Hansaplatz is a 28-page A5 publication by Heinz Peter Knes and Heidi Specker, edited by Leonie Herweg / GROTTO. Knes and Specker depict the urban space—their neighbourhood—from a personal yet documentary perspective. The images are accompanied by a conversation between the two, focusing on the writers Ingeborg Bachmann and Witold Gombrowicz, both of whom lived in the Hansaviertel during the 1960s thanks to a residency from the Akademie der Künste. The publication was designed by Lina Grumm (HIT).
Its production was funded by advertisements from local businesses, institutions, and shops. In early May, 1,300 copies were distributed as mail art, unaddressed, to every mailbox in the Hansaviertel—a gift to the neighbourhood and an invitation to see it through different eyes.
On 28 June 7pm we celebrate the launch of the publication at Café Tiergarten, Altonaer Str. 3.
The publication is available here for anyone without 10557 postcode.
Repro: Heinz Peter Knes
Graphic design: HIT (Lina Grumm)
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Tagesspiegel (online + print)
The limited artist edition (2) is available online via (2)