Organization

About us
Sustainability
Code of Conduct

Deichtorhallen Hamburg GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (FHH). Since 1989, it has been organizing sophisticated exhibitions of contemporary art and photography at an international level in the Deichtorhallen, centrally located between Hamburg's city center and HafenCity.

While the northern Deichtorhalle is dedicated to contemporary art in all its disciplines, including large-scale installations, the southern hall has been home to the House of Photography since 2005. It was founded by Hamburg photographer, gallery owner, collector, and curator F.C. Gundlach, who was the founding director and artistic director of the house from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, the F.C. Gundlach Collection was given to the Deichtorhallen Hamburg on permanent loan.

Since January 2011, the Falckenberg Collection in the Phoenix Halls in Hamburg-Harburg has been part of Deichtorhallen Hamburg GmbH and is operated by the latter on a permanent loan basis. Since 2014, Deichtorhallen Hamburg GmbH has also been organizing the Hamburg Photography Triennial, founded in 1999 by F.C. Gundlach, which takes place every three years in cooperation with Hamburg's most important museums.

With an exhibition area of over 10,000 square meters and a varied, coordinated exhibition and educational program across its three venues, Deichtorhallen Hamburg is one of the most important exhibition venues for contemporary art and photography in Europe.

Deichtorhallen Hamburg GmbH receives significant support for its work from the Förderkreis Deichtorhallen and the Freundeskreis des Hauses der Photographie, which not only provide financial support to the Deichtorhallen, but also enrich it through their active commitment and their own initiatives. A bookstore, the Berliner Bahnhof restaurant and bar, the PHOXXI Bar, and the PHOXXI Green Area on the lawn in front of the PHOXXI round out the Deichtorhallen experience.

Industrial monument and exhibition space for the 21st century

The Deichtorhallen were built between 1911 and 1914 on the site of the former Berlin railway station—Hamburg's counterpart to the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin—as market halls. They are one of the few surviving examples of industrial architecture from the transition period between Art Nouveau and the expressive forms of the 20th century.

In 1988/1989, Hamburg entrepreneur and patron Kurt A. Körber had the Deichtorhallen ensemble restored in accordance with monument preservation guidelines by architect Prof. Josef Paul Kleihues and converted into modern exhibition halls. In 2003, the Hamburg Senate decided to convert the south hall into a house of photography. It opened in April 2005. From 2013 to 2015, the hall was completely renovated and modernized for contemporary art, also with the help of investment funds from the FHH.

The House of Photography is currently undergoing extensive renovation and modernization to international standards. Until its reopening in 2028, PHOXXI will serve as a temporary venue directly on the Deichtorhallen grounds, showcasing contemporary and young positions in international photography and media art.

Deichtorhallen Hamburg GmbH is jointly managed by Artistic Director Dr. Dirk Luckow (since 2009) and Commercial Director Bert Antonius Kaufmann (since 2010). They are supported by a team of 37 permanent employees and additional external teams in the areas of management, supervision, and security.

The operation of the Deichtorhallen Hamburg is financed by annual grants from the FHH Cultural Authority. The innovative exhibition and education program ensures a high self-financing ratio and thus a stable economic situation for Deichtorhallen Hamburg GmbH. The urban development of HafenCity is significantly revitalizing the entire Deichtorhallen area, which will gain further momentum with the reopening of the House of Photography.

Directors:
Prof. Dr. Dirk Luckow, Bert Antonius Kaufmann

Board of Directors:
Dr. Carsten Brosda, Senator for Culture and Media (Chairman)
Markus Pitz, Senate Director, Authority for Culture and Media (Deputy Chairman)
Anna Augstein, Chairwoman of the Rudolf Augstein Foundation 
Dr. Larissa Falckenberg, American Studies scholar and lecturer
Sebastian Lux, Managing Director, F. C. Gundlach Foundation 
Dr. Frauke Rawert, lawyer 
Philipp Schmitz-Morkramer, entrepreneur
Maja Stadler-Euler, Lawyer 
Dr. Hans Jochen Waitz, Lawyer

Sustainability

Sustainability is also a central challenge of our time for cultural institutions. At the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, we are committed to the goal of using resources even more thoughtfully in the future, reducing our carbon footprint as much as possible, and making our activities more sustainable in all respects.

We are working together with colleagues from cultural institutions in Hamburg in the project Elf zu Null: Hamburger Museen handeln (Eleven to Zero: Hamburg Museums Take Action). This nationally unique pilot project was launched in the summer of 2022 and is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Media. Together, we want to take responsibility and consistently advance the sustainability of our museums’ operations.

As a first step, we have created the initial carbon footprint assessments for the participating institutions with the help of sustainability experts, thus establishing a foundation of data for greater energy efficiency. Seventeen colleagues have been trained as transformation managers, who help to integrate the topic of operational sustainability into the activities of their institutions. More information about our common goals, initiatives, and upcoming measures is available at elfzunull.de.

Code of Conduct

In view of current socio-political events and the growing polarization, especially in the cultural sector, the Deichtorhallen actively promote the plurality of opinions and forms of expression in the spirit of artistic freedom. Artistic freedom is a core value of our democratic society and has brought Germany to thrive as a unique, international, and inspiring cultural scene.

The Deichtorhallen want to give art and photography enthusiasts from Hamburg and all over the world an environment for safe encounters and respectful exchange, a place for cultural, social and interdisciplinary participation.