Open Space Vernissage: Liberty, Equality, Solidarność

Poles have lived in Berlin for centuries and shaped the cultural, social, political and economic life of the city. The Polish border is less than 100 kilometres away. And yet, the city’s close ties with its neighbouring country sometimes only become visible at a second glance: The Open Space “Liberty, Equality, Solidarność” in the BERLIN GLOBAL exhibition looks at Berlin as a site of Polish struggles for freedom and against discrimination, as well as a place of dialogue and solidarity.

As part of the opening, BERLIN GLOBAL invites you to a concert by genre-defying Polish sound artist and queer activist Mala Herba. Mala Herba is inspired by industrial and experimental electronic sounds as well as traditional Polish music. The performance will be followed by a set from Berlin-based DJ Paulina Panik, mixing post-punk and rock with electro and eclectic wave.

Born in Poland in 1949, writer, editor, publicist, blogger, project manager, translator, teacher and curator Ewa Maria Slaska also sees herself as a mediator between German and Polish realities. She fled to Berlin in 1985 as a political activist in the Solidarność movement and has been working in refugee aid ever since. She has been involved in many projects over the past 40 years, including the independent TV show “Magazyn Wyspa” (“Island”), WIR e.V. – Verein und Verlag zur Förderung der deutsch-polnischen Literatur and the German-Polish Poets’ Steamer.

Born in 1976 in Poznań, Poland, the artist, architect, author and activist Anna Krenz has lived in Berlin since 2003. She is the founder of the collective Dziewuchy Berlin and the association Ambasada Polek e.V. Since 2001 she has worked with the Danish Centre for Renewable Energy (Folkecenter for Renewable Energy in Denmark) on sustainable development projects. Anna Krenz is part of the women’s project studio Sinus_3, which combines architecture, ecology, visual arts and public space design. From 2003 to 2012, she co-directed the ZERO Gallery in Berlin, which hosted more than 100 exhibitions, concerts and happenings with artists from Poland, Germany and around the world.

Born in Gdynia, Poland in 1986, Ziemowit Nowak is better known by his alter ego, goth-glam musician Jemek Jemowit. Since 2009, his genre-spanning artistic journey has shaped the musical landscape with a political and conceptual approach. In addition to his performance and music activities, Nowak has run the art and culture venue TROPEZ at the Humboldthain summer pool in Berlin’s Wedding district since 2019.