Joseph Beuys, Deutsche Studentenpartei, 1967
© National Galleries of Scotland; ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate; acquired jointly through the D’Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund, 2008
26 Westhafen
Eurasia
The term “Eurasia” originally denoted the connected land mass of Europe and Asia. From 1966/67 onwards Joseph Beuys developed it into an artistic and spiritual concept: the “free democratic socialist state of Eurasia”, which he proclaimed on 12 May 1967 consisted of the three spheres of law, culture and economics. This state was not a geopolitical entity but a utopian counter-model to the bipolar world order of the Cold War. Beuys understood it as a third way that lay beyond both private and state capitalism, closely allied in spirit with the student movement of 1967. Its use of a semicircle as its symbol represented the division of the world that still needed to be overcome – in the hope of a peaceful reunification of East and West.
For What If Berlin, Akira Takayama transposes unrealised projects from the archives of the Berliner Festspiele and other Berlin cultural institutions, as well as from architects and artists, into the present and asks us which vision we want to realise in the future.
The future vision for the project Eurasia, that will be presented in the frame of What If Berlin from 28 August 2026 onwards, will respond to the following question: What if Berlin were to establish a shipping route to the Black Sea?
Which of the 27 visions for the future is the most exciting? Which project does Berlin need in future? Which idea should actually be realised?
Until 30 September 2026, you can vote for up to three of the 27 visions for the future. The results will be displayed live to give the latest impression of the public’s reactions.