Oberhausen. The recently completed digitization and restoration was supported by the Film Heritage Funding Program and was generously provided for this event by the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF.

„Wohnkomplex: Art and Life in Plattenbau,“ DAS MINSK Potsdam, September 6, 2025 – February 8, 2026, curated by Kito Nedo. Nedo works as a freelance writer, editor, and journalist specializing in visual arts and cultural policy and lives in Basel and Berlin.

Petra Tschörtner: „Behind the Windows,“ 43 min., East German Television 1983, screenplay: Petra Tschörtner, Fritz Martin Barber, cinematography: Peter Ziesche.