by Judith Vallette // Aug. 7, 2020
In a positive turn of events, Berlin Art Week 2020 will take place once again this year, despite closures across the city this spring. Launched in 2012, the week-long programme will coalesce gallery openings, award ceremonies and other special events, fostering collaborations between galleries, artists, collectors, project spaces, institutions and, of course, the public—kicking off a bustling new art season, running from September 9th to 13th. Here, the organizers highlight their curated program of events and exhibitions at well-loved venues, as well as new locations, as aiding a cultural restart, taking lessons learned from this period of darkness into a more positive and bright future. In respect and care for everyone’s health and safety, there will also be an online platform with talks, sneak peeks and videos that broaden the accessibility of Berlin Art Week.
Marc Bauer: ‘Z1,’ 1936, 2013, 213×303 cm // Courtesy of Marc Bauer and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Photo: Studio Marc Bauer
One event during Berlin Art Week is the solo exhibition of the GASAG Art Prize–winner Marc Bauer, whose large murals will be on view at Berlinische Galerie. Bauer specializes in topics of migration, gender and identity. Meanwhile, Kindl Centre for Contemporary Art will debut a set of four exhibitions including sound, sculpture and video pieces on a variety of salient topics and themes, such as South African performance artist Lerato Shadi’s work, which centralizes marginalized bodies.
London-based artist Felicity Hammond will also open her solo show ‘Remains in Development’ at C/O Berlin, and the group exhibition ‘Readings From Below’ at Times Art Center will explore how artists engage us in new readings of our complex present by making use of the virtual potentials of archives. The latter is to feature works by Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Elom 20ce & Musquiqui Chihying & Gregor Kasper, Hao Jingban, Christine Sun Kim & Thomas Mader, Nguyen Trinh Thi, Yuichiro Tamura and Yau Ching.
Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader: ‘Palm Reader,’ 2020, digital drawing // © Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader
‘Wir (alle) sind das Volk’ (2003/2017) by Hans Haacke, a conceptual piece in public space, ties the history of East German demonstrators into a modern context to demonstrate the solidarity of migrants and refugees. During Berlin Art Week, the work will be realized on the façades of the city’s public institutions, such as Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), n.b.k. and more, in the form of posters and banners. HKW will also open the exhibition ‘Errata’, with a video installation by collective New Red Order, studies by Pauline Curnier Jardin and an archival intervention by Ariella Azoulay, among other works, seeking to provide a new perspective on the European and American history of imperialism and migration, on heathen-catholic rituals and indigenous spirituality.
Lerato Shadi: ‘Selogilwe,’ 2010, one-channel video, 7 hours and 3 min., film still // Courtesy Lerato Shadi
In addition to its events and exhibitions, Berlin Art Week has also launched its own journal, which will feature interviews, photo spreads, essays and features that are closely interwoven with the overarching programme, including spotlights and interviews with artists and curators such as Felicity Hammond, Vivian Suter, Nadim Samman, Gintersdorfer/Klaßen, Jeremy Shaw, Anne Schwanz and Kathrin Becker. Stay tuned for more forthcoming details on programming, as well as a Hit List of exhibitions and other events not to miss.
Event Info
Berlin Art Week
Event: Sept. 9–13, 2020
Various Venues, click here for list
Felicity Hammond: ‘Capital Growth,’ 2015, Vinyl Print, 262×445 cm // Courtesy of the artist
