Westwerk

Alternative arts complex in a former and forgotten-about harbour warehouse perched on a canal offshoot of the Elbe, given new life in 1985 by a loosely knit group of inspired young artists, musicians and others working in film and design, five of whom still use the upstairs studios as of 2011. The public ground-floor gallery/club space hosts exhibitions for lesser-known artists in various media — painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, body art, video and film, interactive computer projects etc — with shows seldom lasting more than ten days. And the flexible space is used for a variety of other events including theatre, readings and live concerts, from experimental new music and contemporary composition to metal, reggae, hip-hop, punk and electronic, with an international CV including Tokyo, Vancouver, New York, Dakar, Cape Town, St Petersburg, Glasgow and London. U-Bahn: Rödingsmarkt. S-Bahn Stadthausbrücke. No phone no.