Looking for the best things to do in Berlin this week? Check out our daily picks! We’ve hand-selected the city’s top events, from concerts and exhibitions to pop-up events, from festivals to neighbourhood meetups and cultural experiences. Whether you’re searching for something to do today or planning for the week ahead, you’ll find plenty of inspiration. Check back every week for the latest updates, as we regularly refresh our guide with the best events happening across Berlin.
THU JUL 09
Heroines of Sound Festival
Founded in 2014 by Bettina Wackernagel, Heroines of Sound brings FLINTA* voices to the forefront of Berlin’s summer festival scene. Expect a weekend of contemporary music, performance art and experimental sounds from their boundary-bending programme.
- Radialsystem, Jul 9-11, details
FRI JUL 10
The Dark Room: Veins Exhibition
Evoking that unmatched feeling of going to see a film with a twist, this exhibition is a dark journey through an abandoned cinema. Let the sequenced strobe lights and a familiar feeing of childlike awe guide you through this one-of-a-kind light installation as you meander through neat rows of unused seats and unlit silver screens.
- Secret location, through Jul 26, details
SAT JUL 11
A World of Our Own Festival
Brace yourself for a weekend of intense screaming, energy, thrash guitars and tight jeans. Berlin’s DIY emo festival is an opportunity to release your inhibitions and feel the bass on your skin (no one else can do it for you). Berlin screamo legends soastasphrenas perform alongside Portuguese hard-punk act Hetta, German post-hardcore act Jota, Vibora and Cassus, among others. For a few nights of emo-driven, head-banging, beer-swilling partying, grab yourself a festival ticket – along with some hearing protection.
- Neue Zukunft, starts 17:00, details
SUN JUL 12
Kiketi Festival
Bringing the forests of Tbilisi to the gardens of Berlin, the Kiketi festival is a cultural exchange through taste sound and all things Georgian. The relaxed summer fest with DJ’s, wine tastings and Georgian cuisine will be hosted in ŒL & ÆDEN gardens.
- ŒL & ÆDEN gardens, 15:00, details
MON JUL 13
Salsa Mondays
If you’re looking to pop your Latin dance cherry in style, then the salsa classes at Clärchens is the perfect place to practice some fancy footwork. This early-20th-century ballroom is a historic, atmospheric and popular destination for salseros and salseras alike. They also offer tango classes every Wednesday.
- Clärchens Ballhaus, starts 19:00, details
TUE JUL 14
Writing Mingle
One Tuesday every month, She Said bookshop hosts a writing meetup for TIN* (folx who identify as trans, inter or nonbinary*) and BIPOC writers. The meetup is a time for writers to come together and workshop their work in a supportive environment. No sign-ups necessary, and writers of any language are welcome, although discussion has been primarily in English, German and French during past events.
- She Said, 20:00, details
WED JUL 14
Cihan Çakmak: breaking is reflection
Cihan Çakmak works through questions of identity, patriarchy, intimacy, emancipation and gender in her solo exhibiton at EIGEN + ART. Addressing bias and psychological wounds, her photography traces the tensions between familial expectation and self-discovery.
- EIGEN + ART, though August 22, details
THU JUL 15
Susan Finlay Book Launch
Spike art maagzine are hosting the book launch for Berlin-based author Susan Finlay’s new novel, The Ultraviolet Catastrophe, out on Zer0 Books. The sci-fi novel is set in Berlin’s 80+ outer-space start-ups and brings hyperbolic extensions of Berlin’s socio-cultural landscape into collision with each other: Astro-Marxists, a neurorobotic AI hivemind and ravers and gamers in search of the ultimate hallucinogenic, carcinogenic, neu-space-age high are just a few gems hidden between the pages. The launch will include readings and performances by Zack Darsee, Tracy Fuad, Nina Hanz, Gabriella Hirst, An Paenhuysen and Hilary White.
- Spike Berlin, 19:00, details
FRI JUL 17
36 Jahre Schokoladen Hoffest
Celebrating 36 years of independence, punk rock, art and great music, Mitte’s best venue for underground music throws its annual backyard event once more. Located just off Torstraße, Schokoladen plays host to two long nights of Berlin’s best bands and DJs. This year’s event features hardcore band Tremore, punk-rock band Lottalärm, electro group Menstruationsmassaker and Brazilian act Malmequer, among other acts still to be announced. The donation-based event is a showcase of all that’s good in Berlin, with great food and the cheapest beer you can find in the city centre.
- Schokoladen, Jul 17-18, details
SAT JUL 18
Cool Kids Menu
Cool Kids Menu is truly for the cool kids. This indie music festival hosts some great acts, like Agatha is Dead!, the Berlin nu-punk group pinkpool and the synth-pop/post-punk artist Carlo Karacho). It’s also held in Greifswalder DIY, one of Berlin’s skateparks, and the audience stands inside the bowl and looks up to see the performing acts. How cool (kids) is that?!
- Greifswalder DIY, 11:00, details
SUN JUL 19
Open Days at UdK
All four faculties of UdK – fine arts, design, music and performing arts – as well as the Berlin Career College open their doors to the public at the end of the summer semester, allowing everyone to get to know young Berlin artists and their works.
- UdK, Jul 17-19, details
For more of our pick for the weekend, check out our Weekend Guide.
