With Doreen Mende, Somrak Sila, Valentina Viviani, and others
September 1–7, 2025
On the occasion of the 13th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, curator Zasha Colah and director Axel Wieder have invited a group of international curators and thinkers to prepare the program for the Curators Workshop of the 13th Berlin Biennale. Marking its 10th iteration since 2006, this edition of the Curators Workshop Fugitive Acts: Art and Politics—drawing on Colah’s concept for this Biennale and its thematic areas—addresses pressing questions about how to place artistic practice at the heart of what we do. Invited participants will have the opportunity to discuss these topics in close collaboration with curators, speakers, Berlin Biennale staff, and invited contributors.
The Curators Workshop Fugitive Acts: Art and Politics considers the place of politics within contemporary exhibition making. Politics have always been part of exhibitions, from the early world and trade exhibitions and their role within the history of colonization, for example, to the fascist, or cold war propaganda shows. With the Western historical avant-gardes, political engagement often became a driving force for artistic innovation, in which exhibitions emerged as a space for critical, subversive discussions. This approach is still crucial as an ambition, defining the value—or “relevance”—of an exhibition. In contrast, with the theme Fugitive Acts: Art and Politics, this Curators Workshop seeks to explore how the format of the exhibition can be considered politically—how curatorial practice can address the exhibition format itself as a political form. This includes the way it places itself within a discussion, its relation to the public, to infrastructure, and towards decisions that happen in advance of an exhibition.
In collaboration with Goethe-Institut, ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, and with the support of 13th Berlin Biennale’s Educational Partner Volkswagen Group, the Berlin Biennale invites a group of fifteen early-career curators, educators, and other practitioners to participate in a seven-day workshop. Ten of the selected curators will be invited from an international call, and five based in Berlin, a structure designed to strengthen local-international connections and increase the project’s impact within the Berlin scene.
Timeline
Applications must be sent by email no later than July 13, 2025. Fifteen will be selected for participation by an international jury. Successful applicants will be informed by the end of July and provided travel and accommodation details as well as additional information about the program. The Curators Workshop of the 13th Berlin Biennale will take place from September 1 to 7, 2025 in Berlin. The exact dates are subject to change.
Selection committee
Axel Wieder (Director, Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art)
Valentina Viviani (Assistant Curator, 13th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art)
Eva Schmitt (Head of Department of Visual Arts, Goethe-Institut)
Dr. Ellen Strittmatter (Head of Visual Arts Department, ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen)
Benita von Maltzahn (Head of Global Cultural Engagement, Volkswagen Group).
You can find more details and information on the application process via the Open Call.
The Berlin Biennale is organized by KUNST-WERKE BERLIN e. V. The Berlin Biennale is funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation). The Kulturstiftung des Bundes is funded by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media).
