September 13–17, 2023
From September 13–17, for the twelfth edition of Berlin Art Week, a line-up of the most renowned museums and art institutions, private collections, prizewinning project spaces, and numerous galleries will be showcasing the diverse Berlin art scene with a wide-ranging festival programme of contemporary art. With its “BAW Garten”, the festival’s centre returns in its third year, offering a variety of workshops and events for all local residents and art lovers to discover and participate. To explore in detail some of the more than 100 locations of Berlin Art Week, a comprehensive selection of guided tours will take you to different “Kieze” (neighbourhoods) across the city.
First programme highlights 2023
This year’s Berlin Art Week programme invites the public to critically engage with interdisciplinary discourses on the social, political, and economic restructuring of contemporary society—the effects of which have already been showing in the art world.
Long gone are the days of traditional exhibition making. Instead, performance series like a special programme at Neue Nationalgalerie or Nina Beier and Bob Kil at Haus am Waldsee, sound installations by Memory Biwa and Robert Machiri at ifa-Galerie Berlin, and video-screenings by Young-jun Tak at Julia Stoschek Foundation are taking centre stage. Meanwhile, projects such as “House of Kal” at neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst Berlin (nGbK), Coco Fusco’s “Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island” at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, or Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s special programme for “O Quilombismo” will leave you questioning the politics of representation altogether. Solo presentations by Emma Talbot and Sven Johne, as well as of Mary Ellen Mark’s photography, Marianna Simnett’s performance art, Kameelah Janan Rasheed’s text-based work or Lin May Saeed’s sculptures will be showcasing the whole range of contemporary art production.
For the first time this year, digitisation, too, will be an integral part of the festival programme. Both, HAU Hebbel am Ufer’s new digital Space HAU4 and Haus am Lützowplatz, host of the VR Kunstpreis and “Digital Art Lab”, will be displaying the innovative use of artificial intelligence in order to create awareness around the significance of virtual reality in the contemporary art scene. A no less significant topic will be the subject of two major collaborative projects: The joint venture of Schinkel Pavillon and Brücke-Museum, as well as a cooperation of daadgalerie, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.), Galerie im Körnerpark and Akademie der Künste, will be examining historical and contemporary reflections of war across time. An undertaking that would have been impossible without a comprehensive digitisation of the institutions’ archives.
Highlighting Berlin’s significant position as an international gallery hub, around 50 Berlin galleries will join a special programme and invite to openings across the city. Simultaneously, Positions Berlin Art Fair will celebrate its 10th edition with a unique mix of established and aspiring talents, while the VBKI-Preis Berliner Galerien will honour up-and-coming gallerists. This year’s independent art scene is going to be represented through the Project Space Award. Lastly, a new “BAW Featured” section will showcase 10 special projects during Berlin Art Week. Watch out for the list of nominees and chosen ones coming this summer.
Festival Centre “BAW Garten”
For the duration of the festival, local residents, art lovers, and those who are simply curious about art can come together at “BAW Garten”. From Wednesday to Sunday, Berlin Art Week’s festival centre will offer a space to exchange, discover, and participate with workshops, performances, and conversations with artists. Spend some time with a drink in hand and enjoy a late summer day while discovering a variety of artistic offerings. BAW Garten also provides information about tours all around town as well as the entire festival programme of Berlin Art Week to help you plan your own journey. Stay tuned for more details on the programme and our tour registration.
Starting in August, you can find the entire Berlin Art Week programme on our website. Until then, sign up for our newsletter or pass the time reading interviews, special insights, and essays on the festival in our online Journal.
Berlin Art Week is a project of Kulturprojekte Berlin. It is made possible with the support of the Senate Department for Culture and Community and the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises. We thank our new main sponsor Berliner Volksbank eG for their generosity.
Press contact
Denise Gamon, d.gamon@kulturprojekte.berlin
