Preview of artspring berlin festival

by Marley Heltai // Apr. 29, 2024

For its eighth iteration, artspring berlin will take place throughout the district of Pankow from May 3rd to June 2nd. The festival will include numerous exhibitions and events that present the many faces of Pankow’s artistic scene. Centrally-located and free of charge, artspring berlin will feature over 300 artists; both established as well as younger, lesser known emerging artists. The district will be transformed into an art festival for the month, with many unconventional participating venues, such as a cottage in a cemetery, the Pankow town hall, a theater, a castle park, and many more. In addition to including a cross-section of visual art media–drawing, painting, video, sculpture and graphics– there will be live performances and a series of events devoted to literature and film.

artspring berlin, 2023 // Photo by Sandra Köpke

This year’s festival is titled ‘Zeige deine W_nde,’ a tribute to Joseph Beuys’ installation ‘Zeige deine Wunde’ (Show Your Wound) and aims to explore the vulnerability of society and the place of the individual against a backdrop characterized by war and growing social polarization. The intentional blank space in the word “w_nde” leaves room for various interpretations such as Wunde, Wende, Wände (wound, transition, walls), which allow for alternate contexts and understandings.

The festival’s core program centers around multiple group exhibitions, which unite local and international artists. Theater unterm Dach presents ‘Junge Szene’ (Young Scene) curated by students of the Weissensee School of Art. At the Park-Klinik Weißensee, ‘Die Komische Linie’ will explore diverse, expressive possibilities of the line. The artspring PopUpStore, which will find its new home at Rathaus-Center Pankow starting in May, will also showcase an exhibition titled ‘Zeige deine W_nde – Wunde/Wende/Wände,’ highlighting Pankow artists.

artspring berlin, 2023 // Photo by Sandra Köpke

In another show, artists who are acutely affected by the ongoing loss of studios in Berlin or who have already lost their workspaces will exhibit their works at the Pankow town hall. The artspring Art Walk in the Bornholm I and II allotment gardens will offer an open air exhibition, showcasing works in both public community gardens and individual plots. In addition, in honour of the 30th anniversary of Pankow’s city partnership with Ashkelon in Israel, an exhibition with artists from Ashkelon combined with a documentary presentation, will take place in the caretaker’s house at the St. Nicolai and St. Marien cemetery.

The artspring Film Festival presents curated film works by Pankow filmmakers over three evenings at the Brotfabrik cinema. artspring’s literature program will also feature several readings by authors at various venues throughout the district. The culminating event of the festival is the Open Studio Weekend (June 1-2, 2024), where visitors will be invited into artists’ workspaces. Against the backdrop of Berlin’s precarious studio situation, the studio visit is a valuable opportunity to engage directly with the creative process and the artists themselves.

artspring berlin, 2023 // Photo by Sandra Köpke

artspring berlin, the only Berlin art festival whose initiators and organizers are all artists themselves, has grown into a vast network whose contacts reach far beyond the borders of Berlin. The focal points of the festival always include topics that are of particular relevance to artistic debate and the art community itself. With several new projects starting from May, including the PopUpStore in the Rathaus-Center Pankow, the artothek berlin in cooperation with the Kurt Tucholsky Library, the art space FUGE in the Heinrich Böll Library and the annual light art festival in winter, artspring berlin also offers an art program in Pankow throughout the year.