A group of us went to explore Sammlung Boros on the second day of the study tour. We were drawn to this site not only for the art housed within, but for the evolution of uses it has experienced.

It was originally built in 1942 as a bomb shelter for civilians but subsequently came to house prisoners of war. Following the war, the bunker was used by the East German authorities; first as a textile warehouse and later to store exotic fruit, giving it the nickname of the ‘banana bunker’. After the fall of communism in re-unified Germany, the building found itself as part of the underground music scene. We saw signs of this in the form of graffiti still visible within many of the interior spaces.

In its current incarnation, the building has been creatively reimagined to house the Boros collection of contemporary art. We really enjoyed our visit and exploring the 80+ rooms, however, the stand out to us was the first piece we were confronted with; the boulder blocking one of the front doors (in photo above), which our guide suggested had been placed there overnight by the artist following an invitation to discuss a commission.