The Next Day Berlin: Berlin Art Week 2024
Berlin Art Week 2024 Special Guide by Tamara Ganem
This week marks the beginning of this year's most important art event in the city: Berlin Art Week. With more than 30 exhibition openings, galleries opening their doors until 10 pm on Friday, and a diverse program of activities, it’s hard to choose where to begin. Here's a quick guide to some of my highlights:
BAW Garten
Opening Wednesday, 11.09, 12 pm. Videoart at Midnight: 11-15.09, 8:30 - 9:30 pm. Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstrasse 7, 10963 Berlin. Free admission.
This year, Berlin Art Week’s festival center, BAW Garten, will take place at Gropius Bau, offering free admission and a five-day open-air program. Visitors can enjoy workshops, dance sessions, performances, talks, films at the outdoor cinema, and DJ sets. The festival center is a great starting point for planning your route, with information on tours and activities around the city.
A highlight to look out for is the Open Air Kino, in collaboration with my favorite video project of the city: Videoart at Midnight, which will showcase select video works exploring themes of community, identity, and the future.
Rirkrit Tiravanija at Gropius Bau
Opening exhibition: 11.09, 7 pm; Thaipark Cooking Session Performance, 8 pm. Free admission on Wednesday. Opening Hours Berlin Art Week: Wed, Thu, Fri 12:00–22:00; Sat, Sun 11:00–12:00. Tickets: 9 / reduced € 6.
To celebrate hosting the BAW Garten, Gropius Bau will open a major new exhibition by Rirkrit Tiravanija, titled "Das Glück Ist Nicht Immer Lustig" - Happiness is Not Always Fun. Known for expanding the concept of art through social interactions, Tiravanija's work tackles political and cultural themes related to Germany and migration. This exhibition includes works on paper, sculptures, photographs, and rarely seen films. The exhibition runs until January, but I wouldn’t miss an activation happening this week—a Pad Thai cooking session, a live and interactive performance that promises to be both delicious and thought-provoking. Be sure to arrive early, as it's first come, first served:
7:30 pm | Artist Talk with Rirkrit Tiravanija
8:00 pm | Thaipark Cooking Session
9:00 pm | DJ set by Phuong-Dan
The "Thaipark Cooking Demonstration" takes place everyday during the Berlin Art Week at 1 pm. The artist Rirkrit Tiravanija invites the chefs of the popular food market and community meeting place in Berlin-Wilmersdorf Thai Park Street Market in Berlin to share their favorite dishes and concerns with visitors.
KINDL Center for Contemporary Art
Opening on Saturday, 14.09, 6 - 9 pm. Sunday: 12 - 6 pm. Am Sudhaus 3, Berlin.
KINDL reopens after the summer break with four major exhibitions. I'm particularly excited about two of them. The first is a solo exhibition by one of Africa's most renowned photographic artists, Samuel Fosso, known for his powerful self-portraits. The second is Alfredo Jaar's site-specific installation in the Kesselhaus space at KINDL, the result of five years of research into the ecological and political crises facing our planet. It is a must-see.
PalaisPopulaire: Rohini Devasher
Opening on Wednesday, 11.09, 6 - 9 pm. Free admission. Artista Talk: 14.09, 5 - 6 pm; 15.09 - 4 - 5 pm. Ticket: 5€. Unter den Linden 5, 10117 Berlin
PalaisPopulaire will open an exhibition by the "Artist of the Year" award winner for 2024: the Indian artist Rohini Devasher. She presents her first solo exhibition in Germany, titled "Borrowed Light." This science-driven exhibition examines the role of light in astronomy and explores invisible phenomena such as dark matter. The central piece is a four-channel film, "One Hundred Thousand Suns", which draws from over 100,000 solar images taken by India’s Kodaikanal Observatory across 120 years to delve into the relationship between celestial events and human history.
Positions Berlin Art Fair
Opening: Thursday, 12.09, 6 - 9 pm. Fri, 13.09, 2 - 8 pm; Sat, 14.09, 11 am - 7 pm. Sun, 15.09, 11 am - 6 pm. Tempelhof Airport Hangar 6-7
The Positions Berlin Art Fair is a must for art market enthusiasts. This year, it features 111 galleries from 24 countries, with a particular focus on South Korean galleries. Another chance to check some artworks from art galleries is the Hallen 05 event at Wilhelm Hallen (from 11 until September, 15th, 11 - 8 pm). Spanning over 9,000 m², it is a show that includes national and international galleries, art collections, and institutions like the Berlinische Galerie.
Schinkel Pavilion: Sigmar Polke
Opening: Wednesday, 11.09, 6 - 10 pm. Free admission. Thu-Sun, 12-15.09, 11 am - 7 pm. Ticket: 6€ (only cash).
The Schinkel Pavilion will showcase a significant exhibition by one of Germany's most important artists, Sigmar Polke, showcasing artworks from the 1960s to the 2000s. Known for his commentary on war, militarization, and the power of media images, Polke's work remains as relevant as ever today.
Julia Stoschek Foundation: AFTER IMAGES
Opening: Wednesday, 11.09, 6 - 10 pm. After party with Âme at Georgia Bar: 11.09 - 12 am - late. Until 15.09, 12 - 6 pm. Leipziger Straße 60, Eingang über / Entrance via Jerusalemer Straße, 10117 Berlin. Ticket: 5/10€.
The AFTER IMAGES exhibition at the Julia Stoschek Foundation includes over 30 works, expanding the concept of image-based practices like film and video to include kinetic sculptures, sound and light installations, and olfactory interventions. The exhibition encourages visitors to engage with images not just visually, but through all their senses.
One highlight is "The Word for Desire", by Laurel Halo, a sound installation featuring a solo piano improvisation, complemented by cello, violin, and electronics.
The after-party will be on 11.09
Performance Highlights
For performance art lovers, there are two standout options:
INNOCENCE by Göksu Kunak
Wed-Sat, 11-14.09, 8 pm. Sophiensaele, Sophienstrasse 18, Mitte, 10178 Berlin. Tickets: 5/15€.
Last year’s Berlin Art Week opened with a performance by artist Göksu Kunak. Now, there’s a lot of buzz around her new opera INNOCENCE, based on a notorious 1990s traffic accident in Turkey, exploring the intersection of state institutions and organized crime. Hurry up and get your ticket!
›Trio A‹ by Yvonne Rainer
Wed-Sun, 11-15.09, hourly performances between 3 and 5 pm. Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Str. 50, 10785 Berlin. Free admission.
In the past two years, the Neue Nationalgalerie has organized the Performance Festival for Berlin Art Week: PERFORM! This year presents Yvonne Rainer’s TRIO A, a minimalist dance piece performed several times a day. This performance is an iconic work by Rainer, who transferred the ideas of Minimal Art to dance in the 1960s. This a must-see event.
Sound Art
If sound is more your thing, two events stand out:
The Extended Spaces—Resonant Bodies: Alvin Lucier
Opening: Wednesday, 11.09, 6 pm. From 12 until 22.09, 2 - 8 pm. Prinzenstrasse 84.2, Berlin. Free admission.
The festival celebrates the legacy of composer Alvin Lucier with eight sound installations, eleven concerts, and a two-day symposium running across multiple venues in Berlin. With over 20 national and international artists participating, including those familiar with Lucier's work and others engaging with it for the first time.
Naama Tsabar: Estuaries (Concert & Performance)
Thu, 12.09, 8:30 - 9 pm; and 9:30 - 10 pm. Sat, 14.09, 7 - 7:30 pm; 8 - 8:30 pm; and 9 - 9:30 pm. Hamburger Bahnhof, Invalidenstrasse 50, 10557 Berlin. Ticket: 10€.
Naama Tsabar’s solo exhibition "Estuaries" at Hamburger Bahnhof consists of concerts that offer a dynamic experience that will be activated through music, singing, and movement. The compositions, created beforehand, find their final choreography through experimentation and playing the works in the exhibition space.
Editors' Picks: The Next Day Berlin Top Picks
If you enjoy visiting private collections, here’s a list of collectors who are opening their collections to the public this Saturday night.
In addition to Tamara's tips, we also recommend the following exhibitions:
Gisèle Vienne - This Causes Consciousness to Fracture – A Puppet Play
Wednesday, 11.09, 7 - 10 pm. 12-14-15.09, 11 am - 6 pm. 13.09, 11 am - 8 pm. Exhibition until 12.01.2025. Haus am Waldsee, Argentinische Allee, 30, 14163 Berlin. Ticket: 5/8€.
Gisèle Vienne’s exhibition showcases her unique exploration of adolescence, counterculture, and childhood fears using puppets, masks, and mixed media, blending theatre and visual art. The program extends to the Georg Kolbe Museum and includes a film screening and artist talk “Gisèle Vienne with Florentina Holzinger” at Sophiensæle.
Sarah Ancelle Schönfeld: Labor Lab
Wednesday, 11.09, 6 - 10 pm. 12-13.09, 1 - 7 pm; 14-15.09, 11 am - 7 pm. Schering Stiftung, Unter den Linden 32—34, 10117 Berlin. Free admission.
Sarah Ancelle Schönfeld’s solo exhibition features an experimental photo series using hormones, breast milk, and other substances on film negatives to explore themes of female reproduction and control mechanisms through striking visual forms.
50 Für Bad
Wednesday, 11.09, 6 - 9 pm. 12.09, 12 - 5 pm; 13-15.09, 12 - 8 pm. Fluss Bad Berlin at Bauakademie, Schinkelplatz 1, 10117 Berlin. Free admission.
"50 Für Bad Berlin" will present works by mostly Berlin-based artists and architects who show solidarity with the objectives of the Fluss Bad Berlin project and the team behind it. The artists and architects involved in the exhibition include Rosa Barba, Elmgreen Dragset, Simon Fujiwara, Katharina Grosse, Raumlabor, Shirin Sabahi, Karin Sander, Wolfgang Tillmans, Haegue Yang, and others.
Pier Paolo Pasolini. Porcili
Wednesday 11.09 6 pm. Until 10.11Tue–Sun 12–6 pm, Thu 12–6 pm Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) Chausseestrasse 128 / 129 10115 Berlin. Free Admission.
The exhibition Pier Paolo Pasolini. Porcili at explores the “corpo” (body) of Pasolini through a rich array of original materials, including photographs, films, newspapers, books, and film costumes. It traces his work and ideas, highlighting the visionary life and career of the director, poet, and thinker.
Lydia Lunch. Sounds: Connecting Sound and Space
Thursday, 12.09, 6 - 7 pm. Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum Garden. Free admission.
Lydia Lunch performs live at Marianna Simnett’s “WINNER” exhibition, merging punk vocals with dance and football themes.
Candida Höfer - Käthe Kollwitz Prize 2024
Friday 13.09 6 pm. Until 24.11 Tue – Fri 2 – 7 pm, Sat, Sun 11 am – 7 pm. Akademie der Künste Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin. Tickets: 10€
Candida Höfer’s oeuvre has developed over five decades and is part of today’s photographic avant-garde. Her large-format works depict public and semi-public spaces like historical libraries, archives, storage facilities, palaces, museums, opera houses, zoos, and other buildings – places where people meet and communicate, places of memory and knowledge, relaxation, and recreation.
Ghost Image - curated by Krist Gruijthuijsen
Until 02.11 Tue – Sat 11 am – 6 pm. Galerie Judin, Potsdamer Strasse, 83, 10785 Berlin.
Group exhibition curated by parting KW director Krist Gruijthuijsen. The exhibition Ghost Image takes the example of Hervé Guibert’s intimacy with his mother as a starting point to question the representation of the self beyond the grasp of an image, one that is fueled by the depiction of memory and loss and rendered through the lens of painting.
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