ZK/U welcomes a new "resident" during OPENHAUS!

22 JANUARY 2026 / 19:30

ZK/U BerlinSiemensstr. 27, 10551, Berlin, Germany

The Statue of Peace “Ari” is a memorial dedicated to the so-called “comfort women” — girls and women from Asia and other regions who were systematically abducted by the Japanese military during the Second World War and forced into sexual slavery. The statue commemorates the suffering endured by those affected and at the same time stands as a symbol against sexualized violence against girls and women, both in times of war and in times of peace.

The statue was initiated by the “Comfort Women” Working Group of the Korea Verband e. V. Korea Verband is a non-profit organization based in Berlin that has for many years been engaged in human rights work, the critical examination of war histories, and the fight against sexualized violence. The “Comfort Women” Working Group conducts educational and public outreach activities on the history of those affected and works to make this history visible in Germany and to anchor it sustainably in public consciousness.

From 2020 to 2025, the Statue of Peace was installed in public space in Berlin-Moabit at the corner of Birkenstraße and Emdener Straße. The site developed into a place of public debate on cultures of remembrance, international responsibility, and the role of memorials in urban space. Following a ruling by the Administrative Court, the statue was required to leave this location. This raised the question of where the statue could remain accessible while also being embedded in a reflective and dialogical framework.

From January 22, 2026, the Statue of Peace “Ari” will been hosted at the ZK/U – Center for Art and Urbanistics for a period of one year. The statue remains the property of and under the intellectual and conceptual responsibility of the Korea Verband. The ZK/U provides a temporary spatial framework in which the statue can be present and serve as a point of departure for exchange and critical engagement.

Unlike its former location, the statue at the ZK/U is not installed as a permanent site of remembrance or as a fixed monument. Rather, it is understood as a place of encounter, listening, and discourse, embedded within an institutional context oriented toward openness, polyphony, and international perspectives. In this context, the ZK/U explicitly does not position itself as a political actor or spokesperson for the statue, but as the host of an open framework. Its role is to create conditions under which different perspectives can become visible and conversations can take place — including where positions are not clear-cut or free of contradictions.

During its stay, the Statue of Peace is part of the ZK/U’s international residency program. This program continuously brings artists, architects, urban researchers, and practitioners from diverse geographical, cultural, and political contexts to Berlin-Moabit. The residencies form a central component of the ZK/U’s work and understand the city as a relational fabric shaped by local and global connections.