Chorus
A Sound Installation by Annika Kahrs
What happens when a church begins to resonate as an instrument in its own right? In her new sound installation „Chorus“, artist Annika Kahrs transforms the Nikolaikirche into an immersive sonic environment that you can explore on foot.
Location
Nikolaikirche
Nikolaikirchplatz
10178 Berlin
Opening Hours
Mon–Wed + Fri–Sun | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thu | 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.
For differing opening hours, see “Info & Service”
Admission
7 euros (single ticket) | 15 euros (combi-ticket*) | free admission (under 18 years or with reduction)
*Valid on two consecutive days for the Ephraim-Palais, the Nikolaikirche and the Knoblauchhaus.
Visitors Note
For technical reasons, the museum is closed on Sunday, October 25th.
The installation follows a spatial and temporal choreography. On the hour, it begins outside the church and gradually leads you through seven stations into the building’s interior: from the carillon, through the entrance area, the organ and the chancel, and finally into the nave. The church itself becomes a resonant body through which you can move.
In music, the word „chorus“ has several meanings. Kahrs draws on this principle at different levels throughout the work. Individual voices and sounds stand on their own while simultaneously entering into dialogue with one another. As in a choir, the sounds do not exist in isolation. They can be heard side by side, layered upon one another, and together as a collective whole.
The sounds and compositions of the installation draw on the historical and social contexts of the Nikolaikirche. At the same time, Kahrs brings contemporary sounds into the church through recordings made in districts across Berlin. Within the church, these field recordings form a loose choir of the city. The church becomes a space of resonance for Berlin itself.
Good to know
In the museum, you’ll be surrounded by various sounds and noises from the ‘Chorus’ sound installation. These include low-pitched sounds from an organ and a trombone, which you may feel physically. How loud and intense the sounds seem to you depends on where you are in the museum. You can change your position at any time or leave the room. In the central nave, there are blue benches where you can sit or lie down. There is no separate quiet room. You can find out when you can visit Nikolaikirche without the sound installation under “Opening hours”.
About the artist
Annika Kahrs (born 1984) lives and works in Berlin. Her performances, videos and sound installations explore the functions of music, its communicative role, and its formal characteristics. Working across disciplines, she investigates how sound shapes social, political and economic relationships.Find out more
Deepen your experience of the exhibition with the digital guide. The PDF offers further insights into the sound installation and additional information about the exhibition.
At the opening and on three additional occasions, the sound installation will be activated live by Berlin-based musicians and producers. The programme has been co-curated by Annika Kahrs and Berlin-based promoter and DJ Ozan Maral.
Vinyl-LP
Accompanying the exhibition, a vinyl LP will be produced in 2027 by Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) and Ediciones Inauditas as part of the series “n.b.k. Records”.
Exhibition Credits
Sound Installation: Annika Kahrs, with compositions by Louis d’Heudières
Curator: Suy Lan Hopmann, with support from Felix Eickelmann
Mixing, Sound Design & Music Production: Ariel Schlichter
Media Art Technology: ephemer.art
Technical Direction: Daniel Schulz
Technical Support: Robert Rehnig
Artistic Production Management: Rosanna Graf
Musicians: Berliner Mädchenchor (directed by Patrizia von Palubitzki), Nina Guo, Louis d’Heudières, Alexander Moosbrugger, Weston Olencki, Fynn & Miko Rosenwinkel, Taubenhaus Südkreuz, and the city of Berlin
Operating Hours
Listen to the sound installation:
Mon–Wed | 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Thu | 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Fri | 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat + Sun | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
You can experience the full sound installation Monday to Friday between 12 noon and 6 pm, starting on the hour.
On Thursday evenings and at weekends in the mornings, you can hear it without the carillon of the Nikolaikirche.
Differing playing times:
Sun | 1 Nov | Start: 1 p.m.
Thu | 5 Nov | Last performance: 4 p.m.
Thu | 19 Nov | Last performance: 6 p.m.
Sun | 29 Nov | Last performance: 12 noon
Sun | 6 Dec | Start: 1 p.m.
Sun | 13 Dec | Last performance at 11 a.m.
Sun | 3 Jan | Start: 12 noon
Thu | 4 Feb | Last performance at 6 p.m.
Sun | 7 Feb | Start: 1 pm
Thu | 11 Feb | Last performance at 4 p.m.
Thu | 4 Mar | Last performance at 3 p.m.
Sun | 7 Mar | Start: 1 p.m.
Sun | 4 Apr | Start: 1 p.m.
Thu | 8 Apr | Last performance at 3 p.m.
Programme
From October 2026 to April 2027, the installation will be accompanied by a concert programme curated by Beate Tast-Kasper of the Berlin Museum. Please note that „Chorus“ will not be audible during live performances and events. Full details and dates can be found in our programme.
In cooperation with
A vinyl project in collaboration with
Info & Service
Opening Hours
from 02.10.2026 until 18.04.2027
Mon – Wed + Fri – Sun | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thu | 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Operating hours of the sound installation
Mon – Wed | 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Thu | 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Fri | 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat + Sun | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
You can experience the complete sound installation Monday to Friday between 12 noon and 6 pm, starting on the hour. In addition, the installation can be heard on Thursday evenings and at weekends, albeit without the carillon.
Differing opening hours:
Sun | 25.10. | 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Thu | 24.12. | Closed (Christmas Eve)
Fri & Sat | 25. + 26.12. | 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. (First & Second Christmas Day)
Thu | 31.12. | Closed (New Year’s Eve)
Fri | 01.01. 2027 | 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. (New Year’s Day)
The visitor rules of the Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin apply.
For children
A free children’s activity booklet for the permanent exhibition “Berlin’s Middle” is available at the entrance in German, English, Polish, Turkish and Arabic. If you have any questions, our team will be happy to help.
Directions
Nikolaikirchplatz
10178 Berlin
Contact
Infoline
+49 30 240 02 – 162
Mo – Fri | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Write E-Mail
Tickets
Admission
Combi-Ticket
15 euros
Valid for our three museums in the Nikolaiviertel (Nikolaikirche, Ephraim-Palais, Knoblauchhaus) on two consecutive days (please note opening hours)
Single Ticket
7 euros
Day ticket for the Nikolaikirche
Free admission
With proof of reduction
for children and adolescents under 18 years of age, students, trainees, FSJ/FÖJ/BFD volunteers, Berlin Ticket S holders, severely disabled persons (at least 50% GdB) and their Personal Assistant, refugees (with a valid work or residence permit/eAT and a Ukrainian passport or valid residence permit from Ukraine), recipients of transfer payments (Bürgergeld, ALG I), holders of the Berlin-Brandenburg Ehrenamtskarte, holders of the Super-Ferienpass / Berliner Familienpass, ICOM members, members of Deutscher Museumsbund, Verein der Freunde und Förderer des Stadtmuseums Berlin e. V. (except for the Museumsdorf Düppel), Förderverein Museumsdorf Düppel e. V., and Förderkreis Museum Knoblauchhaus e. V., media representatives with a valid press card.