GALLERY WALLYWOODS
OVERVIEW
Berlin, 2004 - 2010
Founded by Wally (aka Paradox Paul) Gallery Wallywoods was an independent exhibition and events platform in Berlin for all the arts involving anyone from international professionals to creative locals. Especially encouraged was interaction between artists and gallery visitors. Around a thousand events were hosted at three locations over six years, as well as at various venues around town. As well as a place for structured exhibitions and performances, "Wallywoods" was known for its spontaneity, improvisation, crazed activity, lazing around, local and international political debate, tomfoolery, the occasional scuffle and moments of creative genius.
As Wallywoods poet laureate Helge der Hinterhofdichter pointed out, it was a playground Wally built to suit himself. But it was there too for anyone who liked the energy and wished to join in. For myself, I didn't only progress as self-taught curator, events organiser and artist; I evolved there as a person. The doors were always open. The truth is (I can mention it now) I lived secretly in the various back rooms. The gallery functioned as much as a community centre as a "meeting place for creative people". It was my full time, unpaid job, a vocation, I suppose. By the end of 2010 I was exhausted. Exhausted, but proud to have assembled the crews and occupied a good many others, raising a good number of eyebrows on the way. From reading podium to punk venue, there was nothing quite like Wallywoods around at the time. Mottos included "Everyone's an artist", "Organised chaos" and "Be there or fuck off".
Locations
Apart from events hosted at other venues, Wallywoods existed without a break at three consecutive addresses from November 2004 and December 2010:
2004 - 2006 Gallery Wallywoods, Kopischstr. 1, Kreuzberg, Berlin (above) / Info + photos
2006 - 2007 Art Pub Wallywoods, Fehrbelliner Strasse corner of Choriner Strasse, border of Mitte & Prenzlauerberg, Berlin / Info + photos
2007 - 2010 Gallery Wallywoods at Weissensee Culture Center (aka KH Peter Edel), Berliner Allee, Weissensee, Berlin / Info + photos: 2007-2008 / 2008-2010
In 2010 Wally, now Paradox Paul, began to change the project from Wallywoods to Paradox Berlin, which appears on some fliers. But it never stuck, and Wallywoods survived. On finally leaving the Culture Center to the mercy of local government, who promptly boarded it up, PP moved to Zurich to marry MM (Maya Malfatti Woods - we had met at Wallywoods Kreuzberg) where we set up Paradox Zurich Projects. But on occasional return to Berlin, Wallywoods reunion events still take place.
Links
Here's a page of Wallywoods Posters & Fliers 2004 - 2010
Here are some press articles mostly concerning the Weissensee Culture Center and Wallywoods' fight to save it.
And here's the Wallywoods Facebook page presenting a mishmash of archive material.
Music
Along with a broad range of performances events, live music especially was synonymous with Wallywoods. Most exhibition openings were accompanied by something live on stage. Key words were experimental, improvisation, avande-garde. Although jazz was rare and cover songs taboo, practically anything got presented from classical ensembles through rap and punk to a stream of singer-songwriters, many of them first class, often on tour around the globe. Most of the time admission was free.
Together with Thomas Heger we made lots of recordings, rough but vibrant, now locked away in my old computer and, with a sound engineer who's name I've forgotten, we produced some cds. I'm very proud of them. Below are a Wallywoods double CD compilation from 2005, a Nikki Sudden rarity "In The Bag" from the same year, and a crazy, over-mixed Ugly Americans classic from 2006.
Film
There are a lot of odd film clips but they are uncut or of poor quality and only of interest if you happened to be there.
But here is a nice little film by Freak Reporter about Wallywoods at Weissensee, from around the end of 2008:
Post by Paul Woods.
List of artists
Artists who exhibited at one or both of the first locations (Kreuzberg & Art Pub) between 2004 and 2007. The list is not complete.
Some were also involved after 2007 at the Weissensee gallery, as were many others, but I grew too busy to keep track.
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Alan P. Scott
A.Krohn & Kai Pohl Aloysious Dougherty III Brain Burgess Chrissi X Derek Monroe Dora Dinse Eiko Kimura Eklatant Erika Belokrinicev Frauke Schmidt-Theilig Fred Moseley George Nickels Gerhard Leidinger Graham Hains Holicska Horse Jean-Karl Waldhubel Katja Schütt Kuenstler Herman Lena Braun Ludek Pesek Pachl Maria Marachowska Marie-Cecile Lutta |
Markus Schwill
Martina Stobinski Matthaus Michael Foster Michael Heiniger Mike Spike Froidl Nathan Wright Nicholas D.Vargelis Nico Neugebauer Peter Dennis Peter Hecht River Dillon Robbie Conal Sig Bang Schmidt Silka Teichert Simone Demuth Stefan Dybowski Theo Horbach Thomas Heger TJ Korst Timur Çelik Vinzent Wolfgang Krolow Young-Sik Lee |
List of Performers
This covers many, but not all, performers presented by Wallywoods between 2004 and 2007.
See Posters & Fliers for some of these and other events. Again, I stopped keeping track after 2007.
Locations key: Gallery Wallywoods Kreuzberg (GW), Art Pub (AP), Kaffee Burger (KB), King Kong Klub (KKK), White Trash (WT), Acud (ACD), Arcanoa (ARC), Ceili House Irish Pub (CH), Live Music Lounge, K-berg (LML), Tea Room, P-berg (TR)
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Alan Layton (AP, KB)
Alan Raphael (GW) Alexander Krohn (GW, AP) Alex Tornado (GW, KB, AP, ARC, CH, LML) Alicia Levy (GW) amanda (GW, AP) Andrea Hüber-Rhone (AP, KB) Andreas Schwarz (AP) Angel Idealism (GW, AP) Anne Sievers (GW) Arjopa (AP) Babel Embassy (KB) Bajka Brest (GW, KB) Barbara Breedijk (AP) Bert Papenfuss (GW, AP) Bev Lee Harling (AP) Bianca Döring (AP) Big Daddy Mugglestone (AP) Bird by Snow (AP) Bob King (GW, AP) Brian Burgess (GW, KB, AP, ARC) Brunhilde Amanda (AP, KB, KKK) Bruno Adams (GW) Cancel (GW) Capital Jig (GW) Captain Space Sex (GW) Catherine Hales (GW) Ceci (GW, KB, AP, WT, ARC, LML) Chad Parks & the Near Death Experience (GW) Chief Chung (TR) Chris Hughes (GW, KB, WT) Chris Russel (AP) Christian Ottow (GW) Christopher Leary (GW) Con-Born (AP) Conrad Adams (AP) Dahlia Ross (AP) Dandelion Wine (KB) Darrell Bath (GW, AP) Dave Judson Clemmons (AP, WT) Dave Judson Clemmons & the Fullbliss (WT) Dave Kusworth (GW, AP) David Hull & Sullen Green (AP) Dogs in Duffel Coats (KB) Don Chambers (GW) Don Chaos (GW) Duncan McKnight (AP) Einar Stenseng (GW, KB, AP) Elvis 2000 (GW, KB, KKK, LML) Erlend Øye (GW) Eugene Brosnan (AP) Eva Meijer (AP) Everette True (GW) Evil Mr Sod (ARC) Fancie (GW) Fiona Mizani (GW, AP) Francois Virot (AP) Frau Puschel (AP) Freespirit (AP) Fufu (AP) Fuse-Empire (AP) Fysche (GW, WT, ACD) Gefen3 (KB) George Nickels (GW, KB, AP) Gerda Schmidt (GW) Giles Schumm (GW, AP) Good Counselors (AP) Graham Clayton from the Other Side (GW, KB, AP, ARC) Grizzly Mortimer (GW) Guido Lee Beedo (AP) Gustavo Bauchwitz (GW, AP, ARC) Gusti Djuhs Orkestar (GW) Hangok (AP) Harry Coltello (GW) Heidenlärm (KB) Helge der Hinterhofdichter (GW, KB, AP, WT) Helmut Ruge (AP) Hel Toussaint (AP) Horst Grützner (GW) Hugo Race (WT) Infamis (WT, ACD) Jacqueline Amidy (AP) Jason Webley (GW) Jerrah (AP) Joachim Wendel (AP) Jon Evans (KB) John Hoskinson (GW) |
Johnny Zabala (GW, AP)
Jüdt-Zann Orchestra (GW) Jules Ward (GW, KB) Julian Hinton (AP) Justin Lavash (AP) Kai Pohl (GW, AP) Kat Frankie (AP) Kenichi (GW) Kenny Richards (GW, ARC) Kevin Junior (GW) Kevin Ryan (GW) Klabunde (AP) Klausi (AP, KB, ARC) Kolporter (GW) Kristian Fjellstad (GW, KB, AP, ARC, CH) Lady Gaby (GW, KB, KKK) Lee Viajero & the Edgy Drifters (GW, AP) Leonard (GW) Linda Moe (AP) Liljeqvist (AP) Lola Baby Superstar (GW) Maria Marachowska (AP, KB) Mark Molomot (GW) Markowski (AP) Marwell (KB) Marzipan Marzipan (AP) Max Decharne (GW) Memoria (AP) Meta Kirkegaard (AP) Mobiles Figurentheater (GW) Nadja & Friends (GW) Neil Campbell & Nicole Collarbone (KB) Nikki Sudden (GW, KB, ARC, CH) Nils the Bagpipes (GW) Nu (AP) Nu Ride (AP, KKK) Octoberman (AP) Old Seed (GW) Omnoise (GW) Owls of the Swamp (GW, KB, AP) Paradox Paul (GW, KB, AP, KKK, WT, ARC, CH, LML) Pescadores de Ventanas (GW, KB) Phaedro & Tom Lee Who (AP) Phil Shoenfelt (GW) Rahburt Price (AP) Renegade Akademiks (KB) Rob Reger (AP, ARC) Rock'n'Roll Diktator (GW, KKK) Roxanne de Bastion (AP, KB) Rubies (GW) Sanni (GW) Sarsaparilla (AP) Seagull (GW, KB, ARC) Sean Wood (GW) Sid the Theramin (KB) Sig Bang Schmidt (GW, AP) Siegelhead (AP) Siggi Stern (GW) Sister Chain & Brother John (GW, AP, KB, WT, ACD) Sonja Markowski (AP) Spinster Sister (AP) Stefan Ernsting (AP) Stephen Hill (GW) Steve Binetti (AP) Suki Osman (GW, AP) Susanne Gärtner (GW) The Act (KB) The Child Readers (GW) The Good Girls (GW) The Hot Eskimos (KB) The Jacobites (GW) The Knit Separates (GW) The Methylated Spirits (KB, WT) The Nasty Party (KB, ACD, ARC, CH) The Punk Scientists (GW) The Shitty Listener (GW, AP, ARC) The Ugly Americans (GW, KB, AP, KKK, WT, ARC, CH, LML) Thomas Franz (GW, KB, ARC) Tigers of Doom (KKK) Tim McMillan (GW, AP) Tommy Simatupang (GW) Red (GW, AP) Verity Susman (GW) Vladiswar Nadishana (AP) Wayne Martin (GW) Y-Ton-G (GW) Zorro (AP) |
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#GalleryWallywoods #ParadoxPaul |