The Kunstraum Potsdam is an exhibition hall for contemporary art at the Schiffbauergasse, the cultural quarter on the shore of the Tiefer See in Potsdam. It is run by the Waschhaus Potsdam, the neighbouring arts centre and club, and shows several exhibitions a year: painting, photography and installation, often by artists from Berlin and Brandenburg, with occasional international guests.
The site has a long military and industrial past. Steamships were built here from 1817, and in the 1820s Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed a riding hall for the cavalry that still stands. Barracks, a gasworks and, in 1880–82, the army's steam laundry followed; that laundry is today's Waschhaus. After the Soviet army left, the grounds were turned into a cultural quarter with the Hans Otto Theater (opened in 2006 to designs by Gottfried Böhm), the dance house fabrik and the T-Werk theatre. The Kunstraum moved into the restored stables of the Schirrhof in 2006.
Visiting
- Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 1–6pm. Closed 24–26 December and 31 December–1 January.
- Entry: free according to the City of Potsdam's art guide. The Kunstraum's own website doesn't list a price.
- Current show: ARTEFACTS by Magdalena Wysocka and Claudio Pogo, 22 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, with an opening on Saturday 21 November at 4pm.
- How long: 30–45 minutes. The theatre, Waschhaus and the lakeside path make it easy to stay longer.
Getting there
From Berlin take the S7 or the RE1 to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof, then tram 93 towards Glienicker Brücke to Schiffbauergasse/Berliner Straße, or tram 94 or 99 to Schiffbauergasse/Uferweg. The ride from the station takes about ten minutes.
Nearby
Museum Barberini on the Alter Markt is about 15 minutes away by tram or 25 minutes on foot along the Havel.