The Next Day: Gallery Weekend Berlin 2025

Special guide by neighborhood

Hi,

I’ve made this special guide with care for The Next Day supporters — thank you for being part of this. ♡

A cozy stroll through Berlin’s contemporary art weekend:

From May 2–4, Berlin invites you to wander through over 50 galleries at your own pace. It’s not a global spectacle — and that’s the point. Gallery Weekend is slow, generous, and full of space to think.

Most shows stay open beyond the weekend, so don’t worry if you’re traveling for May Day or just need more time. Keep this guide handy, it’s made to be used well after the last glass of sekt is poured.

This year’s highlights explore queer and feminist narratives, post-colonial critique, atmospheric abstraction, and the spaces between sculpture, sound, and image. Artists to watch include: Anne Imhof, Frank Auerbach, Marianna Simnett, Olafur Eliasson, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, Roméo Mivekannin, Zuzanna Czebatul, Martha Rosler, and Wim Wenders.

Have a nice holiday!

Lalai

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About the stars:

★ Must-see — exhibitions we highly recommend.

★★ Worth visiting — great shows if you have time.

★★★ Good to see — not essential, but still enjoyable.

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Gallery Weekend Berlin Neighborhood Tours

We’ve created a bike tour with the best gallery order to navigate each neighborhood. So, follow the maps and take your time.

Charlottenburg

🚲 Avg. bike time across neighborhood: ~15 min - 2,8km

Anne Imhof. Romeo (2025) / Oil on canvas. Courtesy Galerie Buchholz

★ Anne Imhof — Cold Hope
Opening: Friday, 02.05, 6–9 pm. Until 21.06. Galerie Buchholz, Fasanenstraße 30, Charlottenburg-Berlin.
New large-scale paintings pushing performance into abstraction, haunted by adolescence and spectral moods.

★ Leilah Babirye — Solo Exhibition
Opening: Friday, 02.05, 6–9 pm. Until 28.06. Galerie Max Hetzler, Goethestraße 2-3 & Bleibtreustraße 15-16, Charlottenburg-Berlin.
Queer Ugandan figures carved in wood and ceramic; spiritual, joyful, defiantly sculptural.

★ Frank Auerbach — Retrospective
Opening: Friday, 02.05, 6–9 pm. Until 28.06. Galerie Michael Werner, Hardenbergstr. 9A, Charlottenburg-Berlin.
A retrospective spanning 60 years of Frank Auerbach’s work, featuring dense, gestural portraits and cityscapes—his first exhibition in Berlin after his passing.

★★ Sylvie Fleury & Angela Bulloch: The Art of Survival/Babydoll Saloon
Opening: Friday, 02.05, 6–9 pm. Until 26.07. Mehdi Chouakri, Fasanenstraße 61
(Entrance Fasanenplatz), Charlottenburg-Berlin.
A playful yet sharp restaging of their iconic 1993 show, mixing pop culture, feminism, and artistic irony, where hedonism meets critique in works spanning three decades.

🍸 Not ready to go home?

• Café Manzini for Berlin's old-school charm and a glass of wine;

• A-Trane for a jazz night (but the tickets are sold out this Friday & Saturday); or

• The Gin Room for gin lovers.

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