Liberty, Equality, Solidarność. Polish Viewpoints in Berlin

Open Space | Berlin Exhibition at the Humboldt Forum

   

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.

Location
Berlin Exhibition at the Humboldt Forum
Schloßplatz
10178 Berlin

Opening hours
Mo + Mi – So | 10:30 – 18:30 Uhr
Di | closed

Last entrance is at 5:30 p.m.

Special Opening/Closing Times
see Info & Service

Entrance
7 euros / 0 euros (reduced)
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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 multi-layered installation by Ewa Maria Slaska, Anna Krenz and Jemek Jemowit introduces visitors to seven sites in Berlin where Polish people have fought for freedom, equality and solidarity. Spread throughout the city, they include the Olympic Stadium, the Warschauer Brücke, Moabit Prison and Volkspark Friedrichshain. The Open Space also shares Polish perspectives on everyday life in Berlin, moving between a sense of belonging and experiences of discrimination. It explores the traces of historical power relations and the ways they affect coexistence.

The artists Anna Krenz, Ewa Maria Slaska, Jemek Jemowit and Sophie Perl, curator of the Stadtmuseum Berlin.
Open Space “Liberty, Equality, Solidarność” in BERLIN GLOBAL at the Humboldt Forum © Ewa Maria Slaska, Anna Krenz, Jemek Jemowit | Stadtmuseum Berlin, Photo: Michael Setzpfandt

The Open Space invites visitors to share their different points of view and engage in dialogue, even when the topics are difficult. In doing so, the Open Space itself becomes a further place of Polish-Berlin solidarity.

Background information

“Wolność, Równość, Solidarność” (Liberty, Equality, Solidarity) was a slogan used by striking shipyard workers in Gdansk in August 1980, who later formed the Solidarność trade union. This succinct and powerful variation of the historical slogan of the French Revolution can still be heard today at pro-democracy protests in Poland.

Poland’s history is characterised by partitions by Prussia, Russia and Austria in the 18th and 19th centuries, by German exploitation and extermination during the Second World War and by Soviet foreign influence from 1945 to 1989. Against this backdrop, Poles repeatedly fought for their freedom, campaigned for equal rights and built structures of solidarity – including in Berlin.

Programme

The artists

Ewa Maria Slaska

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.

Recent projects

  • 2012: ewamaria.blog
  • 2013: Polish graves in Berlin (including an exhibition, book, and the rescue of the grave of Prof. Aleksander Brückner)
  • 2021: Actor in the film “The Legend of Zygmunt Blask” by Jemek Jemowit
  • 2021: Polkopedia, online encyclopaedia of Polish women abroad
  • 2022: The Missing Half of History. Irena Bobowska, the Forgotten Heroine
  • 2023: Quest for Women*
  • 2023/24: Women in the Shadow of the Guillotine. Polish Women Executed at Plötzensee Prison
  • 2024: Tree for Irena Bobowska in Berlin

Anna Krenz

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.

Projects (selection)

  • 2004: Polish Wife
  • 2019: Global Scream
  • 2020: Botschaft der Polinnen*
  • 2022: The Missing Half of History. Irena Bobowska, the Forgotten Heroine.
  • 2022: Siostry* prize
  • 2023: Quest for Women*
  • 2023: Sisters in Arms – Bettina von Arnim and Julia Woykowska
  • 2023/24: Women in the Shadow of the Guillotine. Polish Women Executed at Plötzensee Prison
  • 2024: Tree for Irena Bobowska in Berlin
  • 2024: Contact High with the Curators [vinyl], Edition Telemark

Jemek Jemowit

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.

Productions

  • 2010: Wave & Groom EP [CD-R] Jemcock Productions DE
  • 2011: Zemsta LP [Vinyl] Fabrika Records GR
  • 2013: Tekkno Polo EP [Tape, CD] Oficyna Biedota PL, Jemcock Prod. DE
  • 2015: Jemek Jemowit ist Doktor Dres LP [digital, Vinyl] Martin Hossbach DE
  • 2016: Wróg publiczny N° 1 [digital, CD] Martin Hossbach, Jemcock Prod. DE
  • 2019: Das Satanische Album [digital, Vinyl] Martin Hossbach, Reverend Campanelli Records DE
  • 2020: Tekkno Polo LP [digital, Vinyl] Martin Hossbach, Reverend Campanelli Records DE
  • 2021: Legenda Zygmunta Blask [digital, Tape] Atypeek Music FR, Ziemol PL
  • 2022: PZPR EP [digital] Atypeek Music FR

Media partner

After the Open Space exhibit opens, it is on display for about 18 months as part of BERLIN GLOBAL.

The Open Spaces

The Open Spaces are three areas of the exhibition BERLIN GLOBAL developed by initiatives, organizations and independent groups. The aim is to increase visibility of perspectives on Berlin’s past and present that have not received sufficient representation in museums and exhibitions – including BERLIN GLOBAL. The projects are selected by an independent jury and developed and implemented over a period of 12 months in cooperation with the Stadtmuseum Berlin. Afterwards, the exhibition is on display at BERLIN GLOBAL for about 18 months.

Info & Service

Opening Hours

Mo + Wed – Sun | 10.30 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.
Tue | closed

Last admission is at 5.30 p.m.


Thu | 17.10. | closed from 3 pm (works meeting)

Directions

Schlossplatz
10178 Berlin

Contact

For ticketing and service requests, please contact the Humboldt Forum Visitor Services:
+49 30 9921 189 89
Mo – Fri, 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.

Tickets

Entry

7 euros / 0 euros (reduced)