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Chorus
What happens when a church begins to resonate as an instrument in its own right?
Visual der Ausstellung – Kirchturmspitzen der Nikolaikirche mit Titel der Austellung
© Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin | Foto: Annika Kahrs | Design: Groupe Dejour
What happens when a church begins to resonate as an instrument in its own right? In her new sound installation „Chorus“, artist Annika Kahrs transforms the Nikolaikirche into an immersive sonic environment that you can explore on foot.
The installation follows a spatial and temporal choreography. On the hour, it begins outside the church and gradually leads you through seven stations into the building’s interior: from the carillon, through the entrance area, the organ and the chancel, and finally into the nave. The church itself becomes a resonant body through which you can move.
4 October
On the first Sunday in October, we will be celebrating 35 years of the Warszawa & Berlin town twinning with a special programme of events at the Nikolaikirche, the Ephraim-Palais and the Knoblauchhaus. The sound installation will not be audible on that day.
In music, the word „chorus“ has several meanings. Kahrs draws on this principle at different levels throughout the work. Individual voices and sounds stand on their own while simultaneously entering into dialogue with one another. As in a choir, the sounds do not exist in isolation. They can be heard side by side, layered upon one another, and together as a collective whole.
The sounds and compositions of the installation draw on the historical and social contexts of the Nikolaikirche. At the same time, Kahrs brings contemporary sounds into the church through recordings made in districts across Berlin. Within the church, these field recordings form a loose choir of the city. The church becomes a space of resonance for Berlin itself.
About the artist
Annika Kahrs (b. 1984) lives and works in Berlin. Her performances, videos and sound installations explore the functions of music, its communicative role, and its formal characteristics. Working across disciplines, she investigates how sound shapes social, political and economic relationships.
Vinyl-LP
Accompanying the exhibition, a vinyl LP will be produced in 2027 by Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) and Ediciones Inauditas as part of the series “n.b.k. Records”.
At the opening and on three additional occasions, the sound installation will be activated live by Berlin-based musicians and producers. The programme has been co-curated by Annika Kahrs and Berlin-based promoter and DJ Ozan Maral.
Exhibition Credits
Sound Installation: Annika Kahrs, with compositions by Louis d’Heudières
Curator: Suy Lan Hopmann, with support from Felix Eickelmann
Mixing, Sound Design & Music Production: Ariel Schlichter
Media Art Technology: ephemer.art
Technical Direction: Daniel Schulz
Technical Support: Robert Rehnig
Artistic Production Management: Rosanna Graf
Musicians: Berliner Mädchenchor (directed by Patrizia von Palubitzki), Nina Guo, Louis d’Heudières, Alexander Moosbrugger, Weston Olencki, Fynn & Miko Rosenwinkel, Taubenhaus Südkreuz, and the city of Berlin
The installation follows a spatial and temporal choreography. On the hour, it begins outside the church and gradually leads you through seven stations into the building’s interior: from the carillon, through the entrance area, the organ and the chancel, and finally into the nave. The church itself becomes a resonant body through which you can move.
4 October
On the first Sunday in October, we will be celebrating 35 years of the Warszawa & Berlin town twinning with a special programme of events at the Nikolaikirche, the Ephraim-Palais and the Knoblauchhaus. The sound installation will not be audible on that day.
In music, the word „chorus“ has several meanings. Kahrs draws on this principle at different levels throughout the work. Individual voices and sounds stand on their own while simultaneously entering into dialogue with one another. As in a choir, the sounds do not exist in isolation. They can be heard side by side, layered upon one another, and together as a collective whole.
The sounds and compositions of the installation draw on the historical and social contexts of the Nikolaikirche. At the same time, Kahrs brings contemporary sounds into the church through recordings made in districts across Berlin. Within the church, these field recordings form a loose choir of the city. The church becomes a space of resonance for Berlin itself.
About the artist
Annika Kahrs (b. 1984) lives and works in Berlin. Her performances, videos and sound installations explore the functions of music, its communicative role, and its formal characteristics. Working across disciplines, she investigates how sound shapes social, political and economic relationships.
Vinyl-LP
Accompanying the exhibition, a vinyl LP will be produced in 2027 by Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) and Ediciones Inauditas as part of the series “n.b.k. Records”.
At the opening and on three additional occasions, the sound installation will be activated live by Berlin-based musicians and producers. The programme has been co-curated by Annika Kahrs and Berlin-based promoter and DJ Ozan Maral.
Exhibition Credits
Sound Installation: Annika Kahrs, with compositions by Louis d’Heudières
Curator: Suy Lan Hopmann, with support from Felix Eickelmann
Mixing, Sound Design & Music Production: Ariel Schlichter
Media Art Technology: ephemer.art
Technical Direction: Daniel Schulz
Technical Support: Robert Rehnig
Artistic Production Management: Rosanna Graf
Musicians: Berliner Mädchenchor (directed by Patrizia von Palubitzki), Nina Guo, Louis d’Heudières, Alexander Moosbrugger, Weston Olencki, Fynn & Miko Rosenwinkel, Taubenhaus Südkreuz, and the city of Berlin
Runtime: Fri, 02/10/2026 to Sun, 18/04/2027
Price: €7.00
Reduced price: €0.00
Reduced price: €0.00
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