From September 11-15, art becomes the lifeblood of Berlin: paint pigment flows through its gutters and scraps of bubble wrap litter its streets like autumn leaves. This year’s edition celebrates long-term Berlin residents, with a raft of solo exhibitions for female artists, including Tracey Snelling at Haus am Lützowplatz and Göksu Kunak at Sophiensæle. This week, with so much going on around the city, there’s nothing for it but to hit the streets, see everything and gorge yourself on the rich array of exhibitions and performances.
After Images – Group Show
Having always championed media- and film-based work, Julia Stoschek Foundation is making a dramatic shift by embracing multi-sensory work and haptic experiences. Look out for the volatile hanging photograms of Lotus L. Kang that bruise like human skin. Just get there early, it gets busy.
- Julia Stoschek Foundation, Leipziger Str. 60, Mitte, details.
- Sep 12-15 / Opens Sep 11 (18:00-22:00)
How We Live – Tracey Snelling
Built as an intricate residential house, Haus am Lützowplatz is the ideal location for US-born artist Tracey Snelling’s intimate investigations into architecture and urban space. Despite its focus on construction, the artist never loses sight of the individual, providing profound insights into the human condition.
- Haus am Lützowplatz, Lützowpl. 9, Tiergarten, details.
- Sep 12-15 / Opens Sep 11 (19:00-21:00)
Gallery Night
Gallery openings are staggered throughout the week, but on September 13 Berlin’s big galleries will be open till late as part of this new Gallery Weekend initiative. We’re most excited by the sculptor and video maker Paul Pfeiffer at carlier | gebauer gallery and Ella Littwitz at alexander levy gallery. But honestly, there’s so much, and so much will be good.
- Galleries across Berlin, details.
- Sep 13 (18:00-22:00)
THEATER
Once the headquarters of the Luftwaffe, and later the US Army, Fluentum is steeped in history, having even served as a set for Hollywood blockbusters like Valkyrie and Inglorious Basterds. For Berlin Art Week, the space will be premiering the new film work Theater by the thrillingly mercurial Berlin-based US-born duo Calla Henkel and Max Pitegoff.
- Fluentum, Clayallee 174, Dahlem, details.
- Sep 12-15, 11:00-18:00 / Opens Sep 11 (18:00-22:00)
Göksu Kunak: INNOCENCE
There’s a lot of buzz around Berlin-based artist Göksu Kunak’s new opera inspired by a notorious traffic accident that took place in her native Turkey in the 1990s. It promises to be a captivating exploration of the connections between state institutions and organised crime.
- Sophiensæle, Sophienstr. 18, Mitte, details.
- Sep 11-14 (20:00
Perform!
Last year’s performance festival at Neue Nationalgalerie stole the show with a range of historic and contemporary showcases including Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece. Apart from Yvonne Rainer’s Trio A, a work that kickstarted postmodern dance, they’ve remaining tip-lipped about what’s on, but it’s definitely going to be worth adding Perform! to your schedule.
- Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Str. 50, Tiergarten, details.
- Sep 11, 13-15, 10:00-18:00 / Sep 12, 10:00-20:00
Forgive Us Our Trespasses. Of (Un)Real Frontiers, Of (Im)Moralities and Other Transcendences
As part of the new exhibition Forgive Us Our Trespasses, which explores transgressive acts as a way to challenge institutionalised prejudices, there will be a special concert by German hip hop icons BSMG, featuring Megaloh and Musa.
- Haus der Kulturen der Welt, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, Tiergarten, details.
- Sep 14-15, 12:00-19:00 / Opens Sep 13 (18:00)
Die 9. Sinfonie und die Dichte des Waldes
Something is happening in Weißensee, and that’s mainly down to this ambitious new project space. Neue Kelche doesn’t shy away from tackling difficult themes, and it’ll be well worth the trek to see the visual and musical collaboration of Theresa Weber and Nathanael Amadou Kliebhan as they explore Afro-German history and “white-passing”.
- Neun Kelche, Pasedagpl. 3-4, Weißensee, details.
- Sep 14 (17:00)
Dystopia Wetlands
With her ability to merge brutal textures with ethereal soundscapes (she sounds a bit like Björk), don’t miss the committed, whole-hearted performance of artist and singer Livia Rita at the former department store on Karl-Marx-Straße.
- Spoiler at Cank, Karl-Marx-Str. 95, Neukölln, details.
- Sep 13, 19:00-23:00 / Sep 14-15 (15:00-19:00)
