Into The Open

The guiding theme of Into the Open in 2024 is...Visions!

Our vision is to reimagine classical music in thrilling settings, creating "multimedia concert experiences" that engage all the senses. In January 2024, we proudly presented the second edition of our festival in Berlin, featuring an exhilarating program. Across seven concerts, we showcased renowned names and institutions such as Martina Gedeck, the Barenboim-Said Academy, the vision string quartet, and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, collaborating with representatives from the independent scene. The festival also embraced international influences from Lithuania, France, and Georgia, and premiered two world-first compositions specially commissioned for our event, highlighting its interdisciplinary nature.

Each day, Kühlhaus Berlin transformed into a unique and spectacular venue, amplifying the festival's dynamic atmosphere.

The Program:
Music + dance, theater, electronics, visual arts & video mapping!

ITO Experience

Upon entering the cold store, an exciting journey into unknown dream worlds begins, guided by video installations, visual art, electronic sounds and delicacies at our bar. The staging of the entrance ritual is an integral part of the festival concept. Admission to the concerts is daily from 18:30; the concerts start at 19:30.

Commissioned compositions

For the 2024 season, Into the Open is commissioning two works for the first time from French composer Samir Amarouch and Chinese composer Ying Wang. Both works follow the interdisciplinary approach of the festival and relate to the main theme of ITO in 2024, Visions. Mouvement by Samir Amarouch is an interdisciplinary work for soprano saxophone, electric guitar and microtonal accordion and 3 dancers that offers a reflection on perception, form and time. The instrumentation is reminiscent of folk music and traditional balls, while timbres and harmonies draw on influences from experimental and electronic dance music as well as the Berber music of northern Morocco. Double Wings is an audiovisual concept by Ying Wang for two identical instruments and two video projections. The result is a double wing effect that offers the audience an experience from different perspectives and is dreamlike and poetic. In addition, an electro-acoustic performance project based on drone music from the 1950-60s will be created in collaboration with the highly acclaimed DJ and producer Ion Ludwig.

The location

The Kühlhaus Berlin is an industrial monument located in the heart of Berlin in the immediate vicinity of Potsdamer Platz, right next to the Technical Museum Berlin. Built at the turn of the century in 1900, it is now a universal cultural centre that hosts a wide variety of events throughout the year, from readings and concerts to fashion fairs and food markets. The Kühlhaus, with its 6 floors and the Kubus in the middle, provides the ideal setting for our festival and a place where experimentation and reflection are virtually forced upon us. The Kubus makes a wide variety of event formats possible; the musicians can play from hidden galleries, position themselves in the middle like at a boxing match or perform over several floors.