exhibition cycles

Exhibition Opening Tomorrow | Elshan Ghasimi live (June 14 & 20, Berlin)

Dear friends,

June brings a dense sequence of remarkable encounters – musical, artistic, and intellectual. Two concerts by Elshan Ghasimi invite us into very different spaces: a hidden summer garden in the heart of Neukölln, and the cool vastness of KulturKirche Nikodemus. And already tomorrow evening: a reminder of the exhibition opening At the Threshold : Exile at Kommunale Galerie Charlottenburg.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there.

I. Two Berlin Concerts by Elshan Ghasimi

June 14, 2025, 8:00 PM
Gärtnerhaus
Richardstraße 34, 12043 Berlin-Neukölln
With percussionist Joss Turnbull
Followed by a garden gathering
→ Reservations via Carlo: +49 173 84 17 451 (donation-based)

Poster “Tasneef – Elshan Ghasimi” 2025 with the musician and tar in front of a brick wall, red lettering

©Madeleine Brunnmeier_Bild ©Morgan_Gestaltung

June 20, 2025, 7:00 PM
KulturKirche Nikodemus
Nansenstraße 12, 12047 Berlin

The fourth and final evening of the series
TASNEEF – Old Songs, New Life

The Persian musical tradition is steeped in history and intimately intertwined with poetry, philosophy, and collective memory. Tasneef (lit. “song”) refers to a genre within classical Persian art music – neither popular (Taraneh) nor political (Soroud), but a contemplative dialogue between verse and sound.
Elshan Ghasimi brings this form into the present: blending traditional modes with elements of pop and folk music, she gives them a contemporary voice.

→ All upcoming concerts: elshanghasimi.com

 

II. Reminder: TOMORROW EVENING – Exhibition Opening

At the Threshold : Exile

Exhibition: June 12 – September 7, 2025
Opening: Wednesday, June 11, 2025, 6:00 PM
Kommunale Galerie Berlin
Hohenzollerndamm 176, 10713 Berlin

Curated by Eleonora Frolov
With works by Sergey Bratkov, Ben Greber, and Atalya Laufer
→ Exhibition Info

 

Warm regards,
Julian Malte Hatem Schindele

Workshop wird gefördert von:

Logo of the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion
Posted by Joseph in News

“An der Schwelle: Exil” Invitation to the exhibition opening

Sergey Bratkov, LOST, 2022: a dark, blurred black-and-white image

© Sergey Bratkov, LOST, 2022

Dear Readers and Friends of the Arts,

We warmly invite you to the opening of the exhibition At the Threshold: Exile on Wednesday, 11 June 2025, at 6 PM at Kommunale Galerie Berlin.

Curated by Eleonora Frolov, the exhibition explores the existential condition of exile as a radical rupture and a forced new beginning. It sheds light on the state of being in-between – between loss and renewal, past and an uncertain future.

The exhibition features works by Sergey Bratkov, Ben Greber, and Atalya Laufer, who engage with themes of flight and foreignness, inner fragmentation, loss of identity, transgenerational trauma, and artistic practice in this transitional state. In each work, the threshold emerges as a central motif – a site of remembrance, reflection, and transmission to the next generation.

Sergey Bratkov and Ben Greber – whose works were previously presented in the Bublitz exhibition NEW MEMORIES – El Arbi Bouqdib Archive – explore historical and personal traces and causes of exile in their contributions to this show.

At the opening on 11 June at 6 PM, you will be welcomed by Heike Schmitt-Schmelz, District Councillor for Education, Culture and Social Affairs, and Norbert Wiesneth of Kommunale Galerie Berlin. Curator Eleonora Frolov will provide an introduction to the exhibition. Read more: click here

Invitation: download
Press release: download

Atalya Laufer, EXODUS (detail), 2024: handwritten text on pale fabric

© Atalya Laufer, EXODUS (Detail) 2024

As part of the accompanying programme, we invite you to a guided exhibition tour with the curator and participating artists on 2 July at 5:30 PM.

On 3 September at 5:00 PM, we will present the films Infinite War and EXILE, which offer further perspectives on states of transition and threshold experiences.

A special highlight is the two-week summer workshop Create Your City of the Future!, taking place from 28 July to 8 August 2025, for children and young people aged 10 to 14. In cooperation with Bublitz and under the artistic direction of Grigori Dor and Eleonora Frolov, participants will develop their own visions of a liveable, community-oriented, and environmentally friendly future city.

The project begins with visits to Futurium and the exhibition At the Threshold: Exile, where participants will engage with questions of arrival and adaptation in new environments. They will then translate their ideas into artistic works – using colour, form, and imagination. The results will be presented on 8 August 2025, in a final exhibition at the Atelier of Kommunale Galerie Berlin.

Register via: junges-engagement@tjfbg.de
More information: https://www.kommunalegalerie-berlin.de/atelier/sommerferienworkshop
Workshop partners: Kommunale Galerie Berlin, Junges Engagement, Bublitz, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung / Programm Kultur macht stark – Bündnisse für Bildung des BBK Bundesverbands Wir können Kunst

We look forward to welcoming you, to your participation – and to a shared exchange at the threshold.

Warm regards,
Eleonora Frolov & Julian Malte Hatem Schindele

Future City, AI-generated by Arne Ahlert: a colourful collage with high-rises, airships and a large sun

© Stadt der Zukunft KI generiert bei Arne Ahlert/ Future City AI generated by Arne Ahlert

Workshop supported by:

Logo of the Kommunale Galerie Berlin
Bublitz logo with emblem and lettering
Logos of the funders: BBK “Wir können Kunst”, “Kultur macht stark” and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Logo “Junges Engagement – Freiwilligenagentur Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf”
Posted by Joseph in News

FINISSAGE „NEUE ERINNERUNGEN“ | 5. October 2024, 5 – 9 PM

Neue Erinnerungen: an exhibition in an old hall with peeling walls, arched windows and metal frames

Dear friends,

We, the artists and curators of the ‘New Memory’ exhibition, are delighted to invite you to the finissage and joint closing party.

On Saturday, the 5th of October, we would like to celebrate this special occasion with you. The event will commence at 5 PM with a relaxed reception where we will serve refreshing drinks, during which you will have an excellent opportunity for lively discussions and encounters in a pleasant atmosphere. At 6 PM, we will have a final, exclusive guided tour of the exhibition, allowing us to reflect together on the many moving moments and works of art that have made this exhibition an unforgettable experience.

Following the tour, we would like to round off the evening with you in a festive atmosphere and toast the success of this special experimental arrangement. It was a fantastic project that inspired and connected us all - and we look forward to celebrating this together.

You can find the detailed documentation of the exhibition here.

With anticipation and best regards,
Eleonora Frolov & JMH Schindele

 

Finissage of the exhibition "New Memories (El Arbi Bouqdib Archive)"
On Sunday, the 5th of October, 2024 | 6 - 10 PM
Book a free ticket here

Neue Erinnerungen: red glass objects and a red frame on a white shelf in front of a tiled wall

„Mr. & Mrs. Bouqdib“ Ben Greber 2024

How to find us

Please note that the exhibition and performance venue Pumpwerk Berlin (am Pumpwerk 4, 12524 Berlin) is in Grünau. The journey from Alexanderplatz takes around 55 minutes. We therefore recommend that you allow sufficient time for this.

NEW MEMORIES
EL ARBI BOUQDIB ARCHIVE

Artists: Sergey Bratkov, Elshan Ghasimi, Ben Greber, Markus Hoffmann, Michal Martychowiec, Patrick Panetta, Max Schaffer, Stark & Shakupa

 

Curated by Eleonora Frolov and JMH Schindele
Concept and initiative: JMH Schindele

 

Runtime: 18. August – 5. October 2024, Saturday and Sunday, 3 - 8 PM
Address: Pumpwerk Berlin, Am Pumpwerk 4, 12524 Berlin

Neue Erinnerungen, key visual: portrait of a young man in sunglasses over a grid with lines, Arabic script and the date 22.5.86

Key Visual

© Photos: Stefan Haehnel
© Photo: El Arbi Bouqdib Archive, Design Masoud Morgan

Supported by:

Logo “Bild Kunst Kulturwerk”
Logo “Berlin – Bezirksamt Treptow-Köpenick” with the Berlin bear
Posted by Joseph in News

Invitiation guided tour and talk with Ben Greber | 21.9.

Neue Erinnerungen, opening: three people giving a speech in front of a tiled wall with green diamond patterns

Curators Eleonora Frolov and JMH Schindele with Adam Bouqdib, Pumpwerk 2024

Dear art enthusiasts,

We cordially invite you to the artist talk with sculptor Ben Greber and a curators' tour of the current exhibition "New Memories – El Arbi Bouqdib Archive" with Eleonora Frolov and JMH Schindele on Saturday, 21 September 2024, at 4 PM, as well as to the closing event on 5 October.

Sculptor Ben Greber specializes in exploring the relationship between industrial and sacred objects. His works often combine relics and everyday objects, which he transforms into "memory machines" to address digitalization and alienation in modern society. Greber frequently selects subtle, inconspicuous materials to question the invisibility of many societal processes. He is known for his sculptural works that blend industrial forms with the aesthetics of the sacred. Greber has exhibited at prestigious institutions such as the Marta Museum in Herford, the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum in Ludwigshafen, and Konschthal in Esch.

For "New Memories", Ben Greber's work "Mr. & Mrs. Bouqdib" focuses on the relationship between the unequal pair El Arbi and Maggie Bouqdib. Greber has selected objects from the archive representing both of them, which he has combined into an impressive new memory.

The EBA (El Arbi Bouqdib Archive) is a unique autopoietic archive and a multi-author project. Nine artists are creating new works from the estate of Moroccan mathematician, poet, cyberpunk, and Quran scholar El Arbi Bouqdib, which serve as "New Memories" of this mysterious hermetic figure.

We look forward to your participation and a stimulating exchange with Ben Greber about his artistic engagement with the Bouqdib Archive.

Curator-guided tour and artist talk with sculptor Ben Greber
on Sunday, 24 August 2024 and on Saturday, 21 September 2024, at 4 PM
Book a free ticket here

Finissage of the exhibition "New Memories (El Arbi Bouqdib Archive)"
On Sunday, 5 October, 2024 | 6 - 10 PM
Book a free ticket here

 

Best regards,
Eleonora Frolov and JMH Schindele

 

How to find us

Please note that the exhibition and performance venue Pumpwerk Berlin (am Pumpwerk 4, 12524 Berlin) is in Grünau. The journey from Alexanderplatz takes around 55 minutes. We therefore recommend that you allow sufficient time for this.

Ben Greber, “Mr. & Mrs. Bouqdib”, 2024: three orange glass plates on a shelf in front of a tiled wall

„Mr. & Mrs. Bouqdib“ Ben Greber 2024

NEW MEMORIES
EL ARBI BOUQDIB ARCHIVE

Artists: Sergey Bratkov, Elshan Ghasimi, Ben Greber, Markus Hoffmann, Michal Martychowiec, Patrick Panetta, Max Schaffer, Stark & Shakupa

 

Curated by Eleonora Frolov and JMH Schindele
Concept and initiative: JMH Schindele

 

Runtime: 18. August – 5. October 2024, Saturday and Sunday, 3 - 8 PM
Address: Pumpwerk Berlin, Am Pumpwerk 4, 12524 Berlin

Neue Erinnerungen, key visual: portrait of a young man in sunglasses over a grid with lines, Arabic script and the date 22.5.86

Key Visual

© Photos: Stefan Haehnel, Arne Ahlert, Timo Kahlisch
© Photo: El Arbi Bouqdib Archive, Design Masoud Morgan

Supported by:

Logo “Bild Kunst Kulturwerk”
Logo “Berlin – Bezirksamt Treptow-Köpenick” with the Berlin bear
Posted by Joseph in News

Concert by Elshan Ghasimi Elies Miniatures III “The Flower and Death”

Dear music lovers,

We cordially invite you to enjoy an extraordinary musical experience on 7 September at 7 pm. The internationally acclaimed tar soloist and composer Elshan Ghasimi will present her concept album ‘The Flower and Death’ for the first time in the video installation of the same name by the artist duo Stark & Shakupa. This unique work combines classical Persian music with experimental biography and the demands of contemporary conceptual art.

With the finest sensitivity and deep expression, Elshan Ghasimi transports us into a fascinating world of new melodies. As a composer, she masterfully succeeds in merging the various modal scales of the Persian Radīf* with elements of minimal music. Among others she draws inspiration from the poetry of Shahrokh Meskoob as well as her own texts. Ghasimi performs as a versatile artist - in the roles of composer, soloist, singer and reciter.

Experience the harmonious combination of video art and classical Persian music as part of the exhibition ‘New Memories (El Arbi Bouqdib Archive)’ and be enchanted by this artistic symbiosis.

After the concert, we cordially invite you to a drink in a relaxed atmosphere to reflect on what you have experienced and to receive an introduction to the exhibition from the curators.

The album ‘The Flower and Death’ will be released in autumn 2024.

We look forward to your visit and an unforgettable evening!

With best regards,

Eleonora Frolov and JMH Schindele

BOOK A FREE TICKET HERE

Take a look at more upcoming events:

Concert: Elies Miniatures III – The Flower and the Death
Elshan Ghasimi, Stark & Shakupa, JMH Schindele
On Saturday, September 7, 2024 | 7:00 PM
Here for ticket booking.

Concert: DUO Philipp Püschel and Elshan Ghasimi
On Sunday, September 15, 2024 | 5:00 PM
Here for ticket booking.

Curator-guided tour with artist talks
on Sunday, 24 August 2024 and on Saturday 21 September 2024 at 4 pm
Here for ticket booking

Finissage of the exhibition "New Memories (El Arbi Bouqdib Archive)"
On Sunday, October 6, 2024 | 3:00-5:00 PM
Here for ticket booking.

Neue Erinnerungen, opening: visitors watching video screens with dance scenes in an industrial hall
Elshan Ghasimi playing the tar on a red-lit stage, photo Simona Bortolotti

Elshan Ghasimi at WOMEX 2023 in A Coruña, Spain

Video installation by Stark & Shakupa: screens in a wooden scaffold in a hall with visitors

Stark & Shakups Installation "The Flower and Death"

NEW MEMORIES
EL ARBI BOUQDIB ARCHIVE

Artists: Sergey Bratkov, Elshan Ghasimi, Ben Greber, Markus Hoffmann, Michal Martychowiec, Patrick Panetta, Max Schaffer, Stark & Shakupa

 

Curated by Eleonora Frolov and JMH Schindele
Concept and initiative: JMH Schindele

 

Runtime: 18. August – 6. October 2024, Saturday and Sunday, 3 - 8 PM
Address: Pumpwerk Berlin, Am Pumpwerk 4, 12524 Berlin

Neue Erinnerungen, key visual: portrait of a young man in sunglasses over a grid with lines, Arabic script and the date 22.5.86

Key Visual

© Photos: ©️Arne Ahlert, ©️Timo Kalisch ©️ Simona Bortolotti
© Photo: El Arbi Bouqdib Archive, Gestaltung Masoud Morgan

Gefördert durch:

Logo “Bild Kunst Kulturwerk”
Logo “Berlin – Bezirksamt Treptow-Köpenick” with the Berlin bear
Posted by Joseph in News

Invitation to the Curator’s Tour on 25.08.2024 | 4 PM

Neue Erinnerungen, opening: three people giving a speech in front of a tiled wall with green diamond patterns

Dear Guests,

Thank you for attending the exhibition opening of "New Memories (El Arbi Bouqdib Archive)" and last Saturday's summer festival. You will find some impressions of this beautiful art-filled day attached. It was a great pleasure to welcome many international guests to the Pumpwerk and celebrate this day together.

The lively atmosphere in the park and the exhibition made this day an unforgettable experience. We are delighted by the numerous conversations, positive feedback, and enthusiasm the exhibition has sparked. In particular, El Arbi Bouqdib, the central figure of the exhibition, fascinated many of you and raised intriguing questions.

To delve deeper into the exhibition's themes, we cordially invite you to an exclusive Curator's Tour on August 25 at 4 PM or September 21, 2024, at 4 PM. These tours allow you to learn more about the exhibition's background and ask your questions directly to the curators and Bouqdib's archive administrators. You can also discuss the curatorial and conceptual approach of the exhibition in more detail.

We kindly ask you to register free of charge for the curator tours, as spots on the guest list are limited:

Register for August 25 at 4:00 PM
Alternatively, September 21, 2024, at 4:00 PM

Take a look at more upcoming events:

Concert: Elies Miniatures III – The Flower and the Death
Elshan Ghasimi, Stark & Shakupa, JMH Schindele
On Saturday, September 7, 2024 | 7:00 PM
Book a ticket here.

Concert: DUO Philipp Püschel and Elshan Ghasimi
On Sunday, September 15, 2024 | 5:00 PM
Book a ticket here.

Finissage of the exhibition "New Memories (El Arbi Bouqdib Archive)"
On Sunday, October 6, 2024 | 3:00-5:00 PM
Book a ticket here.

We look forward to welcoming you again at one of these unique events.

With warm regards,
Eleonora Frolov and JMH Schindele

Neue Erinnerungen, opening: a visitor looking at objects in a tiled industrial room with tall windows, photo Timo Kalisch
Neue Erinnerungen, opening: a speaker in front of visitors in the hall with a wooden structure and a blue screen
Neue Erinnerungen, opening: many visitors in the green-lit industrial hall, photo Timo Kalisch
Neue Erinnerungen, opening: visitors watching video screens with dance scenes in an industrial hall
Neue Erinnerungen, opening: visitors in the bright hall with a wooden ceiling, screens and a wall of books

NEW MEMORIES
EL ARBI BOUQDIB ARCHIVE

Artists: Sergey Bratkov, Elshan Ghasimi, Ben Greber, Markus Hoffmann, Michal Martychowiec, Patrick Panetta, Max Schaffer, Stark & Shakupa

 

Curated by Eleonora Frolov and JMH Schindele
Concept and initiative: JMH Schindele

 

Runtime: 18. August – 6. October 2024, Saturday and Sunday, 3 - 8 PM
Address: Pumpwerk Berlin, Am Pumpwerk 4, 12524 Berlin

Neue Erinnerungen, key visual: portrait of a young man in sunglasses over a grid with lines, Arabic script and the date 22.5.86

Key Visual

© Fotocredits: Arne Ahlert, Timo Kalisch
© Foto: El Arbi Bouqdib Archive, Gestaltung Masoud Morgan

Gefördert durch:

Logo “Bild Kunst Kulturwerk”
Logo “Berlin – Bezirksamt Treptow-Köpenick” with the Berlin bear
Posted by Joseph in News