As darkness falls in Hamburg’s City Nord, the smooth surfaces of the tall, modernist buildings begin to take on a different dimension. A somber atmosphere descends upon the neighborhood. Illuminated plazas, forecourts, bridges, and passageways alternate with the shadowed sides of the buildings plunged into darkness, gloomy vacant lots, unlit edges of the parks, and the shafts of the large building complexes. This ambivalent figure traces a double-edged silhouette that leads just as much into the unfathomable darkness as it does onto the brightly lit stages of City Nord at night.

In her essay collection Dunkelheit. Ein Plädoyer. (Darkness. A Plea.) (Haymon, 2025), Lisa-Viktoria Niederberger describes how both artificially lit and dark places can trigger fear and uncertainty within us. In the glare of floodlights and streetlamps, we fear what is pushed even further into the shadows by the sharp contrast. In the beam of streetlights, we feel thrust into the center of attention, exposed, at the mercy of others.

Darkness can be both a place of protection and a place of fear. The second chapter of Night Shifts is dedicated to these ambivalences.

On March 27, 2026, at 8 p.m., participants will gather at the Überseering bus stop after nightfall. There, the Nachtwächterinnen (night watchwomen) will welcome the audience and guide them to the evening’s first location.

The evening begins in front of the Hamburg Police Recruitment Office, where author Lisa-Viktoria Niederberger leads a reading and walk through the shadowy streets of City Nord. In her essayistic book Dunkelheit. Ein Plädoyer. (Haymon, 2025), Niederberger explores what it might mean to reclaim darkness in our lives. Her writing intertwines themes of power, concealed class differences, and patriarchal systems with issues such as nature conservation, workplace safety, the starry sky as cultural heritage, and feminist and political perspectives. Guided by Niederberger’s words, we journey together through the enigmatic urban canyons of City Nord.

Themes of power, control, and their loss are also central to Liina Magnea’s performance Ssassin’s Creed (Lady says Stop). This work delves into the shadows of human behavior that emerge when stable authority structures begin to falter. Magnea’s dance shifts between displays of power, violence, and victimhood, evoking fear, empathy, and vicarious discomfort. Driven by the concept of an immaterial Gesamtkunstwerk, she weaves together music, movement, cinematic dramaturgy, and internet scrolling, creating a metamorphic portrayal of the human abyss.

Hamburg’s City Nord is a district conceived in the 1970s as one of Europe’s most ambitious post-war projects. Despite its central location, this ‘model city of modernity’ remained isolated, disconnected from the city’s infrastructure. After working hours, its streets turn deserted, gloomy, and unwelcoming. City Nord embodies the tension between a failed utopia, a strange nostalgia, and ongoing transformation. While many listed buildings still stand empty, recent developments, such as the relocation of the police academy and the construction of a new subway line, suggest the neighborhood is turning toward a new future.

Meeting point: 8 pm at Überseering (West) bus stop
Reading/Walk: 8:30 pm at Einstellungsstelle der Polizei Hamburg, 60 min.
Performance: 9:30 pm at Tanzschule “die 2”; 30 min.

Code of conduct & accessibility
Find information here.

Info in Plain English

The Night Shifts Project
The event is the second part of an art project. The project consists of several parts taking place between February and December 2026. It will take place at various public locations in Hamburg. The theme of the project is darkness. It is titled Night Shifts. This means that people work at night, for example in a hospital. Some artists also work at night. In this art project, they show what happens at night and what interests them about it. It’s about work, emotions, and secrets in the dark.

City Nord
The event takes place in Hamburg’s City Nord district. The neighborhood was built 50 years ago as a modern office district. After work, the streets there are often empty and dark. Many people find this eerie. The neighborhood is changing now: The police academy has moved into a large building. A new subway line is being built. Residential buildings are being built.

The Night Watchwomen
Three people accompany the audience. They are dressed as night watchwomen. The night watchwomen read texts aloud. The texts describe the different locations in City Nord and the mood in the dark. They introduce the author and the performance artist.

Walk and Reading
The audience joins the night watchwomen for a walk through City Nord. Author Lisa-Viktoria Niederberger will be there, too. She reads from her book about darkness. It addresses important questions: Why is darkness good for nature? Why are we afraid of the dark? The author also writes about: Who holds power in our world? Who feels safe in the dark? And who doesn’t?

Dance performance
After the walk, artist Liina Magnea presents a dance performance. She is dressed as a police officer. The dance performance explores power and control. The artist demonstrates what happens when people with a lot of power suddenly feel small and powerless. The artist quickly shifts her role: sometimes she is strong, sometimes she is violent, sometimes helpless, and sometimes funny.