Kickstart your Berlin Art Week experience on Wednesday, September 11, when we have an array of openings across the city.
In Mitte, several vernissages at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein will mark the first day of the festival, with “Yoko Ono. Fly”, Pamela Rosenkranz, “Pier Paolo Pasolini. Porcili”, and “Santiago Sierra. Der Zeitgeist”.
A short walk will take you to Fotografiska Berlin, the contemporary photography museum, where five solo exhibitions will immerse us in the works of Eli Cortiñas, Joanna Dudley, Josèfa Ntjam, Lukas Städler, and Andy Warhol. On the night of September 11, Eli Cortiñas and Josèfa Ntjam will give an artist talk on fluid and ecofeminist visions of the future and a critical engagement with technology - a must for those interested in elevated artistic discussions. It will be followed by Justin Kennedy’s authored performance "Sign ov' the Times".
Don’t miss out Sara Ouhaddou’s solo exhibition “Display” at ifa Galerie Berlin on Linienstrasse, where the artist intertwines art and craft to blur the boundaries between classic commissioning and contemporary art. The exhibition will be accompanied by a sound installation by Leila Bencharnia.
Next, head to BQ, where Ruth Nemet with present ”A Ghost Returns”, and continue to Neugerriemschneider on Christinenstraße, where Noa Eshkol’s “textile traces” will take you on a journey through the artist’s wall carpets across the gallery’s three rooms.
At KW Institute for Contemporary Art, two solo exhibitions will open on September 11, including Luiz Roque’s survey of sculptural video installations in “Estufa” and Pia Arke’s “Arctic Hysteria”. Both will be followed by respective solo performances by Sarah Aviaja Hammeken’s “SOIL” and Amina Szecsödy’s “Mean Time” at various times on September 14.
In the East, Capitain Pretzel on Karl-Marx -Allee, will celebrate the freedom associated with this part of the city with the exhibition ‘Le boudoir de l'amour’ by Mikołaj Sobczak, a homage to queer places throughout history.
For the first time, Haus am Waldsee is presenting the work of Gisèle Vienne in Berlin with ‘This Causes Consciousness to Fracture’. Through animated creations, Vienne explores the longings and fears, but also the subversive potential that lie in childhood, both on stage and in her visual practice.
Over the past 11 years, Positions, located at Tempelhof Airport, has established its presence as a collective beacon for international art and fashion. Boasting an industrial vibe and a clean design, this year, the art fair will illuminate six galleries from South Korea that will offer us an intriguing glimpse into the country’s vibrant art scene.
On the same night, the Julia Stoschek Foundation will open with Double Feature by Cypriot artist Theodoulos Polyviou, whose work spans across video, sculpture, archival objects, photography, and prints. In the exhibition, he revisits the historical complexities through the use of digital technologies. Meanwhile, you can catch the group exhibition “After Images” at JSF, which redefines our relationship with contemporary image culture through over 25 works that expand the definition of time-based art.
Another group exhibition you shouldn’t miss out on is “Orangery of Care”, curated by PARA collective at nGbK’s venue. It explores the relationship between plants and humans influenced by (post-)colonial conditions.
On the occasion of Berlin Art Week 2024, Hamburger Bahnhof is showcasing a curated sound festival across various areas of the museum, such as the Garden, the Historic Hall, the Forum, and the newly opened Rieckhallen. Check out the art collection of Hamburger Bahnhof as well as the current exhibitions, featuring artists whose work revolves around music and art. Simultaneously, the museum’s program will be filled with concerts by artist Naama Tsabar and performers in the Kleihueshalle, a performance by Lydia Lunch, icon of the punk/postpunk/no wave scene, and an afternoon with musical works.
In the East, LAS Art Foundation will present Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley’s ‘The Soul Station’ at Halle am Berghain. The exhibition is a deep dive into marginalization through game-based installations and fictional universes.
On Friday, September 13, Gallery Night, organized by Gallery Weekend Berlin as part of Berlin Art Week, will enliven the area between Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg with exciting openings, parties, and performances from more than 50 of the city’s most renowned galleries.
In Mitte, make sure to stop at Eigen + Art, where you can see two solo exhibitions by German artists Eric Meier’s and Kai Schiemenz. Next, head to Kewenig for the opening of “Arcadia” and continue to Galerie Thomas Schulte where two openings will take place: Rebecca Horn’s “Concert of Sighs” and “The World: A Moment in Time” by Allan McCollum. The latter is a revisit of McCollum’s previous installation “Each and Every One of You” (2004) and features 1200 framed digital prints, each containing a different given name. Another must-see event in Mitte is Edith Dekyndt’s exhibition at Konrad Fischer Galerie, as well as Gajin Fujita’s work at Buchmann Galerie. To finish off your Gallery Night in Mitte, head to Galerie Nordenhake to see Iñaki Bonillas; “Horizons of the Possible”. The artist uses archival material for this conceptual investigation of photography and cinema.
On Potsdamer Straße, make sure to visit Barbara Wein for Cudelice Brazelton IV’s “The Attic Is Full”, where the artist has created experimental objects that give a nod to baroqueness. At Hua International, “Dizzying Effect”, a group exhibition by two Asian art collectives, CFGNY and Green Go Home, explores the profound impact of globalization on artistic expression. Another must-see group exhibition is “Ghost Image” at Galerie Judin, a tribute to parting KW director and curator Krist Gruijthuijsen.
In Charlottenburg, Crone Berlin will present “Christoph Schlingensief | Deutschlandsuche (Searching for Germany)”. The exhibition consists of a wide range of film and video works, photographs, objects, manuscripts, and materials from Schlingensief's work. At Galerie Buchholz, we will witness the 12th solo exhibition of Richard Hawkins, featuring a survey of his work that encompasses his earliest polaroid collages from the late eighties, his iconic inkjet prints from the mid-nineties, and his haunted house sculptures from 2010, along with a group of his newest videos shown at Galerie Bucholz for the first time. Next, head to Meyer Riegger for Caroline Bachmann’s “Le Rhin”, a depiction of the Rhine in round frames.
Finish off your Friday art journey with Neun Kelche, a project space in Weißensee that represents FLINTA* artists. There, you can see Theresa Weber’s exhibition “Alle Menschen werden Brüder”. The title is borrowed from the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and aims to shed light on the invisibility of Afro-German history by exploring the theory that Beethoven might have had African heritage.
For the remainder of the weekend, check out any galleries you may have missed during their openings, and be sure to soak up as much creativity as possible during this emblematic art festival in Berlin.
