Because her apartment was given notice – the tenant is sitting in the shop window

Joana Vau sits in the shop window of the gallery in Wrangelkiez every day.  The 35-year-old is urgently looking for an apartment

Joana Vau sits in the shop window of the gallery in Wrangelkiez every day. The 35-year-old is urgently looking for an apartment Photo: Olaf Selchow

By Mareike Druenkler

Colorful pictures adorn the walls, huge paper kites peer down from the ceiling. Joana Vau (35) is sitting in the shop window.

The performance artist has been sitting in the shop window of Kreuzberg’s “Galerie Heba” since Thursday.

She is urgently looking for a new apartment! Her sublease was terminated and she had to vacate her place in Wrangelkiez. The search for new, affordable accommodation has been in vain for months.

She doesn’t yet know what will happen next. One thing is certain: “I want to stay here. I want this to be my home!”

Interested passers-by stop and talk to the artist

Interested passers-by stop and talk to the artist Photo: Olaf Selchow

That’s why Joana Vau is now literally flaunting her housing shortage – until Monday, daily from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Falckensteinstraße 37.

“People react very differently. Many smile and are very compassionate. But some also tell me their own stories,” reports Vau.

Armed with a leather armchair, snacks, books and drinks, Joana Vau makes herself comfortable in her shop window and watches the hustle and bustle in the neighborhood. “A surprising amount is happening here,” she notes. But the woman from Kreuzberg has not yet received a rental offer.

Subjects:

Tenants Rental apartments Housing market Housing shortage Wrangelkiez

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