All posts by Carl Kruse

Current Events Berlin

Tour of the Documentation Center in Berlin

The Columbia University Club invites us to a private English-language tour of the Documentation Center for Nazi Forced Laborers to take place on Sunday, June 23 from 15:30 to 17:30.  The Center, located in Schöneweide, has the task of making the history of the 26 million men, women, and children forced into labor by the Nazis visible for future generations.  It is located on the site of an almost completely preserved camp.  

Address: Britzer Straße 5, Berlin-Schöneweide.  

Directions: From S-Bhf Schöneweide (lines S8, 9, 45, 46, 47, and 85) take the exit at the head of the train, turn left and walk one block to Michael Brückner Straße.  Cross the street and turn right.  Turn left on Fennstraße, which forks almost immediately.  Take the right part of the fork (Britzer Straße); the documentation center is on your right.  

The tour is free, but prior registration with Patrick Truhn ([email protected]) is required.

Cheers!

Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle

Past Events Berlin

World premiere of the Film “The President’s Tailor” in Berlin


Ivy Circle member Rick Minnich will be celebrating the world premiere of his latest film “The President’s Tailor” as part of the Jewish Film Festival Berlin-Brandenburg. The screening takes place at the Bundesplatz Kino on June 19th at 20:30.

The Ivy Circle will gather with Rick before the film at the Mexican restaurant “Alcatraz” beginning at 6pm for complimentary appetizers and drinks.  The restaurant is located at Bundesplatz 6, right across the theater.

“The Presidents’ Tailor” is a heartwarming story about the Holocaust survivor and star tailor Martin Greenfield, who dressed six US presidents and hundreds of celebrities. The New York Times wrote an extensive tribute to Martin upon his death in March at age 95. The Jewish Journal also ran a cover story about the film. 

An additional screening is planned for June 23rd at 5 p.m. at the Bundesplatz Kino.

There will be a Q&A session with Rick after the film for those interested.

You can reserve a place for the showing at http://www.bundesplatz-kino.de/  The Ivy Circle has 5 tickets, preferably earmarked for students and anyone under  hardship, but really available to all on a first come first served basis

For any questions please write me at carl AT alumni DOT princeton DOT edu.

See everyone on June 19 for what should be a wonderful evening.

Cheers!

Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle

Past Events Berlin

A Conversation With Artist Yury Kharchenko in Berlin


by Carl Kruse

The Ivy Circle invites all to a conversation between Russian-German Artist Yury Kharchenko and art historian and exhibition curator Dr. Eckhart Gillen this coming Tuesday, 11 June, 2024 at 8pm at “Der Zauberberg” literary booksstore on Bundesallee 133 in Berlin 12161.

The discussion will center around the recent publication of Kharchenko’s art catalog “Yury Kharchenko Painting 2018 – 2023,” which documents his works of recent years, created in reaction to wars and questions of memory. Various cycles of the artist’s work will be discussed, starting with family history, his radical Auschwitz pictures, which question the moral aspect of memory, the flower pictures, which were painted in protest against the Ukraine war, and his star pictures, and portraits of important Jewish personalities, created in response to Netanyahu’s judicial reform in Israel.  Throughout, Kharchenko seems to demand more ethics from a society facing a decline in historical knowledge

Eckhart Gillen is an art historian and curator, primarily for exhibitions on 20th century art. He is the author and editor of publications on German, Russian and American art of the 20th century and has received numerous awards, including the Unity Prize – Citizens’ Prize for German Unity in 2003 and the Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge Prize for unconventional art education from the Prussian Sea Trade Foundation in 2011, as well as the Federal Cross of Merit.

As space is limited, registration is required either by calling the bookstore at 56 73 90 91 or by email: [email protected]. There is a 10 € fee.

The discussion will primarily be in German.

I hope the summer is starting magnificently for you.

Cheers

Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin
Berlin Chair, Princeton Alumni Association of Germany

Current Events Berlin

Theater Reading Group in Berlin

by Carl Kruse

Niraj Welikala, a member of both the Oxford and Cambridge alumni societies in Berlin, founded a play-reading and theater group in Berlin last summer and is looking to expand the group to fellow thespians and those who love the theater.

The group’s objective is recreational play reading and perhaps putting on a production one day.  Details from Niraj below. You can contact Niraj directly at [email protected] or fellow co-founder Nigel Luhman at [email protected]

Cheers,
Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle

P.S. Carl Kruse ia also involved with Renselear Polytechnic Institute’s Milkyway@Home project.

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An Actor Prepares…

Calling actors and theatre enthusiasts!

We are a play reading group (in English), originally formed from members of the Oxford and Cambridge alumni clubs in Berlin and we are looking for new people to join us. We meet every 2 weeks on a weekday evening from 6-8 pm (usually on a Monday) at the Theaterhaus Mitte Berlin (https://www.theaterhaus-berlin.com/).

We aim to select and read a diverse range of plays. Plays we’ve read so far include Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, J. B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’,  ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ and we are currently in the middle of ‘The Crucible’.  We usually start with a few minutes of warm-up exercises. During the reading, we switch characters to give people a chance to explore different roles and also experiment with different acting and directing techniques.

The play readings are meant to be recreational although we hope to put on a production as well. We have a range of experience in the group (from little or no experience to some with years of acting and directing experience). If you are interested, please email Nigel or Niraj mentioning any previous acting experience (but this is not required) and we will send you more details including our WhatsApp group that we use to organise readings. You are welcome to come to a session and see if it’s for you.

Hope to see you there!

Niraj, Nigel, Kaya and Justin 

The Berlin Play Reading Group committee

Past Events Berlin

The Mavericks in Conert on May 4 in Berlin

by Carl Kruse

Max Abrams (Princeton ’99) and his band THE MAVERICKS perform on May 4th at 8pm in Berlin at Huxley’s Neue Welt.

The show is sold out but Max invites a few of us to attend for free.

The tickets are extremely limited and available on a first come, first served basis.

Here’s a playlist of The Mavericks’ music:

Reach out to [email protected] if interested.

Cheers!

Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin

Carl Kruse is also involved with the Asteroids@Home Program, at the Charles University in Prague.

Current Events Rhein-Ruhr

Exclusive guided tour “In the Museum’s Laboratory” at Wallraff-Richartz-Museum on 24 February 2024

by Carl Kruse

Hello all! The Friends of the London School of Economics invites the Ivy Circle to a unique guided tour of the Wallraff-Richartz museum in Colonge.

A museum that deliberately exhibits a fake Monet? The Wallraff is showing an unusual look behind the scenes at its “In the Museum’s Laboratory” section, where the painting “On the banks of the Seine near Port Villez”, which was first identified as a forgery by Wallraf art technicians, is on display. This exciting type of work is what this collection presentation is all about: We will get a clear explanation of what happens behind the doors of the “Department of Art Technology and Restoration”. In addition to the forged Monet, we will learn about painting in the Middle Ages, van Gogh’s painting tricks and methods of restoration. Furthermore, fascinating X-ray images and infrared images of a medieval altarpiece are on display.

We cordially invite you to join us for an exclusive guided tour in English “In the Museum’s Laboratory” at Wallraff-Richartz-Museum on Saturday, 24 February 2024.

We will meet at the Foyer of the Wallraff-Richartz-Museum, Obenmarspforten 40, 50667 Cologne, at 2.15 pm, 15 min ahead of the tour to allow time for cloakroom and distribution of entrance tickets, so that we can start the tour on time.

Please register by Thursday, 22 February, by completing the online registration form. We encourage you to sign-up early, as we allocate places on a first-come, first-served basis.

The participation fee is €10, which we ask you to either pay by Paypal or provide us a SEPA direct debit mandate. (For paid-up members of the German Friends of LSE this event is free of charge.)

Past Events Berlin

SOPHYGRAY Presentation in Berlin

by Carl Kruse

The Ivy Circle joins the Columbia University Club of Berlin to invite all as Columbia alumna Nadja Marcin presents her new exhibition, “SOPHYGRAY – A Feminist Voice Bot,” at Alpha Nova & Galerie Futura, Am Flutgraben 3, Kreuzberg in Berlin.

The event takes place Saturday, February 3 at 2:00 p.m.

Developed over three years with 40 collaborators, the voice bot SOPHIEGRAY engages in surprising, philosophical, and humorous conversations on identity, art, and feminism. SOPHIEGRAY was developed within the framework of a European Media Art Platform residency at the Onassis Stegi Foundation, co-financed by the European Union and was awarded the European Union Prize for Citizen Science in 2023.

Space is reserved for 20 participants. To reserve, please email [email protected].

Nadja Marcin is a Berlin and New York-based artist and filmmaker, exploring gender, history, morality, psychology and human behavior through an intersection of feminism and emotional architecture in theatrical and cinematic contexts.

Best known for her performances “OPHELIA” and “How to Undress in Front of Your Husband”, she subverts historical and media representations of women to highlight ideological systems of power and psychological effects at the moment of their creation. Addressing ecological and human rights concerns through an often absurdist, surreal, bold repurposing of imagery to create thought-provoking encounters.

She has presented solo shows and performances in Kunstverein Ruhr (2021/22), Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken (2020), SCHAUWERK Sindelfingen (2019), Minnesota Street Project (2018), CONTEXT Art Miami (2017), SOHO20 Gallery (2016); Esther Donatz Gallery, Munich (2015); GOETHE Center, Santa Cruz (2014), and Dortmunder Kunstverein (2012). She has participated in group exhibitions and presentations in institutions such as TICKTACK, Antwerp (2022), Transpalette, Bourges (2021), Gropius Bau, Berlin (2020), Ecofutures, London (2019), Fridman Gallery, New York (2018), Microscope Gallery, New York (2017), 5th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art (2016), Middle Gate Geel’13 (2013), ZKM- Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe (2012), and Garage Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow (2010).Marcin has won numerous grants and prizes, including: Artsformation Commission (2022), NEUSTART Modul C by BBK via the Federal Germa Culture Commissioner (2021/2022), Individual Artist’s Grant in Electronic Media & Film by New York Council on the Arts (2022/2019), Kulturamt Köln (2018), Franklin Furnace Grant, New York (2017), NRW Film-und Mediafoundation (2013), DAAD, Germany (2011), and Fulbright, New York (2007).

Hoping 2024 is starting beautifully for you and see you on February 3!

Cheers,

Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin
Also find Carl Kruse on Vator.

Past Events Berlin

Underground Art + Wine Series in Berlin

by Carl Kruse

The Ivy Circle Berlin invites all to another exhibition and social gathering as part of its Underground Art series this time with German artist Michael Dyne Mieth.

Join us Saturday, November 25 beginning at 6:30pm beneath the restaurant Papá Pane di Sorrento at Ackerstrasse 23, 10115 Mitte-Berlin. Dyne will exhibit a collection of his works spanning his more than thirty years as a painter. The exhibition space is part of the underground cellars of the 19th century building. Wine, finger foods, and a guest DJ will brighten the evening, where a top group of Berlin professionals and artists will gather. The event is free and open to all, though an RSVP is requested to [email protected].

Dyne is a painter, sculptor and multimedia artist living in Berlin, whose art is exhibited internationally and always attracts attention due to his visionary motives. Some of his work includes his massive “G18” in which he revisits and reimagines Picasso’s Guernica, which has forever inscribed itself in art history as an appeal for peace. G18 was exhibited along with Pablo Picasso’s original Guernica at the Imperial Hofburg Museum in Innsbruck during the anti-war exhibition GUERNICA – “Icon of Peace.”

For his monumental work , the Berlin artist drove across the canvas in a Lincoln Continental. John F Kennedy was in such a car when he was assassinated. With his interpretation of Picasso’s Guernica, the artist explores how close war and peace are to each other. The tire imprints represent the traces of devastation that bring chaos and destruction to people’s lives.

Reinterpretation, Vis-à-vis of Pablo Picasso’s original GUERNICA Gouache, in the original dimensions of 3.50 x 7.77 m, exhibited at the Museum of the Imperial Palace in Innsbruck.

Dyne was also selected by Cisco Systems to envision a work on sustainability for their innovation center openBerlin. He created a sculpture in the shape of a robot called “Recycle” from packaging material that is normally hazardous waste. Sensors in a bodysuit that Dyne wore saved the data of his movement as the work was created and later published as “the data of creativity” allowing viewers to immerse themselves in the artist’s world and understand what he did and how he did it.

We look forward to seeing you on November 25th for what will be a beautiful evening.

Carl Kruse, Ivy Circle Berlin
You can also find Carl Kruse here.

Past Events Berlin

Thanksgiving in Berlin With Stanford

by Carl Kruse, Ivy Circle

Dear Friends,

The German Stanford Association has warmly invited the Ivy Circle to join their annual Thanksgiving Dinner in Berlin on Thursday, 16 November.  Our ambitious Stanford friends are scheduling the dinner one week ahead of the American holiday!  Join us in meeting new friends and sharing in the Thanksgiving spirit.
\The evening will include a 3-course traditional American Thanksgiving dinner and an open bar for 2 hours.

Date: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Time: 19:00 – 22:00
Location: Zollpackhof Restaurant, Elisabeth-Abegg-Straße 1, 10557 Berlin.
Our tables will be in a separate area downstairs in the Augustiner Keller.

Tickets:

• 70 € for Ivy Circle alumni and family members
• 40 € for children 13 – 6 years old

• Free for children 5 years old and younger

To register, please 

RSVP via this link before 4 November 2023 & Pay for your tickets via bank transfer by 5 November 2023.

Bank details:
German Stanford Association e.V.
IBAN: DE85 1001 0010 0915 9481 00
BIC: PBNKDEFF
Reference: Your name & “Thanksgiving 2023”

Agenda for Thanksgiving 2023 
The evening will begin at 19:00. A delicious 3-course menu will begin at 19:30, and there will be an open bar for 2 hours until 21:30. Lasting memories will be refreshed. New ones will be made and the Thanksgiving spirit will be present!

~Menu~

Appetizers
Prime boiled beef with horseradish cream and beetroot salad
Baby spinach with balsamic dressing, nuts & apple

Main dishes
Turkey roll roast with stuffing (apple, bread, dried fruit, nuts)
Roast pork
Roast sauce, apple sauce, cranberries
Pumpkin greens, Brussels sprouts
Roasted baked Potatoes

Dessert
Lemon meringue tartlets
Pancakes with maple syrup and apple compote
***
If you would prefer a vegan menu, or have any other concerns or questions, please reach out to Jon.
Due to space restrictions, the dinner is limited to the first 40 guests who RSVP.

Refunds:
If you buy a ticket but cannot attend, please reach out to Jon before 4 November for a refund.

All the best wishes. We’re excited to see you soon! 

Carl Kruse, Ivy Circle
Our last two events were with the Harvard Club and the Brews Cruise.
Find Carl Kruse at his blog on https://carlkruse.org

Past Events Berlin

IVY CIRCLE IN BERLIN: Summerfest With Harvard Club July 8

by Carl Kruse

Hello friends!

It’s a hot summer but we keep going and our next event is in conjunction with the Harvard Club of Berlin, which is inviting the Ivy Circle to their Summerfest on Saturday July 8, 2023 at 5.30 pm.

The event will take place in the east of Berlin on Dock 10 at Rummelsburger Bucht. This is Gustav-Holzmann Str. 10.

From the deck there is a beautiful view over the water and the park on the opposite side of the bay.

It’s an ideal place to connect with new friends and old over an upscale BBQ, drinks and music.

It will be good.

Please feel free to invite a “plus one.”

Tickets
Members & partners: 55 € pp

Non-Members and Ivy Circle: 75 € pp

Children: 7-18 years 50% discount on adult prices

Children: 0-6 years free

Your options to register and to pay

  • Option 1: Eventbrite

https://www.eventbrite.de/e/summerfest-2023-tickets-646929201657

please indicate if you are

  • Member/partner
  • Non-member

Please transfer the ticket price to the bank account:

Harvard University Alumni Club of Berlin e.V.

IBAN: DE33 1007 0848 0036 7532 00

BIC: DEUTDEDB110

Reference: your name & Summerfest 2023

When? Saturday July 8, 2023 at 5.30 pm

Where? Hauptstadtfloss Dock 10, Gustav Holzmannstr. 10, 10317 Berlin

If you cannot open the invitation card, please contact the Harvard Club of Berlin —

Harvard University Alumni Club of Berlin e.V.
c/o Pusch Wahlig Workplace Law
Berliner Freiheit 2
10785 Berlin

Tel.: +49 (0)30 20629530

Cheers and see you on July 8!

Carl Kruse
Director, Ivy Circle Berlin

P.S. Our last event was on June 14th when we shared wine and tapas at the Sana Hotel in Berlin.

Ivy Circle Berlin - Harvard Club