Das dritte Land - Art Garden

Nature knows no borders!

We want to create a garden in Kulturforum Berlin, which used to be crossed by the Wall - a garden to remind everyone that nature knows no man-made borders.

In our art garden, named DAS DRITTE LAND (the third country), plants from North and South Korea will grow together. It will be open to the public for one summer, from May to November. The accompanying program will host events that aim to initiate an artistic and botanical dialogue between North and South Korea.

Our team consists first of the Korean artists Han Seok Hyun and Kim Seung Hwoe, and the freelance curator Keumhwa Kim (Keum Art Projects) who have developed the idea and concept for DAS DRITTE LAND. The assistants Whisu and Caro (Keum Art Projects), and Dahee (Next City Berlin) take care of publicity, social media and accompanying programs and graphic designer Sam Kim (JungFeldt) delivers the visual materials. In cooperation with Kulturstiftung St. Matthäus, we want to open the artist garden in May 2019.

A place of communication and dreaming

DAS DRITTE LAND will become a paradise in a surprising place - the forecourt of St. Matthew’s Church. Visitors to the museums and public institutions at the Kulturforum, Berliners and tourists alike, should be able to stroll through the garden, rest and think there. Artists from Germany and Korea will hold events and perform in the garden.

At the same time, DAS DRITTE LAND aims to initiate a botanical dialogue between Germany, North and South Korea: The Botanical Garden Berlin, the National Baekdudaegan Arboretum and the Pyongyang Joseun Central Botanical Garden jointly select plants that are typical for North and South Korea South Korea, and which can adapt to the Berlin climate particularly well.

The project will also include a meeting of botanists from all three countries. To make this possible, we are in constant contact with political and diplomatic institutions from North and South Korea.

DAS DRITTE LAND is inspired by the ink paintings of the Korean artist Jeong Seon (1676 - 1759). Our project aims to resurrect the picturesque from his works in Berlin. For this, the features of the Baekdudaegan mountains, which are to be reproduced in the garden, and the plants growing there are the most important elements.

German and European visitors in particular can learn about the art, geography and flora of Korea in our garden and, in doing so, become aware of the importance of borders and their overcoming.

DAS DRITTE LAND is a place of German history and Korean present.

Help the plants to grow!

We have a list of 65 plant species from North and South Korea, a permit from the Berlin Plant Protection Agency and pledges from South Korea and Berlin to organize their shipment. The Kulturstiftung St. Matthäus provides the place (800sqm) for DAS DRITTE LAND. Materials and supporting program are prepared - to continue now, we need your commitment!

With your support, you enable the construction and maintenance of the garden. For this we cooperate with the Berlin horticultural company Eckard Kanold GmbH & Co KG. More specifically, we will use crowdfunding funding for:

• The creation of the basic structure of the garden, i.e. the preparation of the terrain, the creation of entrances and rock formations, which are modeled after the Baekdudaegan mountain range
• planting the 3000 shrubs and flowers we receive from Korea
• the installation and operation of mist technology
• watering and care of the plants throughout summer. At the end of the project in November, the seeds of all plants will be collected, so that the DAS DRITTE LAND can later re-emerge in other places.

Please dream with us, and let our art garden become a utopian symbol! We look forward to welcoming you all to the opening of DAS DRITTE LAND, which is planned for May.

Thank You!

With thanks to

• Stiftung St. Matthäus, Kulturstiftung der evangelischen Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg
• Botanischer Garten Berlin
• Baekdudaegan National Arboretum
• Joseon Central Botanical Garden
• Fugmann Janotta Partner
• Hans Seidel Stiftung