Olof-Palme-Centre

Tausend Verbindungen is a multi-part artwork comprising a documentary film, a book and a samovar. It weaves together narratives of tradition and change, of community and sustainable value creation.

In a community initiative, discarded electronics are collected in the Brunnenviertel district, cables are stripped and copper wire is extracted. From there, the journey continues to Erzincan in Turkey, where the wire is cast into a samovar using centuries-old craftsmanship. Plants from the regions of origin of the Brunnenviertel residents are incorporated into the engravings, linking personal stories with cultural heritage. It is this process and the stories that emerge from it that can be recounted and continued over the long term whilst enjoying a cup of tea at the Olof Palme Centre. A sum of €18,000.00 is available for the realisation of the public art project.

The Artist
Oliver Walker (Liverpool, 1980) lives and works in Berlin and uses live art, interventions and new media to examine social and political systems. His projects highlight their impact on everyday life and public space. Walker’s work has been exhibited at venues including the Kunsthaus Graz, FACT Liverpool and Transmediale/HKW; artist-in-residence programmes have also taken him to Paris, Yokohama and Bangalore. In 2014, he was nominated for the Berlin Art Prize.

The Olof Palme Centre (OPZ) is a children’s and youth centre as well as a community centre run by Pfefferwerk Stadtkultur gGmbH.

With its wide range of services for children, young people, families and the local community, the OPZ has played a key role in the social fabric of the neighbourhood for many years. To meet growing demand, the centre is being given a substantial extension. Additional rooms for counselling, education and social interaction are intended to improve and expand the existing services.

In accordance with the Building Guidelines (ABau), funding for art in public spaces was also allocated for the extension of the Olof Palme Centre. The State of Berlin, represented by the Mitte District Office, organised a single-phase, restricted and anonymous art-in-architecture competition in accordance with the State of Berlin’s Guidelines for Art in Architecture and Art in Urban Space (as of 2019) and the Guidelines for Planning Competitions (RPW 2013), insofar as applicable to art in architecture.

The aim of this competition was to realise a work of art developed specifically for this location and characterised by its artistic originality. All forms of contemporary art were eligible. The jury met on 9 March 2026.

The following artists were invited to participate in the competition: Kitra, Anna Nezhnaya, Oliver Walker.

The jury comprised the following specialist judges: the artists Philip Horst, Veronika Kellndorfer (Chair), Julieta Ortiz de Latierro, Thomas Kilpper (permanent deputy specialist judge); The expert judges were Christoph Keller, District Councillor for Youth, Family and Health, Berlin Mitte District Office; Daniel Harth, wiechers beck und partner Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH; and Sulamith Sallmann, Public Relations and Planning at the Olof Palme Centre.